The Heart That Bears The Crown

Mrs. India Earth International 2016, Paris Keswani Chats With Tina Thakrar From Her Home in Manhattan About the Importance of Being Self-Made and Leveraging Her Public Platform to Make the World a Better Place.

One day, many years ago, 14-year-old Paris Keswani was walking home from school when she noticed Jyoti, a young girl collecting plastic bottles and tin cans, looking like she hadn’t showered or eaten in weeks. The humble Paris took her home through the back door, tidied her up and took her back to the slums where Jyoti lived with her family. On learning that the family had scarcely any money to even feed themselves, let alone send their children to school, Paris volunteered to pay for their meals and convinced her father to fund the girl’s education. This marked the beginning of Paris’ journey, which has culminated into her immense passion to leave a positive impact on people’s lives.

Paris’ ambitions have now stationed her in New York, where she resides with her husband and six-year-old son, Prince. This year, the entrepreneur, gemologist and model won the title of Mrs. India Earth International at the 2016 edition of the national beauty pageant that celebrates the charitable and social goals of married Indian women and bolsters their professional ambitions. She will now be representing India at the Mrs. Earth 2017 pageant in Las Vegas, becoming the first contestant to represent both USA and India on this global platform.

But if you know Paris, you know that she chooses to focus more on the social causes that she cares about, rather than her win. Her open-heartedness first came to light in her own home, where she’d watch and help her father manage his charitable projects. Originally named Poonam, Paris’ earliest ambition was to be self-made and independent. “Although my parents were able to take care of me, I stopped being financially dependent on them when I turned 19. I wanted to make a name for myself, and start a business based purely on my own hard work.”