The Gurgaon beauty, Aditi Arya, is India’s hope at the Miss World Beauty Pageant to be held in the sizzling tourist locations of Bali and Jakarta in Indonesia. Come October and the whole of India will be rooting for the local belle, who is not only a pretty face and lissome body, but also quite a brainy lady. She is working as an analyst at Ernst & Young, one of the four big audit firms of the world. Miss World India, Aditi, Miss will pit her beauty & wit against 57 gorgeous women from across the globe, all of whom would be aiming to wrest the crown from last year’s winner Rolene Strauss of South Africa. Aditi is today the most sought after person in Gurgaon. Everyone wants to meet this wonder girl. RWA President Sanu Kapila of Nirvana Country, where Aditi’s family stays, says that requests have poured in from all quarters. Kapila, a close acquaintance of Aditi’s family, says that they had moved in to Nirvana about a year ago. “Her parents are nice, simple and honest. And these values seem to have been well imbibed by the vivacious Aditi. No wonder all her answers at the pageant came straight from her heart!” he says. Ask Aditi if she was always focused on this event and her reply is, “If someone asked me a couple of years ago if that thought ever crossed my mind, I would have replied in the negative.” But when the opportunity came her way, she dreamt of making it beyond Miss Delhi. “I wanted to be Miss India and I have worked very hard to get there. I have always given my hundred percent to all the opportunities that have come my way,” she says. “So give it your all, you never know which way life may take you,” is Aditi’s message for all those who come to see her. “I had never imagined that I would be Miss India. Now I am even more focused. I want to be Miss World," she says with a steely determination.
Photo: Prakhar Pandey
Aditi is the latest icon of Gurgaon, a role model for many aspiring young girls. At the age of 21 Aditi has already gained huge stardom. A stream of visitors, many of them youngsters, comes to see her every day. Often there is a scramble for her autograph. Aditi, of course, is getting pretty ‘used to’ such adulation. She also knows that there will be much more if she manages to win the world crown. This thought gives her immense strength…and loads of patience as well. Aditi’s mother is of course a proud woman. When asked about her daughter, she answers all queries with patience. “My daughter is a very soft spoken girl. But that does not mean she has ever lacked determination,” she says. “Till recently her total concentration had been on her career. Earlier, during her education, Aditi had been extremely studious. After completing her graduation from Delhi University she had joined an MBA course at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad. It was here that the seed - of competing for the Femina Miss India pageant - was sown,” says her mother. When Aditi approached her parents with the proposal, they agreed to support her dreams. However, young Aditi never gave up on the idea of building a strong career for herself. Her deferred admission to the MBA course at ISB landed her an analyst’s job at Ernst & Young. She promptly took on this new challenge in her life. When the time came to compete for the Miss Delhi crown, she plunged wholeheartedly into it and came out tops. That paved the way for the higher goal – Miss India. This was achieved on March 28th this year at a glittering ceremony at the Yashraj Studios in Mumbai. Aditi Arya aspires to represent India at multiple platforms and holds a tremendous desire to bring the Miss World crown back to India.
Yet, as a child, she was more of a happy-go-lucky kid. Her mother got a little emotional while talking about her childhood. “She was an extremely happy child and always did very well in school. But even at a tender age she would dream of doing something different and doing some good for the country as well,” says her mother. Her younger sister is a chip off the old block. “As of now I do not have any ‘glamour world’ plans. I am quite happy as I am and I am very happy for my sister. I also want to continue with my studies and see how I discover myself in the future,” she says. Nirvana residents too are very proud of Aditi. “She has her feet planted firmly on earth,” gushes a fellow resident. “At such a young age she landed a plum job. Now she is Miss India as well. And yet she is so down to earth, so loving and caring and always displays a warm heart,” she adds, on the sidelines of a function held at Nirvana to celebrate Aditi’s success. Aditi was at her charming best at the function. Addressed the crowd she said, “Femina Miss India has helped me groom myself better and also helped me learn so many new things,” her eyes turning gently to her approving mother who stood at her side. Aditi disagreed with the notion that such platforms have too many distractions and often ruin one’s character. “I do not subscribe to such views. Everything really depends on the person. If you want to, nothing can deter you from following an ethical and disciplined path in life,” she said. Aditi got emotional while sharing her views on the empowerment of women. ”The times have clearly changed. Even women need to think of building successful careers. They need to assert themselves in society. Sooner than later they will be respected for that...by everyone” She was extremely happy to note that many girls from Haryana are stepping out of their homes. “Quite a number of girls from Haryana have excelled in various fields. I believe that the society here has started accepting the changes. Though many parts of Haryana are still steeped in old traditions and practices, now ‘beta’ and ‘beti’ are not viewed too differently,” she concluded.
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