Priya Bhargava Miss India Wheelchair – Women Breaking Stereotypes

How do you define a great woman ? Is strength only a physical thing?

I think real strength is not of the body but of your spirit and Priya is one such strong woman. The first thing you’ll notice about her is how pretty and happy this girl is, for the record. She was crowned Miss India Wheel Chair and that’s just one part of her strong personality.

She’s basically an educationist, and is pursuing it for more than 10 yrs. She had started teaching students after finishing her 12th standard education. You need to check her Youtube Channel for some awesome Maths Tutorials.

She had taken 1 yr drop to prepare for Pre Medical entrance test. Besides preparing for it, She had started earning my pocket money by teaching neighborhood students. Not because, She needed money( both her parents were central govt employees) but the lesson She got from her English teacher in school days Mrs George. She had visited USA those days on a education tour and she used to tell her that, in USA teenagers starts earning which enhances their self confidence and sense of independence. This thought was always there in her mind and so, she started pursuing it as soon as she got the opportunity to do so. She is happy to share that, She is still doing it and somewhere this job of teaching has helped me a lot in surviving all odds of her life.

Please share your experience of Miss Wheelchair India Contest (MWI)

Winning ! it happened accidentally. I had never ever dreamt of taking part in beauty contest due to various reasons.

1.  I am only 5’2″ in height.
2.  I had always been in the field of education and knowledge.glamour, i never thought was my cup of tea.
3. I had stage phobia. ( had to train myself before MWI event, had sleepless nights due to it).
4. My illness ( lupus) has damaged most part my skin and caused dramatic hair loss. Not only this, I have memory cloud issue and episodes of depression. But the good thing is , I am confident about my intelligence.

I participated in MWI because I love exploring new things. I had finished my MCA in june 2014 and topped in my regional centre. ( winning is my habit..hehe). Once I decide to do something, I dedicate myself fully into it, no matter what. Later in this year of 2014, I went to USA and I missed the date of MWI enrollment {I was informed and asked  by Prof Prabhat Ranjansir ( Executive director TIFAC and works for disables) to participate, sometimes other people can see in us what we can’t see in ourselves} though I was reluctant to participate due to above mentioned factors, I used this as an excuse…hahaha. In 2015, one day I was feeling extremely depress due to lupus and was discussing this issue with Prabhat sir. He told me on that day to participate, and in the fit of frustration, I sent my pics and resume to MWI organisation. Rest is the history.

What all challenges did you face in realising your dreams, who became your backbone in times of a fall ?

There were many challenges,

1. My disease management is itself a big challenge. As I have transverse myelitis along with lupus. Being incontinent, I had to keep myself  completely hungry and thirsty during the day of contest. My problem of incontinence is unmanageable. Have to prepare myself 2 days before I leave home. As i have partial sensitivity below waist , I feel the pain and pressure but no control. I remember , how I have managed to give exams of my BCA and MCA as there were sometimes gaps of only 1 day. Still I had finished my exam bearing all that pain of bowel movement ( unfortunately, my exam centre did not have western commode). My hands used to tremble still I continued writing, commanding my brain…lets die but don’t leave the paper.
2. My biggest dream was to become a doctor. That I couldn’t realise due to the diagnosis of  lupus in the 1st prof of  physiotherapy course and within a year, I got bed ridden. I had to discontinue another professional course( Diploma in Nutrition and Health education) in which I enrolled after the little recovery. I believe, these two failures made me so determined that I finished my BCA and MCA education with flying colours by topping in regional centre NOIDA. Besides studying BCA and MCA, I used to teach students from 3-8 pm in the evening. In vacations , I used to spend time doing paintings , selling them and teaching art as well.
3. Preparing for MWI, I underwent intense training of 6 months by my own. Being an army child, I know all about discipline and somewhere, most army kids are already disciplined. I read competition success magazine, watched all Miss World, Miss Universe and Miss India contests in YouTube. Worked over my diet , stopped all junks, reduced carbs, reduced intake of sugar and salts( white poisons), tried to sleep 6-8 hrs strictly. Practised speech by recording videos and in front of mirror . Went to one institute ( thanks to M S Rana sir) to overcome stage phobia.

My backbone are my parents. I know, I am a troubling child, I hurt them a lot. I call myself ..” a terrorist” hahaha. They bear me always, no matter how bad I behave when I am frustrated. Though , I try not to do so.

What message would you like to give to other women out there trying to make their own dreams come true ?

I would like to tell every woman that NEVER EVER COMPROMISE. Those who are yours would never ask you to compromise and those who are yours would support you no matter what. Don’t ever think that you are weak. You are what you think you are. You are just one step behind your success. Always dare to realise your dreams. Dying in satisfaction that you did, is much much more better than dying daily thinking that you never tried and left things in the middle. Always come out of your comfort zone. Life is much better out there. Stand for yourself. Trust your instincts.

Thank you Priya ! We salute your spirit and wish you all the best for future en-devours <3