At an age when most children are busy playing games or watching toons on TV, eight-year-old Ayanansh Mohanty has won the Little Mister Galaxy title at an international children’s beauty and talent pageant. The Class IV student of Sai International School, Bhubaneswar represented India in the Little Miss and Mister Galaxy-2019 in Bulgaria. Orissa POST caught up with Ayanansh and his parents to find out more.
The only child of Meetu and Samarjit Mohanty, this was the first time that Ayanansh had participated in an international event. But his lack of stage fright and amazing acting skills impressed the jury members. He went on to win the title in the boys’ category.
It was Ayanansh’s mother Meetu Mohanty who first spotted his talent. “He had absolutely no inhibitions when he posed before a camera as a little kid. I was amazed by his confidence and great presentation style when he got an opportunity to anchor a school programme. The teachers and parents who were present on the occasion were also surprised by his confidence level and performance. Then I realised that Ayanansh is a rare talent who needed to be handled carefully. He had a lot of interest in modelling, so I supported him to the best of my ability,” she says.
Meetu says she is grateful to one of her friends who suggested that she take her son for the Galaxy pageant. At first when Ayanansh’s parents took him to a professional photographer, the lensman was surprised by the young boy’s expressions and uninhibited style.
“It was a proud moment for us when he went to Bulgaria to represent India in the event Little Miss and Mister Galaxy-2019. The event was held from March17-23. Ayanansh donned different kinds of Indian attire for the event and caught the attention of the jury members. In the semifinal round, he donned the garb of Lord Krishna and, in the final round, he did Shiv Tandav. His performance in every getup left the jury members spellbound. We never expected such a good performance from him on such a big stage as he was participating for the first time,” adds Meetu.
Asked about the pageant, the eight-year-old says, “I feel extremely proud to represent India, a land rich in wisdom, diverse cultural heritage and spiritual tradition.”
Apart from modelling, Ayanansh participates in several other extracurricular activities. He enjoys acting, dancing, drawing, skating, singing and swimming.
“I enjoy paragliding too. I am learning to play the piano and violin in my leisure hours. Besides, I love to watch movies, read story books and spend time with nature. I am also fond of pets and find travel exciting. When I grow up, I want to be a designer in a technological field because that’s a great way to unleash your creativity,” adds Ayanansh.
A brilliant student, Ayanansh is very popular among his friends and teachers in the school, say his parents. He has a questioning mind and always wants to know more about modern technology. He prefers to surf the Internet to gain more knowledge on technology to watching television, they add.
“He is very young but is managing himself well. We are proud of him and expect that his future achievements will make the state and country proud too,” say Meetu and Samarjit.
BRATATI BARAL, OP
