HYDERABAD: Who would have thought the idea to reuse and upcycle/repurpose a heritage saree could win her a crown? “My concept was Khumbh Mela, which is coming together of three things. I used old used (heirloom) sarees from three generations - of my grandmom, my mother-in-law and my saree to make it into a lehenga, blending the handicraft heritage of three eras.
I also got a painting done on it which depicted the pure and perennial Ganga on one side and the pollution we subject her to, on another side,” says Vandana Lahoti, 33, fresh from her win of Mrs India held in Chennai on September 17.
She says winning from over 60 participants and coming back to Hyderabad was the biggest high for her so far. A mom of two, this Attapur homemaker says the environment is what the focus should be on now for all of us. “I also got jewellery made of recycled paper as part of the innovative theme, one of the five rounds. “Winning the Mrs India Telangana 2019 in May 2019 itself was a big win for me, but I made sure I trained myself to think out of the box as everyone else was equally beautiful and talented.”
Talking of innovation, this mom of a teenager and a seven-year-old rustled up Thai Maggi in less than 20 minutes at the Nestle Culinary Queen round. She says that most contestants were surprised that although she hailed from a joint family in Hyderabad, she had immense freedom to choose what she wanted to do. So what did the experience fetch or teach her? “A crown, sash, designer watch, bahut sarey gift vouchers and the lesson that dreams do come true. Start small, take your first step and you will go places,” says Vandana who also won the Mrs India Photogenic and also featured in the overall top 10.