Divya Barange
- A Brief about yourself and how you describe your own personality and persona.
I am a learner, a believer, a person who sees every challenge as an opportunity to learn and grow. I believe it’s the child in you who always keeps you motivated to travel uncharted territories. My creativity is the biggest asset in my professional life as a Product manager. I imbibed creativity from my mother and have cultivated it to win various personal awards in Singing, Painting, Rangoli, Mehandi, etc and various professional awards. Being on stage feels home to me – I have won beauty pageants at school & college level, have performed on various occasions. My family is my biggest support system, I have been brought up in a very humble environment in a middle-class family where the virtues of integrity, humility and hard work have always been valued, taught and inculcated in me. Coming from a society where a lot of people do not associate a girl with higher education, my parents have always supported me to get the best of the education I wanted. I am the first girl in my family to get into one of India’s most prestigious institutions IIT Bombay for education. And that has helped me become a strong, independent and confident person.
- Your Achievements that makes you feel high.
Different achievements at different phases of my life have given me a sense of accomplishment - Being recognized for creativity and winning various awards across art forms along with winning Ms. Carmel at School; winning Ms. Fresher and Ms. PG at College are some great moments. But for me, the biggest achievement was to get into IIT Bombay as it propelled many girls in my family to dream big and work hard to achieve them by fighting all odds.
- Define the true beauty.
The perception of beauty varies from person to person. For me, true beauty is a reflection of a humble heart, caring nature and respectful attitude towards others. As I perceive it - true beauty lies in the inner conscience rather than physical attributes.
- What makes a complete, healthy and happy family for you?
I believe a complete, healthy and happy family is one that is tied by strong threads of love and care. A family where members support each other out of love and not because of any selfish motives. A complete family is one that celebrates together and stays bonded in the thick and thin of life. I am extremely lucky to be born in a family which has been extremely supportive and has constantly absorbed pressure from society at large so that I could achieve my dreams. I am also fortunate to be married in a family where I am treated like a daughter and not a daughter in law. I feel I am the luckiest girl in the world in this respect.
- What is your favorite Idea of Holidaying?
I have travelled to nearly 10 countries so far and with certainty, I can say that the perfect idea for holidaying for me is to spend time with my family as I currently stay away from them for work. For me, my family constitutes of a close-knit of people including parents, husband, parent-in laws, grandparents, sister, uncle and aunt. Going back home, calling them all to one place and having a gala time singing, cooking together is the best idea of a holiday for me.
- Why you are participating in Mrs India Earth?
I strongly believe that more than anything else setting positive examples brings the highest degree of change in community and society at large. For eg: Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza’s success at the highest level has motivated so many young girls and their parents to take up women's sport seriously as a profession. I have also been successful in setting a small example in my family by going to IIT Bombay for higher education and have seen a small wave of change in mindset of parents and now can see more and more girls opting for higher education which was not the case earlier. I believe by winning this prestigious pageant I will be able to set a much bigger and larger example for all women to make them believe in the power of dreams. I have been working for social causes at a small scale at personal and corporate level and believe that I can enhance and multiply the impact and reach of my efforts and dream through the global platform that this pageant can provide me.
- What bothers you most about what is happening in the country today?
I am extremely bothered about the accessibility of education to the underprivileged section of society especially young girls brimming with talent and promise for the future. I think India has accessibility issues because of both mindset and infrastructure. News of global warming, increased rate of melting of glaciers, changing of season cycles (I am personally experiencing the same in Bengaluru), in a nutshell, environmental issues bother me a lot. What is worrisome is that most of the countries and people know of extremely necessary steps that need to be taken to control this massive issue but nobody does it. Taking small steps of not using plastics, reduced usage of ACs, preventing wastage of water, high use of renewable sources of energy – everybody knows can help but no one bothers.
- The Quote or saying that encourages you?
‘Anything that doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’. This quote has always pushed me to try harder and achieve my goals. I believe that everything in this world is achievable if you set your eyes and mind to it. It’s just that you have to try. If you do not try, you have already lost your dreams, but if you do try, chances are you are going to live them. Even if you don’t succeed, you will learn from your journey.
- What is true “Sportsmanship” for you?
A person who is fair, ethical, patient and humble in any situation that life throws, according to me is a true sportsman. I believe true sportsmanship is not restricted to a game or a field. It is a virtue that a person displays in every aspect of his/her life. You cannot win every day. But how you conduct yourself at times of failure shows your true character. A true sportsman accepts failure with dignity, the good work done by the winners and moves on with his learning to win the next challenge.
- If you were selected as a Charity Ambassador what Value addition would you like to make for our Society and how?
I dream to create a conducive environment, for all the girls so that they can get the best of education and fulfill their dreams. I would like to dedicate myself to the cause of girl's education. To bring in change I will be working on 2 pronged strategies a.) Setting an Example - It will be a privilege to win this competition. After winning this, my priority will be to reach out to as many people as possible. I will be ready to cover the length and breadth of the country to create awareness regarding girl child education. I think my interactions at various platforms (physical & virtual) will help in setting a positive example to inspire young girls, parents and other stakeholders. I would do this by collaborating with some top NGOs who are working in this field. b.) Fundraising - I intend to actively work with corporates, as all big corporates have a mandatory CSR budget which they need to invest in social initiatives. I would like to act as a bridge between corporations and NGOs working for this cause.
