Crowning achievement

There is an archaic belief that women lose their identity when they get married. That they have to give up on their dreams. Well, Bengaluru-based Anjali Rao has proved otherwise. As a finalist for Mrs India Earth 2019, which will be held on September 28, she has proved that this saying needs to be rejected and relegated to the past. Like many women these days, this graduate from the Management Development Institute of Singapore is managing multiple roles such as being a wife, mother and a working professional like a boss. And, just as she does in life, Anjali is gearing up to shine at the finals too, where she will contest for the crown with over 50 contenders from across India as well as Dubai, the UK, etc.

Anjali has two reasons for wanting to compete. She says, “I want women to know it’s important not to lose yourself after marriage and that you need to maintain your individuality. Also, beauty pageants are no more just about glitter and glam. They have a lot of impact on women’s empowerment.” The talent round that the contestants go through would have be the most exciting one for her. Talking about what she will be doing for this, she describes, “I started learning the guitar 10 years ago. So, for the talent round, which will happen during the finale, I will be playing a song.”

Mother to a one-year-old baby girl, Anjali confides that getting back into shape was not all that difficult for her. She says, “I feel like I have been preparing for this all my life. I have been a fitness enthusiast since the age of 16. I worked out until I gave birth and since I eat healthy anyway, I did not have to make any serious changes.” On how she manages her many roles, she avers, “I feel women are wired to be multi-taskers. My profession too has taught me the small skills that I need to prepare for this pageant.” And her mum and husband have been her biggest supporters through this endeavour too.

Anjali shares that the only difficulty she faced while preparing for the pageant was the paucity of time. She says, “I would stay up late into the night to read up on current affairs and I did a lot of research. Beauty pageants look for intelligence and personality too and not just beauty.” But, of course, a bit of planning has to go into that too. “I think it’s very important to get out of your comfort zone if you want to excel. Which is why I have started wearing heels to office just so that I get comfortable in them. I have also started learning how to apply my own makeup,” she giggles, when asked how she’s been prepping for the finals.