Miss Junior Teen Natasha Mahapatro of Indian Origin not Keen on Entering Glamour World
by Kay Dan - Exclusively for Daijiworld.com - Muscat
Muscat, Aug 24: Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown but in the case of Natasha Mahapatro, winning a beauty pageant and wearing the crown, are just part of her life as a student.
Meet Natasha Mahapatro, the winner of Miss Junior Teen America 2005, a sweet young lady exuding charm with her effervescent smile and an innocent face that behoves a 13-year-old girl.
Natasha, the daughter of Orissa immigrants, settled in Seattle Washington, is studying in the 9th grade and took part in the beauty contest as part of her scholarship programme.
But it took a lot of convincing, before her conservative parents allowed her to contest in the Miss Junior Teen America 2005 contest.
"We wanted Natasha to concentrate on her studies instead of pursuing glamour and beauty contests which were not part of our culture and upbringing," says Natasha's mother Sushmita. Natasha's father is a Microsoft engineer.
Natasha was the chosen one out of 34 other contestants and she came out on top in five criteria namely talents, interview, fitness, evening gown and modeling.
Members of the Muscat Oriya community who invited her to Oman to facilitate her on winning the Miss Junior Teen America 2005 crown say that it was her dancing talent that was the ultimate and decisive point that brought her the award.
However, at a time when every other girl in the neighbourhood would give their life to get into the glamour world, this 13-year-old svelte young lady wants to remain firmly committed to her studies and an ultimate aim of becoming a paediatrician.
A prolific dancer and an exponent of Bharatnatyam and Odissi, Natasha has won many accolades in the US for her talents which includes improvised dancing styles to the tunes of popular Bollywood filmi songs.
"I do not want to get into the glamour world. I just want to concentrate on my studies and become a doctor to take care of children," says Natasha speaking in a heavy American accent.
Natasha has won many accolades in dance, soccer and drama etc and is a very dedicated social worker serving in several community service projects.
She aspires to promote the ancient Indian classical dance forms such as Odissi and Bharatnatyam, while pursuing a career as a pediatrician.
Even though she was born and brought up in the US, Natasha loves all things Indian, be it Bollywood, Indian spicy curries or even its people.
"I love India very much and I travel to India with my parents most of the summers and I like to be with my relatives and cousins. I can speak about 80 per cent Oriya," says Natasha when asked about her Indian roots.
Truly, this reflects on her upbringing by her parents who have preserved the links to their Indian roots.
Community service is also one of the strong trait of Natasha. "I like baking. So I bake lots of items and take them to the day care centres where I help out with old people and other needy persons," she informs.
Natasha's other hobbies include music, reading and sports.
She has also been promoting and choreographing dances for adults (Indian and Americans) for special occasions such as Diwali, Holi, Independence Day functions etc in USA
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