How this farmer's daughter from Karnataka won an international fashion pageant

Meet Snehal Rajendra Birje, the daughter of a farmer who just won the title Miss World Super Model-2019 at a beauty pageant in Thailand.  Snehal is currently a first-year MBA student at the SDM-CET MBA college in Dharwad. Snehal, who wants to complete her MBA and later enter the film industry says, "There has been great support from my parents and college. In fact, my father Rajendra Birje, who works as a farmer, got a dress stitched for me with a peacock theme. I wore it for one of the rounds in this contest and the judges were impressed by the dress."  

On November 16, she clinched the crown at an event in Bangkok. Originally from the town of Belagavi, her family has always been into agriculture, but was financially sound, "I was interested in modelling and fashion industry from the time I turned 18. I did some auditions in Mangaluru for this beauty contest and got selected for the final round to represent India. There were five other models from different parts of the country who also got a chance to walk the ramp in this contest."

To learn the grooming, language skills and presentation skills needed, she came to Bengaluru to get trained in modelling at an agency called Silver Star India. "I was there for five months and was trained in walking on the ramp, having the right expressions and how to introduce myself. The training has helped me to be where I am today," she accedes.

When we asked Snehal about what other small town girls should keep in mind while participating in fashion contests, she says, "There are five things which I followed when I participated in the contest. One should be patient to learn skills when you are in the fashion industry. Focus on one task at a time. If you focus on two tasks, then you cannot achieve anything. Don't lend your ears to rumours but educate yourself about what's happening and styles in the fashion industry. Even if you eat little, eat healthy and sleep for a good amount of time. Learn to interact with people and express your opinion."

Prior to this, she won four titles which include Miss World Supermodel Asia, Miss World Supermodel Winner and Miss Congeniality Thailand and  Miss Maharashtra.