Marriage was never a stumbling block for Raipur girl Shweta Tiwari who bagged the title of Mrs Asia International India 2014. A mother of two-year-old, Shweta believes that marriage is not the end of the road for women if you have the determination to chase your dreams and a strong self-belief.
Shweta, who was in the city recently to judge the Miss Vizag contest, spoke to MetroPlus about her journey. “Hailing from a small town like Raipur and making it to the international beauty contest where I represented India at Kuala Lumpur definitely means a lot to me. The regional level beauty pageants play a big role in giving the initial push to aspiring models from smaller towns. The pageants also help to break the conventional mindset of parents and families and become more open towards the field of modelling,” she says. Shweta is no newcomer to the modelling world. Her tryst with the modelling world began when she was 18 years old. Later she won the Miss AP title when she was pursuing her studies in Hyderabad and was also a winner of the Kingfisher Model Hunt. After a brief two years gap post marriage, she was back in the limelight walking the ramp. But it wasn’t a simple cake walk. “After marriage, there is definitely a struggle to strike the perfect balance between work and home. When I got married, I had to follow all the Indian traditions, culture and go through the whole process of impressing my family members. When contesting for this title I had to convince them. But I believe that every challenge can be tackled if you have the confidence in yourself and your family. My husband and my in-laws were fortunately supportive and that was a critical factor in my life,” she says.
Shweta goes on to explain how she had to cope with post-delivery fat. “After delivery, the media becomes unforgiving especially if you are in the glamour world of modelling. You are constantly judged. I had put on a lot of weight initially. Later, I started Kapalbhati exercise which helped to tone my body,” she adds.
While perceptions may have changed a bit with regard to married women in films or the modelling field, beauty here is still equated with youthfulness. And while the dreams are endless, youth doesn’t last that long. “It’s not that easy to fight societal perceptions of married women. Even today in the most progressive families, a woman has to look after the family expectations before she moves on with her career,” says Shweta. She says her husband’s support has been very important for her. “When I am travelling on my work commitments, he takes care of our baby, which is a big reassuring factor,” she adds. While winning the title does give her a certain high, she would like to concentrate on promoting herself as a professional and be associated with the field of modelling and grooming of talents.
