Women wear a lot of hats in their lifetime – their role as a daughter, as a wife, and finally as a mother – in some terms, they can be called as makers of society. But laden with all these responsibilities, most women can do little for their own expectations and passion. Mrs. India – Queen of Substance, felicitates married women in the age group of 18 to 50, where winners are considered on the basis of intelligence, compassion, social work, along with beauty and talent.
Mumbai based Alpaa Shah, the Founder of a design agency is winner of Mrs. India Face of West and Mrs. India Congeniality in Mrs. India Queen of Substance Pageant, 2021 contest. She was amongst the 30 finalists selected out of hundreds of applicants.
Sharing her experience at the pageant, Alpaa said, “I came across this pageant on social media – yes, I did hear about it in the past, but never thought of applying for it. But once shortlisted, I never looked back. It was a 3 day-long event; the training was quite fun and informative. On the final day, there were 4 rounds, namely Sports Round, Little Red Dress Round, Cultural Round, and Evening Gown Round. And we had the opportunity to interact and collaborate with industry’s leading grooming professionals, make-up artists, fitness experts, and celebrity judges.”
Alpaa stole the show in the “Traditional Round” with her portrayal of “Jhansi ki Rani – Laxmi Bai” representing women empowerment and the rich history of India.
Her story is quite an interesting one – and in her words, “a transformation from Jassi to Madonna”. She was born and brought up in a small village of Khamgaon in Maharashtra. After her marriage, she arrived at the city of dreams – Mumbai. Post marriage, way back in 2001, Alpaa opted for a 3-year, full-time degree in Commercial Arts from Raheja’s, which was not usual for married women to go to college those days.
Today, Alpaa is an established entrepreneur, heading her own Graphic design studio – Mouse Designs, where she helps businesses with branding and design thinking. Mouse Designs by Alpaa has been up and running for 15 years now.
Alpaa’s best half, Maanoj, a CA by background, runs 10 CFO, a strategy and finance firm that helps growing businesses. “In office, he may play with Excel sheets, but in life, he is quite the opposite – an outdoor personality, who loves being a fitness freak, adventurer, trekker, traveller and foodie,” said Alpaa.
Alpaa, as a person, not only watches dreams, but also works towards making them real. She is a versatile personality who loves adventure sports, experiential travels and regular spiritual trips. She relaxes with her favourite cartoon Tom and Jerry and Insta Reels.
Alpaa attributed this victory to her family and men at home. She added, “Our family’s core value is learning, sharing, and experimenting. Like my mother-in-law, aged 74, is learning Harmonium and Haveli sangeet, while I picked up French language – Level 4, and learned handwriting analysis. The men at our home don’t just support, but encourage us to do new things. And today, me being here, at this Women of Substance Pageant is a living example of our supportive family values.”
Mrs. India Queen of Substance was founded by Ritika and Vinay Yadawa, and this 2021 edition was hosted in Gurgaon city, Hyatt Regency on August 8, 2021. The pageant’s contestants are successful married women who strive to be self-confident, graceful, elegant, charismatic, and honorable in representation of India at home and abroad. This event was marked with the presence of dignitaries like Bollywood Actress Mahima Chaudhary, and Aman Verma, Former Mrs. India Queen Anshu Varshney, Mr. Ssameer (Music Director), Mr. Sudheer Aziz (Director AMD), among others.
