Miss India Finalist Aishwarya Sheoran Ranks 93 In UPSC And Is Now Set To Become An IAS Officer
niharika nayakBA (Media & Communication) Experience: 4 yearsNiharika has a passion for all things art, music, and travel and has over 4 years of experience in writing for social media. During her spare time, she likes experimenting in the kitchen, playing vide... more
Image: Source: Times Of India
Banner Image Credits: Times Of India
If there is one thing that can be said about Indian women, it’s that they are both beautiful and highly intelligent. We come from a culture where education is often given preferential status over extracurricular activities. When it comes to pageants, people are often under the misconception that all you need to enter and win one is beauty and height. However, there are many past Indian pageant winners like Priyanka Chopra, Sushmita Sen, and others who prove that confidence and personality matter too. Yes, many pageant contestants are highly educated and many pursue modeling on the side while studying or working. Let’s take a look at one such pageant finalist who proves that beauty does come with brains:
Breaking Stereotypes
Aishwarya Sheoran is a Miss India finalist and pageant contestant. She ranked 93 in the All-India Civil Service Exams. This makes Aishwarya eligible to be an IAS officer. The results for the exam were released on the 4th of August and the news had been shared by Femina Miss India’s official Twitter account. They wrote, “Aishwarya Sheoran, Femina Miss India 2016 finalist, Campus Princess Delhi 2016, Freshface winner Delhi 2015 made us immensely proud as she scored the All India Rank 93 in the Civil Services Examination. A huge congratulations to her on this achievement!”
To be a model while studying is no easy feat. While many might assume that modeling just involves you wearing clothes and posing or strutting, there is much more to it than just that. In modeling pageants, contestants are not just asked to model clothes, but they have to be aware of current events and many other categories. During the final round, many models are asked tough make-or-break questions that will determine whether they continue on the pageant or not. Not only do they have to keep fit, but they also have to stay active on social media pages in order to gain a fan following and votes from people.
Switching off from social media and other modeling related activities helped Aishwarya focus on her academics. In an interview with a leading newspaper, she said, “I thought that since I had always been good at academics, I should maybe take a break for a year or two and give civil services a try because it had always been my dream. I had to switch off my phone, social media, everything, to focus on the exam and the result is here.”
A Dream Come True
For Aishwarya, although her modeling career was important, she decided she also wanted to appear for the UPSC exam to fulfill another dream of hers. The stunning newcomer has walked the ramp and modeled for major brands and fashion weeks from Lakme Fashion Week to designer Manish Malhotra and Amazon Fashion Week. Coming from an army background, Aishwarya had always dreamed of serving her country. Her father Colonel Ajay Kumar serves as an army man. However, destiny had other plans for Aishwarya and she set her mind on being a civil servant instead.
Many people have praised Aishwarya for breaking the stereotype and proving that beauty and brains do not have to be mutually exclusive. She was commended by another woman IAS officer who shared the news on her Twitter and praised the model for her outstanding performance. In an interview, Aishwarya has spoken about how when she was a kid she was always studious and never slacked off as such. However, as she grew older she found out that she had a passion for modeling. She stated that rather than discouraging her and pushing her towards academics, her parents encouraged her to participate in extracurricular activities. She stated that although she was modeling while she was in college, her friends never treated her any differently. She had credited her college for encouraging the students to get out of their comfort zone and try new things.
Why Should Models Be Airheads?
Models being airheads is as ridiculous a stereotype as calling all blonde women dumb. It is born to put down beautiful and intelligent women and pit “model-types” against non-models. There are many models around the globe that are crushing the negative “bimbo” stereotype. Ex-Victoria’s Secret Model, Karlie Kloss, stunned many when she revealed that her greatest passion in life is coding. The talented young model has been encouraging many other women to step into STEM roles and take up traditionally masculine jobs like coding and other computer-related studies.
She has also offered many underprivileged young girls scholarships to universities so that they can pursue their dreams of coding. She had even started a coding camp called Kode with Karlie that helps women hone their interests in coding. This goes to show that models can not only be highly intelligent but can use their power and standing in society to help those who cannot afford the same privileges as them. Aishwarya graduated with an Honor in Economics from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) and it was after that, that she decided to pursue her lifelong dream of being a civil services officer. Do tell us your thoughts in the comment section below. Are you impressed with Aishwarya’s achievement? Do you think we should get rid of these stupid “models are dumb” stereotype once and for all?
