Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Sushmita Sen
I read this article in Reader's Digest a few days ago about 1994's Miss Universe, Sushmita Sen.
I really had no intentions of reading the article, but seeing a photo caption of Dayanara Torres crowning her as the 1994 Miss Universe, I thought it was worth reading a few lines.
Needless to say, I find her life to be pretty interesting...and inspiring. Winning a prestigious title at an early age, yet keep her feet on the ground; inspiring other women through her work; fighting for the adoption of a special child and getting it despite her unconventional lifestyle; raising a supposedly-mentally-challenged child into one brilliant-witty-multilingual person.
Here are a few lines from her interview with Reader's Digest:
On her life after winning the Miss Universe...
SS: Oh God, that year! I went to 33 countries. I was often a state guest. I would sign in books in which I would see the signatures of Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi. I was living a dream.
In my first appearance in Acapulco, Mexico, I was sitting at the head of a huge table with Barbara, my travel manager, and the tourism minister, the health minister and other big shots. I was starving and these people were just going on talking to each other. So I turned to Barbara and said, "Please can we just go to the loo and eat something? I can't take this any more." She smiled and said, "You're the guest of honour. Till you touch fork to plate they can't. I am sure they are very hungry too!"
On being beautiful..
SS: Beauty for me is not something you can see. It's what you can't see. Beauty is the fabulous looking cover that attracts your attention to a book. But it's the material that holds your attention or you put the book down no matter how good the cover. I have always believed the book inside me is far more beautiful.
On her unconventional lifestyle...
SS: But there is no other way to be! My life is unique to myself. There is no handbook for living; the only thing that you have got is your own sense of rhythm. But you have to live your life in a way that doesn't damage anybody else.
On choosing which child to adopt...
SS: I called out "Renee" to the babies they showed me and the one that reacted was her.
On fighting for the baby's adoption...
SS: A baby between six to eight months old, healthy and happy, and female. Those were the only requirements. She didn't have to look like me, she could be fairer, darker. . . But they'd made a mistake when they brought this child out because she was not fit for adoption. Her head circumference was not that of a six-month-old baby because she'd been pumped with an immense amount of antibiotics. They'd predicted that within a year she would be mentally disabled. So they said, "We cannot give you this baby."
I threw the biggest fit. I said, "I have just made a connection with this child. I can't leave her here." So I went to Nanavati Hospital, and took a few paediatricians back to the orphanage.
They said she's not fit. So I went to a friend of mine who was also a paediatrician and said nobody will let me have this baby until I get a clear certificate saying there is hope. So he checked the baby and her reactions and said, "There's always hope. But she needs to spend time with lots of intelligent people who constantly talk to her to keep her mind ticking." The orphanage gave up and gave me the baby under foster care.
On raising her child despite the baby's condition and her hectic schedule...
SS: There were always people around to satisfy her psychological and educational needs. The standard rule was that when she woke up everybody would chat with her non-stop. She picked up languages because everybody was constantly talking to her. She speaks fluent Marathi because of the daima. She speaks fluent English because of all of us. She also speaks fluent Bengali and fluent Tamil.
-------
SS: We are going to play opposites, Renee. What is the opposite of shy?
Renee: Flamboyant.
SS: What is biological?
Renee: Boring. Because everybody's born from the stomach.
SS: And what is the opposite of biological?
Renee: Adopted. And adopted is special — it's born from the heart. I am adopted and I am special.
-----
SS: My mother is scared that when I have biological children, they will feel good for nothing because their elder sister will say, "Aah, you're so boring!"
Read the full article HERE.
I really had no intentions of reading the article, but seeing a photo caption of Dayanara Torres crowning her as the 1994 Miss Universe, I thought it was worth reading a few lines.
Needless to say, I find her life to be pretty interesting...and inspiring. Winning a prestigious title at an early age, yet keep her feet on the ground; inspiring other women through her work; fighting for the adoption of a special child and getting it despite her unconventional lifestyle; raising a supposedly-mentally-challenged child into one brilliant-witty-multilingual person.
Here are a few lines from her interview with Reader's Digest:
On her life after winning the Miss Universe...
SS: Oh God, that year! I went to 33 countries. I was often a state guest. I would sign in books in which I would see the signatures of Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi. I was living a dream.
In my first appearance in Acapulco, Mexico, I was sitting at the head of a huge table with Barbara, my travel manager, and the tourism minister, the health minister and other big shots. I was starving and these people were just going on talking to each other. So I turned to Barbara and said, "Please can we just go to the loo and eat something? I can't take this any more." She smiled and said, "You're the guest of honour. Till you touch fork to plate they can't. I am sure they are very hungry too!"
On being beautiful..
SS: Beauty for me is not something you can see. It's what you can't see. Beauty is the fabulous looking cover that attracts your attention to a book. But it's the material that holds your attention or you put the book down no matter how good the cover. I have always believed the book inside me is far more beautiful.
On her unconventional lifestyle...
SS: But there is no other way to be! My life is unique to myself. There is no handbook for living; the only thing that you have got is your own sense of rhythm. But you have to live your life in a way that doesn't damage anybody else.
On choosing which child to adopt...
SS: I called out "Renee" to the babies they showed me and the one that reacted was her.
On fighting for the baby's adoption...
SS: A baby between six to eight months old, healthy and happy, and female. Those were the only requirements. She didn't have to look like me, she could be fairer, darker. . . But they'd made a mistake when they brought this child out because she was not fit for adoption. Her head circumference was not that of a six-month-old baby because she'd been pumped with an immense amount of antibiotics. They'd predicted that within a year she would be mentally disabled. So they said, "We cannot give you this baby."
I threw the biggest fit. I said, "I have just made a connection with this child. I can't leave her here." So I went to Nanavati Hospital, and took a few paediatricians back to the orphanage.
They said she's not fit. So I went to a friend of mine who was also a paediatrician and said nobody will let me have this baby until I get a clear certificate saying there is hope. So he checked the baby and her reactions and said, "There's always hope. But she needs to spend time with lots of intelligent people who constantly talk to her to keep her mind ticking." The orphanage gave up and gave me the baby under foster care.
On raising her child despite the baby's condition and her hectic schedule...
SS: There were always people around to satisfy her psychological and educational needs. The standard rule was that when she woke up everybody would chat with her non-stop. She picked up languages because everybody was constantly talking to her. She speaks fluent Marathi because of the daima. She speaks fluent English because of all of us. She also speaks fluent Bengali and fluent Tamil.
-------
SS: We are going to play opposites, Renee. What is the opposite of shy?
Renee: Flamboyant.
SS: What is biological?
Renee: Boring. Because everybody's born from the stomach.
SS: And what is the opposite of biological?
Renee: Adopted. And adopted is special — it's born from the heart. I am adopted and I am special.
-----
SS: My mother is scared that when I have biological children, they will feel good for nothing because their elder sister will say, "Aah, you're so boring!"
Read the full article HERE.
Comments:
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Lies! All lies! My sources told me that Sushmita was an uber snob diva when she was here in the country during the pageant. Oh well, that was more than a decade ago. Maybe she's changed for the better. Anyway, seeing her name again reminds me of the good ol' days of ABS-CBN. When they were given the chance to cover the event and when they still had no competitive battles with other networks. Hehe...
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