Aiyana Cronk/The Jersey Journal

Residents of Jersey City's Little India are beaming with pride over the crowning of Miss New York, Nina Davuluri, as the first Miss America of Indian descent.

As the winner, she receives the Miss America crown, the title and a $50,000 scholarship.

"It feels great that people are recognizing our culture," Saravanan Narayanan of Jersey City said this afternoon. "It feels great seeing someone so young representing us."




A University of Michigan graduate and Syracuse native, 24-year-old Davuluri performed a Bollywood-style dance, a first for the national broadcast.
Suneel Nallagonda and Neelam Virk of Jersey City both said that it "feels good" to have an Indian-American win the prestigious title.

"I'm very proud of her," Jyotsna Chawdi, manager of Super Style on Newark Avenue, said. "We have had three Indian Miss World winners, but this is new and exciting."