There are quite a few beauty pageant winners from the state who believe there is more to life than winning a beauty contest and have come forward to help out people affected by the extended lockdown.
Arindam Ganguly, OP
Bhubaneswar: On several occasions, the winners of beauty pageants, after winning their titles, promise to do everything to make the society a better place to live in or work for the underprivileged section. But many of them end up just doing movies, TV commercials and modeling. However, there are a few aberrations too.
Bhasha Mukherjee, an Indian-origin doctor and the winner of Miss England beauty pageant, is a case in point. She is now back as a doctor to serve the people suffering from COVID-19 despite winning a beauty pageant crown. “It certainly doesn’t feel good to exhibit your crown when lakhs of people across the globe are dying from the disease,” she said after returning to her medical profession.
Back home also, there are quite a few beauty pageant winners who believe there is more to life than winning a beauty contest and have come forward to help out people affected by the extended lockdown.
Miss Tourism and Culture Universe 2018 Swapna Priyadarsini from Dhenkanal is distributing masks and sensitising tribal people on how they can defeat coronavirus by following the lockdown rules. “Apart from making them aware about social distancing, we are also providing them with grocery items and vegetables,” said the first runner-up of KIIT Nanhipari contest.
She is also uploading videos and posts on how to clean and wash hands right way and how to take care of the skin and health.
Anchor and model Shefali Udgata had won Opera Miss India Global and was second runner-up at the Miss British Empire-2019 beauty contest. Shefali, who now pursues a career in modeling and does television anchoring, has been feeding many stray animals in the city since March 27. The animals are not only starved, many of them are facing major health issues, she said.
“We all are going through a very difficult time and can raise our voice but what about these animals. They are voiceless. Therefore, I am trying to help them as per my ability,” added Shefali.
“We are doing nothing if compared to the doctors, healthcare providers, pharmacy workers, journalists, military personnel, sanitation workers, bankers and many others. They are the real corona warriors,” she said.
Odia actress and Opera Mrs India Global 2018 winner Pupul Bhuyan is also playing a part in taking care of the stray animals and daily wage workers of Bhubaneswar.
On the other hand, Miss Teen Universe 2018 Lavanya Das is creating awareness on how to curb the spread of the virus through her social media accounts. Though everyone is panic-stricken, the situation has also given us an opportunity to spend more time with the family and care for each other, she said.