When a career choice is made from pure passion, there’s always magic! This happens only when you are at your best self and a 100% you. And after that, there’s no going back. Every struggle that you will face will be an opportunity and a possibility to learn differently. I’ve come across many young women trying so hard to make ends meets while choosing to ignore their passion. Among such experiences, there’s one story that stands out like a clichéd but oh-so-important ‘candle in wind’.
“Did you know Coimbatore is called the ‘Manchester of South India’? This is due to its fast growing textile industry, fed by the surrounding green and white cotton fields; my hometown is absolutely beautiful,” says Samyuktha. Ever since she was a little girl, she dreamt of making it big in the fashion Industry and till date, she has not disappointed herself. Starting with her degree in Fashion Designing, she laid a strong foundation to her career goals with the support of her parents. After graduation, she went on to pursue her PG in the prestigious London College of Fashion. This shotgun approach landed her a one-in-a-million opportunity at Prada, London as Stylist and Ensemble Curator.
When you’ve worked zealously to achieve something good, the universe constantly conspires to create something even better for you. This is when she found her ‘Mr. Right’, Prem Subbaraj; a charming human being and a businessman from Madurai. She married him in 2015 and has enjoyed being a homemaker ever since. But that wasn’t what fate had in store for her. In 2017, she reentered her fashion career and designed fitness apparels at Ronnie Coleman, India and also worked as a freelance stylist.
Being a well-known face, she participated in several fashion shows, styled many models and worked her magic at many photo-shoots. With an overdose of all this, she always wondered if she herself could one day be a model, good enough to walk the ramp and slay the looks that she herself styled. On the other hand, with her busy work schedule, her little flights of imagination on modelling had to take a backseat. One time, over a casual chit-chat with her husband, she poured her heart out on how she longed to take up modelling. At the back of her head, she knew it was too late and the whole idea would be dissed anyway. But her husband’s reaction surprised her. He said, “just ‘because you’re married, it shouldn’t stop you from your dreams or even winning a beauty pageant, for that matter.” And she thought to herself, “that’s why they’re called better halves, because they bring out the best in you.”
In January 2018, she was determined to sign up for two beauty pageants that were lined up that year; the Mrs. India-Galaxy, scheduled in August at Delhi and, Mrs. India-Universe, scheduled in October at Pune. She took up this challenge with much discipline in her fitness regime. By following a clean diet with the help of her personal trainer and dietician, she managed to lose 30kgs in 6 months, just in time for her first big event. This sounds quite impossible, isn’t it? But she made this happen.
After achieving this, she applied online for both the pageants and cleared the auditions. A week later, she auditioned with much excitement and ended up as one of the top 6 finalists. “At this point, not winning the title was not a big deal,” she says, “I was floored by the support I got from my folks; it was an overwhelming experience.” Meanwhile, at the Mrs. India-Universe, she participated and aced every round, finally winning the Mrs. India Universe Globe title.
“When you’re passionate about your work, and when you let your dreams grow out of love and hard work and creativity, you don’t feel the need to copy other people. Creativity comes from within; don’t be scared to be you. And don’t be scared to follow your dreams and ideas. Even if they do seem a little crazy or out of reach. I promise you that with patience, hard work and passion, just about anything is possible. Don’t forget to believe in yourself. And if you can’t, I’m here as an example to encourage you. Follow your heart and do not listen to other people’s opinions. Your idea and your creativity is what people want to see,” she says as we conclude the interview.
write to us at editor.provoke@paulsons.in