And then there were five. After all the strutting, shrieking, squabbling, bitching, giggling and posing in Gokarna, the final five are now off to Mumbai where one will eventually be crowned the winner.

This week kicks off the next part of the Get Gorgeous journey, during which the girls will both enjoy and endure the jet-set lifestyle of supermodels. They will work harder, party harder and compete harder than ever before.

Here's a sneak peek at some pictures of Nidhi and Rachel, whose portfolio shoots will be featured on this week's show.

As for me, I'm recuperating at home in Mumbai (Home sweet home!) 

But fear not, this won't be the last you'll hear from me. In next weeks blog you can read all about my surprise visit to the model pad! Find out if the girls are being model-citizens or if they're actually wolves in designer sheepskin coats.  And of course, more pictures!

On the last day, god rested. As did the contestants, judges and crew. Today for the first time since we've gotten to Gokarna, everybody's sleeping in late. It's so pleasant to wake up at 8:30 and not see the scurry of activity outside my door. I feel the happiest for the spot boys and technicians. They've been working 20-22 hours a day, only catching a couple of winks while sitting in some corner during a shoot or on some scaffolding behind the stage during the eliminations.

I get out of my room at around 9:30 and go to get some breakfast. The whole place is so quiet that it almost seems strange. The only voices I can hear are a few of the crew splashing about in the pool.

After breakfast I say goodbye to the judges as I watched them pile into the cars and leave for the airport. They've really been a blast to hang out with.

It's around 11:30am and I'm sitting at the hotel computer and trying to book flight tickets for today evening. I hope I find a late evening flight so that I can relax for a while before I leave. It's noon and I just found out that the last flight today is at 4:15pm. Gokarna is 3 hours away from Goa Airport and I need to get there latest by 3:15 so that means I have to leave the hotel at 12:15. I have 15 minutes to pack!

I'm told that Kirtana's flight is at 4pm, so we'll be travelling to the airport together. I'm glad because otherwise, considering the hurry I'm in, I won't have a chance to say good bye to her. Besides, the ride to the airport should make up for my not agreeing to spend last night in her room.

I'm running around my room trying to get all my things together and stuff them into the bag when some of the crew and Nidhi walk in. Apparently, Kirtana has lost her passport and credit card worth Rs. 1 Lakh, and Rs. 5000 that Nidhi had kept in the room safe is missing. They say they're checking everyone's bags and want to know if they may check mine as well. I tell them to go right ahead; if they're checking everyone's bags I wouldn't want them to not check mine. As I run around the room trying not to forget anything, Nidhi starts to go through my stuff. I'm trying to put my bag in some kind of order but she keeps moving everything around. I really don't care, I'm in too much of a hurry to think and in a span of ten minutes the reception calls me thrice to ask me to hurry up. Rahul (the producer) walks in and asks if he can do anything to help so I ask him if he can pack the laptop for me. He very sweetly obliges and hands it to me as I charge out the door.

After hugs and goodbyes, Kirtana and I start our three-hour long journey to the airport. Five minutes into the ride, Kirtana starts to tell me how Nidhi loves to create "situations" to get attention [referring to the stuff that went missing]. An alarm bell starts to go off somewhere in my head. I know that Nidhi likes to keep a relatively low profile and isn't Kirtana the one who's always in some kind of emergency or another? Besides, it's strange that Kirtana's so cool after losing her passport and credit card. Kirtana goes on to tell me that Nidhi has been throwing accusations my way all morning saying that I stole their stuff. She supposedly tried to suggest to Nidhi that it could have been anybody, but Nidhi refused to listen.

I don't generally lose my temper but this is just too much. I immediately call the hotel front desk and ask to speak to Nidhi. When she picks up the phone, I don't hold back the profanities as I tell her in simple words that it is not cool to make accusations without any proof. I have been really nice to them and I do not deserve to be treated like this. The expletive-friendly shouting match between Nidhi and me continues until she starts to tell me that it was Kirtana who told her that I'd spent the night in their room and told her that I was probably the thief.

It's at that point that both Nidhi and I start to get the feeling that maybe we've been played. Kirtana was the one who insisted I sleep in their room last night and she knew that I hadn't, so why did she tell Nidhi that I had? Nidhi tells me that maybe Kirtana's playing both sides. Once I hang up Kirtana is curious and asks me what Nidhi had to say, but I just say, "Never mind" and kept quiet.

Around an hour later, I get a call from Rahul. The sportswear, swimsuit, designer outfit and accessories that were lent to Kirtana during the course of the show have not been returned to the stylist. I hand Kirtana the phone and she tells him that the sportswear is in the bathroom, the swimwear in the laundry basket and the designer wear and accessories in room A7 where the girls got their makeup done last night.

Rahul calls back ten minutes later. They've checked everywhere and nothing is where she said it would be.

It is all getting rather suspicious. Over the phone, Rahul even tries to get me involved in the search. But in the end, there isn’t any solid evidence.

This is certainly not the way I want to end what has been a spectacular experience down in Gokarna with the models, judges and crew from Channel V.

Tonight, I'm picking up from my last entry. When the director stopped rolling to change tapes, right before the second elimination could be announced, I stopped my last blog too. You see, I didn't want to give away too much, too soon and spoil the fun for you guys. So if you watched tonight's episode, you know what happened on camera… But read on, because I was there long after the cameras stopped rolling!

The cameras start rolling once again and the verdict is announced: Nobody else is going home tonight. There are going to be five finalists instead of four.

As they step down from the stage Arlette, Rebecca and Rachel hug and congratulate Nidhi… a few feet away, Kirtana congratulates Arika. Once more the divide is blatantly obvious. Arika is now alone in this race.

The clique retires to their rooms to celebrate and relax, and Kirtana is on her way to her room to change. The judges' work is done and they're having a small party in VJ Pia's room tonight to unwind. On their way, they all stop by to say goodbye to Kirtana and wish her luck. Arika and I join her in the room. She changes out of her designer clothes, crawls in to bed with a book and the three of us sit and talk for a bit. We start talking about the other finalists when Kirtana turns to me and says, "Tell me something, what the f**k is Rachel still doing here?! Seriously?!" A little while later Arika echoes that sentiment by saying, "I don't know what the f**k Rachel is still doing here!!"

Kirtana wants the both of us to stay the night in her room because her roommate, Nidhi is spending the night with the other girls in their room. Arika agrees and borrows one of Kirtana's sleeping shirts to change into. Kirtana's starts insisting I stay the night in her room but I decline despite her irritation at my doing so. I'm just not comfortable sleeping there and I need my time off. After she changes into the nightclothes, Arika and I sit outside the room and talk. After chatting for a while she and I go to the deserted ramp and she proceeds to show me how to ramp-walk. The two of us laugh as I mention how this is a lot like the "blind leading the blind" (we all know how much flack she's been getting for her ramp-walking "abilities"). She's tired and so am I, so we say goodnight and retire for the night. Despite all the whining, she is a sweet kid and I must admit I'm rather fond of her. She knows she's going to have to watch her back. The whole clique seems to have this intense dislike for her and I don't think they've tried very hard to conceal it. They think she’s overplayed her "I'm-a-17-year-old-baby" card a few too many times.

As I lie in bed ready to doze off, I'm thinking about all the nastiness going on. Arika's not the only one the clique has just been advertising their dislike for. They have been openly bitching about Kirtana too. Now, I know Kirtana's been acting like a bit of a hypochondriac but I don't think that's the real reason they are bitching about her. I think the fact that she was starting to do much better in the competition was bugging them more than her attention-seeking behaviour. And then there's the nasty things Kirtana and Arika have been saying about the other finalists not deserving to make it.

Personally, I'm just getting sick of all the bitching. All the girls seemed to have changed for the worse, or maybe this is just their way of dealing with all this pressure. Either ways, it's definitely not a pretty sight to witness.

The girls with the lowest scores are busy getting ready for tonight. This is their last chance. In an attempt to help them look their best, Samantha, the make-up expert has been asked by Channel [V] to redo their makeup and hair. There will be no deliberation among the judges tonight. The girls will either stay or go based on their performance.

I'm sitting with Samantha and them in the room where they're getting prepped. Samantha's trying to do her bit by helping them get gorgeous. There's an almost tangible tension in the air so I play some music on the laptop to lighten the mood.

Arika is moping and sulking. She keeps saying bye to me, convinced that she's going home tonight. After being brutally ripped apart by the judges for her lack luster performance I'm not surprised that she's come to this conclusion. She tells me that the judges hated her self-styled outfit. I think the judges HATED her attitude. If you watched last week's episode, you know what I'm talking about. Right now she's continuing to try Samantha's patience by commenting on the "Geisha look" that shes giving her.

Nidhi's just had her hair cut and styled by Samantha, making her look even sexier than she did earlier. I must say though, I have seen some changes come about in Nidhi over the last few days. She used to be someone who was introspective. Earlier she'd wonder what she was doing here. How would it affect her if she lost? How would it affect her if she won? Did she even want this? But that side of her seems to have disappeared. I just hope it's been replaced by a confidence in herself and what she wants, and not cockiness.

Kirtana seems alright and is treating this like just another night in the competition. She has gotten much more serious about winning over the last two days, though I do get the feeling that it might be too little too late. Samantha's cut and styled her hair too… twice. The first time despite trimming it and ironing it straight with tons of product, it just sat on her head stiff as a nest. So the second time Samantha gave her a look that didn't require much movement. This is Kirtana's last shot so she's pulling out all the stops and giving Kirtana a mini make over.

Hair and makeup isn't all that getting an upgrade. Tonight the girls are going to be walking the ramp in some very fashionable clothes.

It isn't just the three with the lowest scores who are dressed to impress. All six girls are looking drop dead gorgeous standing there on the stage. They don't look anything like the girls I'd met at dinner on the first day. I can't take my eyes off of them as they practice the choreography with Alison (who is still getting irritated with Arika).

In the distance I can see all the judges making their way towards us. They stop at the other end of the pool and as some of them sit on/ stand near the pool chairs, they form a sort of huddle. I decide to investigate. As I come closer they notice me and the voices get hushed. I walk past them. When they're done I ask Manoj what that was about. Have they decided which of three is going to the finals? If so, who is it? He smiles and replies, "It's TOP Secret." I'm not getting anything out of these guys. Looks like I'm going to have to wait to find out just like everybody else.

The eliminations have begun.

Nidhi, Kirtana and Arika walk the ramp and Rebecca, Arlette and Rachel join them. Everyone is excited and amidst all the cheering I find that I'm hooting pretty loudly myself!

Kirtana's pictures are great and she's looking beautiful. I think she wants to win this now. Unfortunately for her, there’s been no consistency in her performance, and the judges send her home.

No one is surprised by this decision. There is still some tension in the air though; Arika and Nidhi are left, and one of them is supposed to go home tonight. Everyone knows that Nidhi has been one of the strongest contenders so far receiving almost no criticism from the judges besides the odd comment about her putting in a little more effort. But Arika's freshness, beauty and marketability are undeniable too. This is going to be a tough one for the judges and so they've decided to take a vote. Everybody's on the edge of their seats. Even the crew's sitting here biting their nails, not knowing which way this will go. Zubair looks like he's going to cry; both these girls have always been his favourites. I'm practically holding my breath. It's going to be absolutely horrid to see either of them get eliminated. Suddenly, t he producer shouts, "Cut! Tape change!"

Those few minutes seem like the longest time to everyone involved. Up there on the stage, I'm sure it feels like an eternity to Nidhi and Arika. There's nervous chatter all around. The producer calls out for everyone to get ready and once more there is pin drop silence.

Ok, now let me step on the breaks for a minute. I could tell you what happens next and ruin the fun but instead I'm going to stop right here for now. Come back on Thursday night to hear the rest of the story.

I can't wait to spill the beans!

Have you ever watched a movie or TV show where the door is kicked open, the cops charge in and the criminal, startled awake, jumps up disoriented? A moment ago, I felt like I was in a scene just like that.

Last night, the girls were told that this morning they needed to wear their bikinis with some kind of bottoms, and gather by the pool. Predictably, they were half an hour late and Dianne decided to go to their rooms and wake them up. Rachel (my roommate), woke up on time, got ready and went to wake the others. But Dianne didn't know this, so right now I'm sitting in bed all traumatized and pissed off because she just barged into my room with a camera man.

I've had four hours of sleep.

I must say, I’ve found it rather hard living in with the girls. They go to sleep much earlier than I do. But they’re completely absorbed in themselves and the contest, and they don't care about trying not to disturb me when they're awake and I'm not.

This morning’s early workout has the girls in the pool with Dianne. According to Dianne, exercising in water is an absolute blast, and it helps protect your joints from damage through impact.

Now, I didn't witness this myself, but after the workout Arika told me that Arlette had kicked her in the pool and didn’t apologize after Arika brought it to her notice. Arika says Arlette keeps pushing her around, and according to her, Arlette being sweet to everyone else is an act. There’s most certainly a rivalry between Arika and Arlette, so at this point, I'm taking everything they tell me about each other with a pinch of salt.

It’s after breakfast, and we’re all saying their goodbyes to the girls who’re going home. I'm not going to reveal who the second girl to go home is, but Sneha seems upset.

The problem with Sneha is that she didn't understand the fine line between sexy and vulgar. The previous day, after the shoot with Michel, I was talking with her in her room. I stood her in front of the mirror and pointed out to her just how strange the pads in her bra made her look. I got her to take them out and tried to tell her that she didn't need them. I showed her the proper way to put on a bra or a bikini — to bend forward before you put on the clasp. (I learned this from watching Oprah).

Sneha seems convinced that grey contacts and padded bras will help her succeed. I think she'd do better if she'd just be herself. I must say though, I know how bad she wanted this and it is hard to see her go. I think she was one of the sweetest girls here and I am going to miss her. (Click here to check out my photo slide show from the second elimination.)

Back in their rooms, the girls get surprise visitors: Tribal Gowda women in their traditional outfits arrive at their rooms and hand them the invites for today's shoot in the jungle. I'm in the lobby watching these shy little women walk by, and I’m struck by their beauty and grace.

Soon after this, the girls assemble for another class with Samantha. Today they are going to learn how to master the evening look. Confident that the girls now know how, she's asked them to each apply their own base. She's now going to do each of their six faces and show them how to work with their individual faces.

When the girls walk into the dining hall for lunch, they look stunning! Even Nikhil and Shantanu have come to sit at their table, full of compliments. Nikhil tells the girls how great they all look, and that they shouldn't get too stressed out. I think he's feeling bad about being too harsh the previous night because he's being really sweet and encouraging.

Last night at the eliminations Nikhil said something about how Rachel's poses looked like something out of the Kama Sutra. Afterwards she was crying bitterly about that in her room and was being consoled by her girls. Despite all the nice things that he's saying right now, I can see that the girls haven't forgiven him for that.

It's around 3:30 and the girls, judges and crew leave for the forest. In the forest, as soon as the crew gets done setting the place up for the shoot, the games begin. Under Alison's watchful eye, the girls must practice their ramp walk… in the middle of the forest floor! Though they've been getting better at it, most of the girls are still having a hard time with the ramp walk. And trying to do it in the middle of a forest didn't make it any easier.

The girls get traditional Gowda saris to cut and style as they please. The Gowda women seem amused at what’s going on around them, and smile indulgingly as they give out pointers. The judges critique their creations once they are done, and find most of them boring and messy. Fortunately or unfortunately, the girls are going to have to do the shoot with these self-styled outfits.

At some point when preparing for the shoot, Kirtana freaks out when she sees a dried up snakeskin lying on the forest floor. You probably saw the clip at the end of episode 4 where Arlette and Rebecca were talking about how she made a big deal about a small frog in her bathroom. She seemed convinced that the frog was going to spray her with poison. She’s a little jumpy.

Manoj is done with the shoot, and some of the girls are in for yet another surprise. They won’t need to wait until the eliminations that night to find out who might be going home. The announcement is going to be made right here in the middle of the forest. Out of the six girls, there are three who have the highest scores thus far and are safe. The three who need to worry though, are Niddhi, Arika and Kirtana who are at risk. Two of them will be going home tonight.

It's 7:30 and everyone's just gotten back to Swaswara. The judges are tired and retire to their rooms to unwind and relax. The vibe from the girls is mixed. Those who know they are going to the finals are relaxed, and having fun. They are even confident that it's going to be Arika and Kirtana going home and that Nidhi is definitely going to make it to the finals. It's almost like they think that Nidhi has been put among the bottom three because the judges couldn't declare there and then that Arika and Kirtana would be the one's sent home.

I’m feeling torn. I think Kirtana is getting eliminated for sure but I think it would be terribly unfair to send either Nidhi or Arika home. They both have way too much potential! Wouldn’t it make for great TV if maybe the judges keep them both and instead sent home one of the girls who's been declared safe?

The first elimination was a nail biter.

The girls are stunned. Sarika's elimination was no surprise, but the second elimination has them saying things like "what's wrong with the judges?" and "I don't understand them".
 
I don't want to spoil it for you, so I'm not going to tell which model was eliminated second. I will tell you this though; when the announcement was finally made, I was relieved and shocked at the same time.
 
I don't understand why it came down to Mizpah and Arika in the first place. Both of them showed way too much potential for them to be sent to the chopping block this early in the game.
 
The next morning, the girls’ mountaineering workout is cancelled. Last night was hard on the models, and they only got to sleep around 3am. So they've been allowed to wake up "late", which means around 7am.
 
It's after breakfast and the contestants are saying goodbye to the girls who are going home. Sarika is disappointed, but she seems more upset about the fact that everyone's behaving like they knew she was going to go. Though that's probably the case, I'm sure most of the girls and even the crew are feeling bad for her. The crew wants everyone to be there to say goodbye — though I have to admit it doesn't feel like all of them want to be here.
 
It's around 10:30am and Alison has started the practice session for the ramp walk in the lobby. Her sense of irritation is very apparent but she's more than happy to point out the improvements that the girls have made. I'm sitting and writing at the hotel computer in a balcony above them. I've got the best seat in the house.

 
It's almost noon and make-up class with Samantha has begun. She's demonstrating on Vj Pia to teach the girls how to do their make up to like a professional. I'm sitting in the class out of sight from the cameras. Samantha is a really good teacher, and you can tell she loves her work.
 
Unfortunately, the girls aren't feeling the same kind of enthusiasm. Most of them are sitting here looking either tired and/or disinterested. Arika's literally falling asleep and a couple of the others are yawning in plain sight. I'm just watching them and trying not to giggle.
 
The class just got done and as a test, Samantha has put them into pairs to do each other's make up. They've got a shoot latter in the day and Samantha's told them that they are going to have to do it with whatever make up their partners apply for them.
 
Kirtana missed the class because she's still a bit under the weather. She's been spending a lot of time resting because apparently she had food poisoning before coming to Gokarna and isn’t fully recovered. She's done a pretty good job with Rachel's make up, especially considering that she wasn't there for the class. Arika however has mucked up Rebecca's face. I think she might have done better if she had managed to stay awake during the class.
 
The girls don't know it yet but they have two big surprises coming up. Paris-based photographer Michel Haddi will be shooting them today. Michel recently launched his very cool fashion and music magazine, "Sly & Chic". He tells me that he plans on doing a 40-page spread on India and that he hopes to use some of the pictures he takes today. How cool is that!
 
I'm sure the girls have never heard of him before, so I don't know how excited they will be about him photographing them. Though, I'm pretty certain they're going to be excited about the second surprise… male models Pawan and Siddharth will be doing this shoot with them.
 
While the girls continue to paint each other's faces I head towards the dining hall. As I sit down for a late breakfast/early lunch, the male models (aka "boy models") walk in.

I’d sat with them last night when we were all watching the eliminations from a distance. I was surprised to find that they were pretty interesting and smart. Siddharth told me that he felt models needed to do more than just modeling because as career it can be rather short lived. They both said that the girls just need to be strong and hang in there. I too am starting to realize that the industry is a hard place to be and the girls need to know themselves very well before they step into it. They need to know their assets and their shortcomings. They need to know when to take people seriously and when not to. They need to be very sorted out in their heads before they can subject themselves to the brutality of the fashion industry where people have neither the time nor inclination to treat you with kid gloves or even kindness.
 
Today, Pawan and Siddharth have to sneak around and make sure none of the girls see them. They invite me to their table and the three of us have a quick lunch. They have to rush back to their rooms to get body make up done for the shoot. Siddharth's eating a proper meal but Pawan just grabs a few quick bites and rushes back to his room. He's forgotten to shave his chest.
 
I join in (the make-artist) Sunny's room to watch the boy models get slathered in bronzer and other body make-up. I think my girlfriends would kill to be in my position right now.

 
It's around 5:30pm and Michel just started the shoot. The man seems eccentric to say the least. He's wearing a dirty baniyan and some pajama-like pants. His own camera is this small, old non digital one. He's also using a digital camera that belongs to the crew to get pictures they can use for the deliberations.
 
The male models have just been brought in. Some of the girls are happy to see them. A few are a little apprehensive about why they are here.
 
Michel is shooting in natural light. There are no spotlights and only a tiny camera, but I must say there’s plenty of action! In order to get his attention and in an attempt to follow his instruction the girls pose with the boys and with each other, two girls to a guy like he had said. After a while, they realize it will take more than the clichéd poses to get his attention and they start to get creative. After a point though things start to get too risqué. And while perhaps only Nidhi and maybe Rachel were able to look graceful or stylish while doing it, on the whole it looked a bit bizarre.

The judges are nearby watching all this go down along with a crew of 90 odd people. I walk up to them to get their reactions on the shoot. The judges are extremely irritated. They feel like there's no point in the girls do a shoot like this after constantly reiterating the need to cut out the vulgarity. They are also worried that the girls will end up with the wrong idea of what the industry wants from them. I think all in all, the shoot was an uncomfortable experience for everyone watching.
 
In the deliberation room, the judges are shocked at how good a lot of the pictures have turned out. I think they just realized that as Michel intended, the picture of the girls reveal their personalities and give a clear indication of their confidence levels. Michel only clicked when the models least expected it, catching them off guard when they were looking confused, jealous, bored, insecure. In one word, the pictures can be described as insightful.
 
I'm done with dinner and I'm sitting with Michel. He was very obviously impressed by Nidhi during the shoot. He tells me that he thinks she would be great internationally. He sees a real star quality in her. I agree. I think she's absolutely stunning.
 
Everyone's getting ready for the second round of eliminations and the girls are tense. Arlette is scared that she's getting eliminated and so is Arika. But it's Rachel who seems to be getting ripped apart by the judges. The judges didn't like the kind of poses Nidhi and she did, though they didn't say anything negative to Nidhi. The judges are being quite harsh with Rachel. I hope she doesn't get eliminated today…