Pushpa Gangwar

• Gurgaon

• A Brief about yourself and how you describe your own Personality and Persona.

I believe that a smile can change the world. I, Pushpa Gangwar, a supporting wife to a successful husband, a caring mother of two grown children and a passionate teacher by profession, have faith in the power of positivity. A responsible confident woman who was married at a very early age, carried out her responsibilities with utmost care and started teaching when her children were independent enough to take care of themselves. A fine arts graduate who paints and does pottery, can sing and dance, and loves to play badminton. A firm believer of the philosophy ‘ Live and let Live’, I believe in looking at the world with empathy.

• Your Achievements that makes you feel high.

My children are my biggest achievement and they make me feel high every day. They are confident, independent, successful, satisfied and most importantly, humble. I feel proud when they are respectful and caring towards elders. I feel proud when my son asks the guard ‘Aap kaise ho bhaiya’. I feel proud when my daughter gives hot bucket of water to the maid in winters when the geyser is not working. I feel proud when they tell me not to worry and assure me that they will manage everything when I am not well. And the list goes on and on…… Professionally being the first educator to the children, I teach them to read and write. I feel high when my old students' parents calls me to say thank you and tell that their child "loves to read because of you”. I feel high when my students call me to say that I am their favourite teacher and they miss me and my classes.

• Define the true beauty.

True beauty is the beauty of heart. Beauty lies in helping someone in need. Beauty is when you give away a thing even if it was important to you cause someone else needed it more. Beauty is in being respectful to all, when a boss asks a subordinate to sit while he is standing. Beauty is being there for your friends, when you call and tell your friend ‘don’t worry, I am there for you’. Beauty is when you give ‘off’ to your maid when it is her child’s birthday. Beauty is when a grandchild calls up his/her grandparents telling them that they are coming to stay over. Beauty is when you pay a little extra to the rickshaw wala for his effort. Beauty is the feeling of equality and accepting everyone with love. Beauty is when you make the world an inclusive place even for people less fortunate than us.

• What makes a complete, healthy and happy family for you?

A complete family is one that cares for each other, shares important things with one another and is respectful to their elders. The family who wants to spend time together. They respect each other’s choices and share equal responsibilities. They can talk openly when they have a problem and help each other to solve their problems.

• What is your favorite Idea of Holidaying?

My idea of holidaying is a family vacation. An adventure trip with my children. A dinner date with my spouse where we can dance together. A bicycle ride to an unknown place. A morning tea with music. Sitting beside the sea and watch the waves come and go. A scooter ride in the rain. Stargazing on a full moon night.

• Why you are participating in Mrs India Queen of Substance?

At 47 years young I want to inspire women that you can look beautiful at any age. You can take risk, achieve and do anything you want to do, at any point of time. The sky is the limit. I want to show them that if I can you can too. And what better platform could I strive for than Mrs India Queen of Substance.

• What bothers you most about what is happening in the country today?

What bothers me most is the growing population of our country. Rising population leads to poverty and unemployment. Poor people with many children are not able to give proper education to their children, they are forced to work at an early age leaving their education which traps them in a vicious cycle. Uneducated people vote for the wrong candidate and fail to think about the wellbeing of the nation and are distracted by short-term gains offered by some political parties. The government will have to come up with a strict two child policy if they want a better future for the country.

• The Quote or saying that encourages you?

The quote that encourages me is ‘You only live once and if you do it right, once is enough’. We have one life and we should make the most of it so that after us people remember us and feel inspired. Take charge of your life. Love yourself, find good in people, make someone smile, help someone in need, inspire someone to do good, don’t hesitate to take up challenges. Believe in yourself, you have the power to change your destiny.

• What is true “Sportsmanship” for you?

True sportsmanship is teamwork for me. A true sportsperson puts team before self and does what benefits the team. Respecting each other, giving everyone an equal chance and accepting everyone’s differences, not only your teammates but of your opponents as well. And a true sportsperson never gives up.

• If you were selected as a Charity Ambassador what value addition would you like to make for our Society and how?

I believe that everyone can make a difference in the society even if it is a small one. I am already associated with two NGOs – SOS Village, which provides homes and education to orphaned children and females and Shri Yog Bhojnalaya which provides food and clothing to the under-privileged. I feel when God has been kind to us then we should try to make life easier for someone else as well. As Melinda Gates' mother once said to her- "Making even one life breathe easy in this world, that is real success". If I am selected as a Charity Ambassador, I would encourage the people to come forward to help the needy. I think illiteracy is the main cause of poverty in our country. Being a teacher, I would actively work towards educating marginalized and socio-economically struggling people and would request the government to improve the condition of government aided schools.