Crossing the Rubicon, one step at a time!
You would never expect a girl born to academicians, in a small village near Haryana, Nangal Thakran, with an average literacy rate of 1 per cent, to be taking the catwalks by storm.
But Vishakha Bharadwaj, 20, has proved clichés wrong. Towering over peers, almost 6 feet tall, she forayed the shimmering world of high fashion with enormous encouragement from her parents, who to make her shiny dreams come true, shifted base to the capital! My aunt thought I had fabulous height and a presentable face, she told me, to try modelling, even though I come from a village, where women are destined to be homemakers, adds this national level basketball player.
Interestingly, flying high, quite literally, had been on Vishakhas mind, but her pilot hopes crashed, when she realized how expensive it will be for her humble parents, teaching school students. I did my course in mass communication and then decided to try for the Ms Universe contest held by Sushmita Sen and the one lesson she taught me, stuck with me. Walk like a Queen, Sushmita had said in her booming voice. And everytime I do the catwalk, her words ring in my ear, she confides.
Vishakha, also took part in the reality TV show on Zoom, Fashion Drill and was pleasantly surprised that there was no bitching or bad blood between contestants. TV taught me how to work expressions in my favour, while the ramp is all about poise and pose, she says.
Being six foot tall can have its advantages, but if you are a foodie, it can cause problems, so the lover of junk food, and sodas has to now restraint herself from all the things she loves. It is worth it! Modelling gives me a chance to travel the world, pastries are a small sacrifice, she adds.
Looking for a break from the cold, dark Slovakia, Central Europe, Miriama Bothova, came to enjoy the sunshine and positive energy of India, a land that meant spiritual enlightenment and bliss. Beginning her career at the age of 16, Miriama has come a long way, to establishing herself with shows for Versace, Armani (Milan) Victorias Secret (in China). Armani is surprisingly quite friendly and as he is primarily a womens wear designer he is the kindest to them. His humility is quite endearing and he remains untouched by fame or power in a cut throat world of Milan fashion, she adds.
Though her two months in Milan proved to be testing, with the unrealistic parameters set for models, who were required to be extra skinny, often put on a strange diet and with casting agents who were distant and mostly unfriendly. But having said that I must confess, they are extremely professional, even though it was exhausting to go for 10-12 castings in a day, she confirms.
If it was spirituality that got Miriama to India, it was the desire to see an exotic land Denisa had heard about as a child that prompted her to visit this country. India has a rich, vibrant buzz that unmistakably leaves you gasping for more. My mom wanted me to be a model, and I never knew any different, so thats what I did, says 21-year-old Slovakian Denisa.