Tapasya to Mrs India Crown – The journey that taught me to burn to shine

As a child I would idolize the protagonists I read in the books. I would be left in awe with the character extraordinaire I witnessed!  I loved the drama, the romance, the comedy, the adventures, the thrill, the gripping climax, the laughter, the tears all of it.

My dream was for my life to be worthy of a book…a book that I would want to read again and again.

It didn’t matter much if that book would be a best seller, but it surely mattered that the book would always be the first on my nightstand. I saw that one day all roads will converge, so why not take a road that is a whole nine yards.

My travels to 26 countries so far have been the most valuable investment I have made in my life. In my very first international trip, I had my fascinating love story. I met the love of my life, my husband and he has been my fellow itinerarian through my journey and the one I lean on to. We are blessed with two lovely children, a tenacious daughter and an endearing furry canine son.

What started off as a holiday morphed into a cause I strive for and a lifestyle I promote via my website www.somedaynomadic.com. Travels have uncovered the prolific writer, storyteller, award-winning photographer and a Himalayan hiker in me. Every holiday, I returned so enriched and evolved that it changed my perspective orthogonally to see travel as an investment than expenditure.

…an investment that culminated a book to my name…

I experienced the quintessence of life, grew more empathetic, positive, and fearless. Wanderlust even pushed me to pursue Yoga teacher certification to prepare me for hiking in high altitudes of Himalayas, which has now aided me to redesign my lifestyle based on yogic wisdom, thereby reversing my lifestyle disorders like hypothyroidism, obesity, be my fittest self and share this wisdom with the world. 

Now I want to continue my travels …this time my heart will travel faster than my feet. Earlier this year, I began my association with the Team Everest NGO and started to teach the underprivileged from the comfort of my home. I went with a thought that “I will touch lives” but “it was me who was touched beyond measure”.  Never before I have felt this fulfilled, humane and valued my life to this magnitude.

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This has even made me worship my profession as a technologist because it is, we the pack of engineers worldwide who are bringing to life technologies that will obliterate time and space thereby empowering people to stay connected to what matters to them the most.

Now, as I travel around the blue planet, I wanted to touch as many red hearts as possible along the way. This humanitarian goal gravitated me to pursue the crown of Mrs India Earth as I believed in the power of its outreach for the causes that count in creating a better world.

The journey was eventful, enriching and emancipating. Here is the summary of metamorphosis that shaped me along the journey.

1. I had a living experience of “Tapasya”. One needs to be ready to burn to shine. Many months of disciplined life unfettered by the distractions and temptations.
2. A book to my name. What started off as a preparation for talent round, culminated into a book “The moments I took a pause…”, an immeasurable gift of a lifetime. Inspired by the cause that lead to the book, I have channeled all royalties for the cause of educating the under privileged girls.
3. Integrity towards perfectionism whilst staying REAL. The detailing that went into every round be it in wardrobe, accessories, hair, make up, body language, the walk, the confidence and more than anything, authenticity to be oneself. Most of these may go unnoticed but yet that integrity to stay uncompromised and committed to perfectionism.
4. To wear everything, I am as my armor!  – We see today people have sold their sanity to social media propaganda of flawless bodies, faultless relationships and fabulous lives. This is not reality. The reality is the freckles and scars on our body, the cracks in our relationships and bumps in our lives is what make us real, believable, credible and hence perfect. Self-worth is the ink in which our legends would be written and the journey taught me even more to hold this with pride.
5. The iconic National Costume that nurtured a national pride: I had a golden opportunity to work with best in pageant industry for designing my National Costume to represent the state of Karnataka. I came to see through experience that a nation is not in its borders, neither in its politics and also not in its economy. It is in the hearts of its people. When we hold our heritage with pride, the judgements dissolve and we become more compassionate towards our land, its people which will enable us to work constructively on the problems that is plaguing the nation. All this whilst being blissed out by the dexterity in art of ancient times that still is alive through the masterpiece Melvyn Noronha(an artist par excellence, a North star in the galaxy of artists) put together.

6. Army, Animal flow and the Dunkirk spirit: Whether we like it or not, there are borders in the world.  I have always wanted to give a tribute to Indian Army without whom we cannot sleep tight that will allow us to dream and rise the next morning to put our head, hands and heart at work to fulfill those dreams. I wanted to do this the “Army Style” by learning the Arduous skill of Animal Flow. The Dunkirk spirit that was needed to learn this under 7 weeks and put up a show only made me believe in the power of mind over matter. I could see the limits that my body could transcend when my mind stayed determined. This again under the able training of a maverick Akshay Sharma from The Academy of Strength, Bengaluru.  He taught me that it is not the size of the woman in a fight, it is the size of the fight in a woman that counts.

7. The shroud of Ego torn into pieces and finding myself at edge of infinite possibilities. I started a fundraiser to aid the underprivileged girls’ education and this has been the most ego-crushing acts I have done in my life. it is never too easy to ask for money from people and especially the ones you know. Many times I wanted to withdraw putting in all the target money myself and be done with it. I thought that wearing a Mrs India Crown is not about reaching a target money but inspiring people, bringing them together to see a purpose beyond the run of the mill. I stayed anchored to the cause and at the end of fundraiser, I stood with the shroud of my ego torn into pieces but I saw myself at the edge of infinite possibilities as every leader in the field of humanities has gone through this ego cleansing process as a stepping stone for the journey ahead.

At the end of it all, I was humbled to be crowned 2^nd runner up and also graced with titles of Mrs Compassionate and Mrs Best Traditional Costume. This journey has been about who I became than what I got. I can never stop thanking enough Mrs Ritika Vinay and Mr Vinay Yadava directors of Mrs India Earth Pageant and their whole team for the opportunity and a great event that thrived with sisterhood, respect, positivity and oodles of encouragement. They took in a piece of stone from Earth and turned it into a beautiful piece of art in me.

This experience has made me stronger and prepared me for my future endeavors.

It takes a village to raise a kid and this kid will mark this monumental moment by thanking parents, spouse, children, in-laws, colleagues, mentors, friends, family, well-wishers, my team of stylists(Anukriti and team) who made me dazzle on-stage with state of the art makeup and hair, my yoga gurus and world over many who have inspired me and remained as incessant support through the journey until now and beyond.

Token of gratitude to Mrs India Earth team: Pageants play a key role in women’s empowerment as the contestants become flag bearers of women’s liberation. Testimony is in the history that every woman who has worn this crown has displayed character extraordinaire and inspired, touched and transformed lives. Pageants, especially like this for married women goes a long way in celebrating her indomitable spirit and resurrecting her rightful place of a queen. More importantly, Mrs India Earth and Mrs India Queen of Substance have raised awareness on a spectrum of issues related to women, children, education of the underprivileged, handicapped, greener planet and the list is endless. Through these initiatives, you have propelled the world to see a purpose in life beyond the run-of-the-mill.