It is personality that matters, not height or skin colour

Says the newly-crowned Manappuram Miss South India Ansi Kabeer who broke free from the shackles of inhibition and orthodoxy

- Sujit Chandra Kumar

Hailing from an ortho-dox Muslim family in Attingal, Thiruvananthapuram, it was but natural for Ansi Kabeer to be a no-nonsense front-bencher in school, too studious and bashful for any extra-curricular activities. As the only child to her parents – dad was a non-resident Keralite and mom a homemaker – love and care were there in abundance but ‘discipline’ figured high up on the parenting list. Ansi did not disappoint but delighted her parents by securing admission to an engineering college in Kazhakoottam, not far from her home.

Then it happened. Perhaps it was her height that made her seniors select her as the showstopper for an inter-collegiate fashion show that they organised at the college. She was adjudged the ‘best model’. “There was no special prize or gift voucher but I felt exhilarated,” says Ansi. The show and the recognition left a deep impression on her. She realised, for the first time, that she was cut out for far more than a mere academic or professional career.