BENGALURU: In a world dominated by fresh-faced debutantes in their teens and twenties, women in their thirties and beyond often feel there’s no place for them in pageantry. Challenging this perception, the Mrs India Asia finals, held in Gurugram last week, saw 72 women from across India, competing for 20 titles.
Among them, Smitha Rao, a 37-year-old Bengalurean, stood out with her unwavering self-belief, winning the title of ‘Mrs Confident’. “It still hasn’t sunk in, I’ve hardly had any sleep while preparing for the pageant,” she shares.
A spiritual healer, life coach, and social worker, Rao balances many roles. She recalls that the toughest part of her preparation was spending months at the gym, focusing on strength training.
She credits her win to her mental resilience: “I had to struggle in the gym because I’m mostly used to doing yoga. I was also under the weather for three weeks before the pageant day, which was very difficult.
Apart from that, I have been doing inner work which brought me closer to myself and kept me calm. I was cool and confident. At the mental level, this is what matters.”
To women who hesitate to pursue their dreams after marriage and motherhood, Rao offers encouragement: “You have only one life, make the best use of it. Family and everything else can wait. Don’t postpone the things you want to do for yourself because only when you’re happy, can you make others around you happy.”