Former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen opened up about her answer in the final round and said that she ‘didn’t know that much English back in the day’ and doesn’t know how she understood the question.
In the last round, Sushmita was asked, “What for you is the essence of being a woman?” She had replied, “Just being a woman is a gift of God that all of us must appreciate. The origin of a child is a mother, who is a woman. She shows a man what caring, sharing and loving is all about. That’s the essence of being a woman."
Sushmita recently gave an interview to a student at her daughter Alisah’s school for their school magazine. Talking about the last round, she said, “You know what I loved about that question and that answer as I've looked back at it for so many years is that they never asked what are the qualities of a woman or the attributes of a woman. They said, what is the essence of a woman?” Hindustan Times reported.
“And I was from a Hindi medium school, so I did not know that much English back in the day. I don't know how I understood what essence meant and answered that question with such clarity and such experience, even though I lacked it 18, I think God sat on my tongue and said, let this be said because this is how you will choose to live your life. I stated that being born a woman is a great gift of God. I stand by that,” Sushmita Sen added.
Sushmita Sen shared the magazine’s cover on Instagram and called it her ‘favourite interview’. She wrote, “I proudly present to you my favourite interview!! This is done for Alisah’s School Magazine by the students of the Editorial club. I was interviewed by a well spoken, superrrr cute grade six student, Avni Pabreja. My hats off to their research, line of questioning & just the depth of their desire to learn!”
She added, “I spoke my heart out of course …and then followed the tedious process of transcripts! They braved that too!! I love the poem by Adam Attari…how magically he writes!! No wonder Children are my favourite people…they bring out such love, kindness, goodness & hope each time!! What a priviledge to be interviewed by them!”
When asked if she would change anything about her answer, the actor said, “I was from a Hindi medium school, so I did not know that much English back in the day. I don't know how I understood what essence meant and answered that question with such clarity and such experience, even though I lacked it 18, I think God sat on my tongue and said, let this be said because this is how you will choose to live your life. I stated that being born a woman is a great gift of God. I stand by that.”
“Nothing has changed on that front. To be born a woman is something. It’s a great gift of God and we must all appreciate it. Which is true because life always deserves appreciation. A woman is not only the womb from which life comes, so she's not only born to be a mother, but she's also here to share and show the world what loving, caring and sharing is all about.”Sushmita Sen
She further said, “There I spoke about showing it to a man. Why did I say that? It wasn't a romantic line. It was to say that a mother gives birth to a generation of women and men. So the kind of sons we raise is also a part of our essence. And this is how it was an all encompassing answer. And I look back at it and I say, ‘My God, truly it is powerful to be a woman’.”
“Would I add something? Today, after 28 years? If it would, it would be self discovery, a woman must not just have a journey on the outside. She must also discover who she is internally. That is the essence of a woman,” she said.
Sushmita Sen, in 1994, became the first Indian to win the Miss Universe crown. She was followed by Lara Dutta in 2000 and Harnaaz Sandhu in 2021.
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