On this day, 19’ November, 1975 India was gifted with a little cherub who had a chirpy smile and effervescent liveliness. This naive baby, turned out to be India’s first Miss Universe later in 1994. Sushmita Sen! A name well known around the globe and the fame she accomplished started India’s journey on the map of pageantry. As her name “Sushmita” denotes, she is spiritually passionate and brings love and life, wherever she goes.
Femina Miss India 1994 is believed to be one of the most remarkable edition, India ever come up with. In the pageant’s grand finale, the final question and answer round saw a tie between Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen. Both of them were yet again posed with a tie breaker question, wherein the battle of wit and intellect, Sushmita emerged victorious, grabbing the Miss Universe India title, while Aishwarya had to settle with the Miss World India title.
Soon Miss Universe pageant approached, and Sushmita with her baby like inquisitiveness and grave mind kept every foot forward with utmost dedication, passion and zeal. During the Miss Universe 1994 Parade of Nations, Sushmita introduced herself belonging “From the land where love is the essence of life”. Whenever Sushmita speaks, she leaves people spellbound asserting the attention of the listeners, ensnaring them with her charm.
Lorence Larue, an ace Grammy winner, inquired Sushmita Sen, during the top 6 personal interview round: “If you had time and money to spent on some great adventure, what would that be?” To which the epitome of poise replied, “Adventure for me, is something that I enjoy within me. And I think, Children, those little things, can bring a lot of adventure in your life. So if I had time and money I would go and spend it with little children, I don’t say I would spend it with a child who is downtrodden but any child. I would go and have a great time with them.”
Carolina Gomez, Miss Colombia was considered to be a front runner amongst the crown contenders during the pageant. Carolina’s command at language was immaculate and her answer was really shrewd highlighting the compassionate side of her personality. Moreover, she was the highest Evening Gown Round scorer ever in the pageant history, which is 9.897. When two gorgeous ladies are standing on the stage together, it becomes very difficult to pick one. In that case, what counts is your personality and Sushmita had a uniquely graceful personality. With her childlike naive smile and flamboyant maturity of mind, she could beat anyone.
In the final question and answer round, Sushmita was asked: “What is the essence of being a woman?” To which she answered: "Just being a woman is God's gift that all of us must appreciate. The origin of a child is a mother, and is a woman. She shows a man what sharing, caring and loving is all about. That is the essence of a woman." Her answer not only reflected her great thinking but the expressions with which she delivered it, showed that she is natural and truthful. She was not being pageant patty, rather she lived her life up to the principle she stated during her final question and answer round, the words which garnered her not only the Miss Universe crown, but also immense love and support from pageant enthusiasts all over the world.
Being an optimistic person since the tender age of 18, Sushmita never got married but raised her two adopted daughters with utmost love, affection and sincerity. She truly proved her essence of being a real woman. Today on her birthday, we wish her all the very best for her future endeavors and express gratitude for gifting the world with the optimism she showered as a beauty queen! Happy Birthday, Sushmita.