SHABIHA NUR KHATOON, OP
Class VIII student Lavanya Das excels in every field and has earned laurels for her achievements
There was a time when only women used to take part in beauty pageants but today the scenario is different. Even kids are taking part in beauty pageants. The beauty pageants aim at teaching kids that looking pretty will get them farther in life than things like intelligence or personality. Orissa POST met one such beauty, Lavanya Das, who recently bagged the title of Pre Teen International 2017, held at Kochi, Kerala.
Lavanya, a Class VIII student of DAV Public School, was born and brought in Bhubaneswar. She is the lone contestant from Orissa to represent India, among 10 Indians of different age groups. She competed with 20 more contestants who hailed from UAE, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, Nepal, England and Sri Lanka. She showcased her talents in different rounds like national costume, night of the nation, talent round and sports round in which she left behind other co-contestants and also won the Miss Best Personality and Miss Best Introduction among 30 contestants.
Speaking to Orissa POST Lavanya’s mother, Lipika Das expressed her happiness, saying: “She made Orissa and India proud, as she put forth the vibrant culture and tradition and immensely rich heritage, not only of Orissa but of India as a whole. Since Class I, Lavanya used to participate in fashion shows and she won prizes too.”
Describing her excitement of taking part in the beauty pageant, she quipped: “When I was told that I would represent my state in the Pre Teen International I was happy and it was really a proud moment when I got the opportunity to represent my state or country on a platform like this. I really feel happy.”
The Class VIII student bagged her first title when she was in Class III at a state-level fashion event. She has taken part in many district-level events and has never let her parents and teachers down by winning awards.
Besides taking part in beauty pageants, Lavanya has also enrolled herself in Odissi. She is taking training from Janmejay Mohanty, teacher at Blue Light Dance studio, where she is taking Odissi classes and has performed in many cultural shows,” informed Lipika.
Lavanya is a not only a winner in extra-curricular activities she is an all-rounder, said her parents. Last year, the beauty pageant holder received the title of ‘Most Outstanding Student’.
Lavanya is thankful to her teachers and gurus who have helped her reach the position that she has today. “I am thankful to my teacher and parents for all their contributions and support all through. I am also happy to be associated with Asit sir. He is the organiser of children’s competitions at Swagatika where I took part in my first national level fashion show,” she adds.
Lavanya’s mother also reveals another talent of her daughter – she is a good orator. She has taken part in many debate competitions both at the state and national levels. Also, the wonder kid managed to bag the first position in an all-India online essay competition organised by CBSE.
