Manya's inspirational story of childhood struggle and being an autorickshaw driver's daughter to landing the coveted crown, took the internet by storm
Manya Singh, Miss India 2020 runner-up recently made headlines after her inspiring life-story came to light.
The Femina Miss India 2020 beauty pageant held on February 10, 2021, was judged by an eminent jury that comprised Falguni Shane Peacock, Neha Dhupia, Chitrangada Singh and Pulkit Samrat all of whom unanimous decided to crown Manasa Varanasi as Miss India World 2020. While Manika Sheokand became Miss Grand India 2020, Manya Singh went on to become Miss India 2020 runner-up.
And while Manasa gained all the spotlight in the media for winning the title and rightly so, the runner-up, Manya Singh's inspirational story of childhood struggle and being an autorickshaw driver's daughter to landing the coveted crown, took the internet by storm.
And now, pictures of Manya arriving in a rickshaw with her family for a felicitation ceremony at her college, Thakur College of Science and Commerce, on Tuesday, is going viral on the web.
Take a look at some of the photos and videos of Manya feeling proud of her humble background and calming her emotional parents who whose eyes are welled up with happy tears.
1. Manya Singh arrives in autorickshaw with parents
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Hailing from a humble background, Manya Omprakash Singh was born in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh and has a younger brother. Now, days after she won the prestigious crown of Miss India 2020 runner-up, she arrived at her college in Mumbai in her dad's autorickshaw, dressed in a black dazzling outfit, sporting her shimmering crown and sashay.
2. Manya Singh: Proud of her humble beginnings
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Daughter of an auto-rickshaw driver, Manya is extremely proud of her background even though it brought her many a difficult time including going without food or sleep and walking miles just to save a few rupees. When she arrived at the felicitation ceremony at her college in Mumbai, she made sure she stepped out of the autorickshaw that her father was driving and posed with it.
3. Manya Singh shares a poignant moment with her parents
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On Tuesday, as Manya Singh parents chaperoned her to her college for her homecoming, she touched her mother's feet for blessings and wiped off happy tears that rolled down from her proud father's cheeks, as she shared a poignant moment with them.
4. How Manya Singh came to the 'city of dreams'
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In a recent interview with Humans of Bombay, Manya shared her inspirational story. She said, At 14, I boarded the train from my village & left for Mumbai to pursue my dreams, all by myself. I didn’t know where it would lead me, but I knew I was meant to achieve great things. When I walked out of the station, Pizza Hut was the first place I saw–I somehow got myself a part-time job there & temporary accommodation. 2 days later, when I called Papa, he started crying. But I reassured him, ‘This is where I belong.’ So the next day, both my parents came to Mumbai."
5. Manya Singh fought patriarchy to pursue her dreams
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In her interview with Humans of Bombay, Manya further added, "I was 15 when I watched the Miss India Pageant for the first time–I thought, 'I'm going to win that crown someday & make Papa proud.' But coming from a patriarchal family, I was told that women are lesser than men. Tauji would say, ‘Ladkiyon ko padhai karke bhi shaadi hi karni padti hai.' But when I told Papa, 'I want to compete for a beauty pageant', he said, 'Keep working hard & you’ll get there!’ So during my graduation, I auditioned for over 10 pageants, but they'd say, 'Shakal achi nahi hai’ or ‘You don’t even know English' Things weren’t easy at home either–Papa had mortgaged our jewellery to pay my fees. So if I’d need money to buy clothes, I’d mop the floor at the pizza place. There, I observed how people carried themselves & in college, I’d observe how my friends spoke English."
6. Manya Singh to gift parents a home
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She revealed in her interview with Humans of Bombay that she would buy her parents home. "Now, I finally have the chance to give my parents everything; I’m going to start by buying them a home. They’ve supported me relentlessly. Papa believed in a 14-year-old’s frivolous dream of making it big in the city. He believed in me…& that’s why,today,a rickshaw driver’s daughter is standing with a crown on her head," Manys said.
