‘Beauty with depth’
FITNESS and image consultant Trisha Poona of Mount Edgecombe will represent South Africa at the Mrs Universe contest at the ICC on September 2.
About 80 women from around the world are expected to compete.
“I feel honoured to be given this opportunity to represent my country. Mrs Universe stands for women empowerment, which I am currently putting into practice,” said Poona. “I’m excited to show what South Africa has to offer. Beauty with depth,” she added, admitting that she was a little nervous.
“When something means so much to you, you are bound to have some nerves. In my eyes, it’s not a sign of weakness but rather a sign of passion and the will to excel.”
Poona is married to Vishal and they have two children Ruan, 6, and Ziva, 5.
This is the first time the event will be hosted in Africa.
VIVACIOUS beauty Shilpa Agrawal, a finalist in the Mrs Universe 2017 pageant, may come from a small, conservative town in Nagpur, India, but she has dared to break moulds and set trends.
The housewife turned industrialist and corporate trainer has set her sights on being crowned queen of the universe when she and about 79 contestants compete for top honours at the ICC in Durban on September 2.
Agrawal comes from humble beginnings and was married off at age 20 to someone she barely knew. After having a baby boy and dealing with the heavy burden of expectation, family responsibility and a strong mother-in-law, Agrawal snapped.
“I tried to commit suicide by gobbling some sleeping pills but, while I was hospitalised, I saw another side to my husband, Akash. He ended up becoming my pillar of strength,” the 38-year-old told POST.
With a newfound confidence, she decided to join the family’s business, Akash Furniture, as a junior executive.
Agrawal said when she started the company was running at a loss.
“My husband mentored me and made me rise like a Phoenix… He started taking me to various associations and forums. These were an eyeopener for me. The learning curve was becoming exponential,” she said.
Armed with knowledge, Agrawal started grasping the business and, after months of hard work, the company turned around and is now one of the most recognised brands in central India.
She then travelled across the country and attained firsthand experience of women empowerment – witnessing how women, like her, were leaders in the business world.
“Men and women were working shoulder-to-shoulder and women’s opinions and advice were valued.”
Filled with motivation from her travels, Agrawal applied women empowerment to her workplace.
Various accolades and recognitions followed such as the Rotary Vocational Excellence Award, Best Lady Industrialist of the Region, the Women Achievers Award by The Times of India and the most recent Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award in November 2016.
Agrawal later moved on to become chief executive of the Akash Furniture group, where she oversees production, sales and general administration.
When she began hiring more female professionals, however, it did not go down well with male employees.
She said this broke her to a point where she “cried and cried. But then again my guardian, my angel saviour, my husband, Akash, told me that when a society has to undergo a sea of change, it is usually met with excessive rebellion and revolt”.
Agrawal said Akash introduced her to the pageant world, and encouraged her to sign up for the Mrs Nagpur contest in 2004, which she won. She was later crowned Mrs India Worldwide followed by becoming first runner-up in Mrs Globe. This led her to enter Mrs Universe.
Agrawal will join local citizens, NGOs, interest groups and fellow entrants for a #OneVoice anti-child and women abuse protest march in Durban’s CBD on August 30. Agrawal said it was a big social problem, not only in SA but in India as well.