Deepali converted the challenges into opportunities to become Asian beauty queen

While everybody is holding a view that only slim girls can become ‘Beauty Queens’, Pune based Deepali Phadnis has proved otherwise.  A tall slim girl Deepali, right from school days, was nurturing the dream of becoming ‘Miss India’.   Being a girl from a middle class, she could not contest due to her priorities of education. 

To add to her woes, she met with an accident in 2006 resulting in ligament injury with four major fractures.  She was bed ridden for six months, which resulted in increase of 25 Kg to her weight.

She did not lose hope.  Her family members and her lover Devadatta Mahapatra encouraged her to reduce her weight to compete as a beauty queen.  It took nearly 4 years for her to shed this additional weight.  Meanwhile in 2009 she got married to Devadatta Mahapatra, who encouraged her to contest Mrs India title. 

In 2011, she won the Mrs India International - Chennai title and in 2012 she became Mrs Asia International.  Recently, in July 2012, she contested for Mrs International title, held at Chicago (US) which she lost marginally.  However she is hopeful of bagging Mrs International in 2013.

In an exclusive interview to PreSense, she said that beauty was not in glamour, but dependent on many aspects, including health, family values, etc. 

As Mrs Asia International title holder, she wants to campaign to create awareness about ‘Diabetes’, which is one of the dangerous diseases in India.  She says that she lost her father due to diabetes and her grand father’s legs were amputated because of this.  Though, she is required to campaign only for one year, she wants to continue for ever sincerely. 

Anna Hazare and Kiran Bedi have inspired her.  Sushmita Sen is her role model for beauty pageants.  She is working as a Software Engineer in a Multinational Company.  She is also a popular Oddisi dancer. 

“I want myself to be validated at International level.  I will brave all challenges to achieve”, concluded Mrs Deepali with beaming confidence.

She can be reached at sendyouremail2me@gmail.com  .