It’s always a great feeling when fellow Indians shatter glass ceilings globally. For instance, a Himachal-origin man was recently elected as a member of the New Zealand Parliament. And, now, an Indian-origin Australian resident, Maria Thattil, has won the Miss Universe Australia 2020!
In the first-ever virtual pageant event of Australia, Thattil was crowned as the 16th Miss Universe Australia. She replaced the 2019 winner, India-born Priya Serrao. The 27-year-old, who is born and raised in Melbourne, was ecstatic about her win. She was quoted saying by News18,
“We had just come out of the lockdown in Melbourne and the finals which were scheduled to be held online, at the last minute, were allowed to be held in person in Melbourne.”
Speaking about the lockdown and her subsequent win, she added,
“There was just so much energy in the room after spending over 100 days in lockdown. We had so much going on. I was thrilled to be meeting the other girls and being with them and finally when my name was called out, to be honest, I was in a daze. I remember everyone surrounding me and giving me a hug and shouting that I had won.”
Thattil’s father is originally from Kerala, and her mother is from Kolkata and the couple had immigrated to Australia. The proud winner mentioned how she had visited India only once in 2001 but her upbringing was very Indian.
She was quoted saying by the New Indian Express,
“I grew up in a Western environment, where I felt a strong need to fit in with my peers at school. I went through a phase during my teenage and early 20s, where I tried hard to mask elements from my culture to fit in. This, however, spiraled into a vortex of self-rejection.”
Eventually, she started embracing her identity. She said, “I started to just be who I am — an Indian Australian woman whose culture is a blend of both Eastern and Western ideals.”
Further, speaking about her win and if she faced any discrimination, Thattil added, “I recall being asked throughout my participation as a finalist if I thought that my chances of winning would be hurt by the fact that the reigning Miss Universe Australia at the time was Indian too. To me, that seemed like the words of a society quick to put people in boxes of gender and ethnicity, because stereotypes are understood better than individual differences.”
Well, it’s always nice to be connected to your roots and culture. Congratulations to the talented lady!