VLCC Femina Miss Grand India 2020 Manika Sheokand returns to a grand homecoming in Chandigarh

VLCC Femina Miss Grand India 2020

Manika Sheokand returned to Chandigarh in a grand homecoming ceremony on Tuesday after winning the title in Mumbai. Resplendent in the tiara perched delicately on her, Manika, who hails from Haryana, was greeted traditionally and taken home in a procession to Panchkula. Many people visited her home to congratulate her.

‘CHANDIGARH IS JANMBHOOMI, Delhi NCR IS KARMBHOOMI’While Chandigarh is her birthplace, Delhi NCR is karmbhoomi. “Soon after my studies in Chandigarh (schooling from KBDAV-7 and chemical engineering and MBA from UICET, Panjab University), I started working in Noida. Two years there made me explore modelling. So, both Chandigarh and Delhi had a vital role in my career,” she says, adding, "My love for both these places is equal."

‘DAD WISHED ME LUCK WHEN I QUIT MY JOB’Manika, whose father Surajmal Sheokand is a retired banker, told her other family members about modelling, but disclosed this to her dad two months later. “I was at my mamu’s place in Gurgaon when I broke the news. To my surprise dad only said ‘all the best’. He was very supportive.” Manika has also imbibed habits of fitness from him. "He has told us (to me and my siblings) some hidden benefits of a morning walk in detail. So, even till today I make it a point to get up early and go for a jog. I have been doing it regularly since the age of five."

‘TIARA; REMINDER OF RESPONSIBILITY’ “I am preparing for Miss Grand (International) pageant. Nothing has changed for me. But the crown reminds me that I have a huge responsibility to make India proud on the international platform."

‘ADOPT BIODEGRADABLE PADS, GIRLS’Among issues Manika wants to champion as a VLCC Femina Miss India is a crusade for environment. "Climate change needs to be addressed soon,” she said, adding, “The shift from coal to other renewable energy is taking time. We need to quickly think of steps to decarbonise the environment, cut in emissions and increase carbon-negative construction.” She adds, “I want to promote sanitary pads, which are not harmful for environment. Plastic pads are harmful. I want to work on creating them from banana pulp or cotton.”