IT'S I'M POSSIBLE - NOT IMPOSSIBLE - KAZIA LIZ MEJO

The Malayala Manorama Sunday Supplement on 6th Septembr 2026 carries a feature on Miss.Kazia Liz Mejo, the winner of Miss Universe India 2026 Crown, brilliantly articulated by T.S.Divya.
(making an attempt for it's translation from Malayalam to English for  those who do not know Malayalam as the message conveyed is highly motivational))

Kazia opens her mind.

You may think fortune has favoured me. But, to be precise, there are times I have lost  confidence again and again. Though I was born and brought up at Abu Dhabi, I was scared of posing before a camera for my picture. I had preferred to hide my dark face behind the filters.

But I stand before you now as the Miss.Universe India 2026. 

Here is the journey that took me towards the partial realisation of the long cherished dream.

When Harnaaz Sandhu was crowned at the Miss Universe 2021 pageant, I began dreaming  of emulating her. It has brought me where I am now.

While I had been in the 9th Standard in school I dreamt that I would become a pop star.  I believed the spotlight would be on me as I stood on the stage with a glowing aura.  I thought I would become a lawyer when I watched the Web Series 'Suits.' Today I am treading on the Ramp.  I am  studying law. 

The society at times places barriers on our dreams. "This is not good for decent girls." " Never put your feet on multiple trajectories." "If you concentrate too much on the extracurricular, your studies will be disrupted."

However, never cease dreaming. 'Impossible' has a negative connotation. Yet,  in 'impossible' you  discover the positive, "I'm possible."

The past 12 years' journey had been quite taxing - training in classical dance, music, violin, attending classes for law, modelling assignments at distant locations, preparations for the beauty contests. I used to wake up at 3 am - early in the morning - and had practiced ramp walk on the corridors of the hostel. When I did that in my high heeled footwear, I had tumbled several times injuring myself in the bargain.

Miss Teen International India's 'Miss Teen Diva' 2024 was my initial triumph on the charge towards  my dream . But I could only become the first Runner up in the Miss Teen International pageant.  It was a great disappointment. It depressed me. I was down as I had lost out despite striving very hard.  To make it worse, I had been brimming with the desire to win. 

But realisation dawned on me, "It is never a failure if you have given it your everything."

Almost everyone would have experienced failure at least once in life. It's very important that one ought look at  failure as failure.  It is a great lesson. We need to rise up from that failure to go forth in life. 

You may find to your consternation  you are unable to realise your dreams. The fall down  the precipice  would prompt you to recalibrate. It would fire your aspirations. To your surprise, the accomplishment would be far  beyond expectations.  

I know for certain, if I had won the Miss Teen International Crown in 2024, I would not have been able to stand before you now as the nineteen year old Miss Universe India 2026.

While in the  limelight upon the stage, I remain very calm.  My response had reflected that tranquility in the Miss Universe India finale at Jaipur.

I wish to convey to all the girls, who read me, a single advice, "Fake it till you make it. Believe it before you become it."

Quite a long while back before I won the Miss India Universe Crown, I began addressing myself as the Queen. I visualised myself winning the crown. I would see me  crying at the announcement. I had lived that moment many times in advance. 

Because I had cried a lot earlier, I couldn't cry much  on the stage at Jaipur when I was declared the Miss India Universe 2026.

I, now, am preparing for that walk on the ramp at Puerto Rico in November 2026 for the Miss Universe Crown. I know you are in that ride with me. I am indeed grateful for your blessings.

I am often queried on the inspiration that drives me.

Even if it is cliche, I affirm, I do  not wish to replicate anyone else. I intend to build a legacy of my own. I wish to be unique.  I long to be the best.

I wish to tell all the girls who observe me, "Never let barriers  curtail your dreams. Opportunities will never come knocking.  Build that door yourself. Extend the invitation to  opportunities.  Stay close to that door when opportunities arrive."

Let me conclude with an exhortation, "Be the reason for your own motivation.'

 

TO BECOME A GOOD SPEAKER

To become a good speaker, you need confidence and plenty of practice.

PM Narendra Modi was in an interaction with National Teachers Award winners at his residence on the eve of Teachers' Day. He asked an award winning teacher, what she would advise him if he were her student and wanted to become a good orator.

She responded:

"To become a good speaker, you need confidence and plenty of practice."

After her tip, she said, " Sorry Sir. Seeing your aura, my aura went down a little."

The PM urged teachers to take learning beyond classrooms. He advised them to nurture  the natural curiosity of children. His exhortation was not to judge students by their academic standards alone.  The teachers were called upon to recognise  their varied talents even if  the children struggled or fell behind in studies. It was for them to chart a developmental track for such children. 

THAT'S FAMILY LIFE FOR YOU

We have, for years, been together.

The years that flashed past are vivid.

We are two people who wish to constantly refine ourselves and perform at the utmost.

We always challenge ourselves 

We keep asking each other questions.

It is really great, when you have someone who wants you to become a better version of yourself.

It is mutually complementary.

It is brilliance to the fore. when both are striving to make each other perfect, aim for the stars and achieve the seemingly impossible.

That's family life for you.

6th September 2012

6th September 2026

Congratulations

CAFU

Marcos Evangelista de Morais - Cafu - was born on 7th June 197O.  

He is a former professional who had played football for Brazil as a defender. 

Widely regarded as one of the greatest full backs of all time, he had been voted into the All-Time Greatest XI as the  right full back on his heydays. 

As a child, he had been nicknamed, 'Cafu,' in honour of the Brazilian winger Cafuringa.

The legendary player had partaken in three consecutive World Cup finals from 1994. It was a record.

It was a thrilling moment when we saw him  holding aloft the 2002 FIFA World Cup Trophy.

The visual of Brazilian captain Cafu standing on top of a precarious, wobbly glass table at the Yokohama stadium while hoisting the 2002 World Cup trophy is universally celebrated as one of football's most enduring images. 

The two time World Cup winner says:

"The World Cup is not an exact science. The best do not always win. The champion is not always the best team. It is a sequence of factors that makes you win a World Cup."

If we give it some deep thought we could realise it is the exact replica of real life or the life around us.

It is indeed a sequence of factors. not at all premeditated, that pull us on, that push us to wherever we reach. 

We can also see that we have no control over those factors that take us so far.

Life is inexplicable.

A POPULAR DM ABRUPTLY EXITS - DIVYA MITTAL IAS

 

"Today, I voluntarily resigned from the IAS, bringing an unforgettable 13-year journey to a close." With those words Divya Mittal announced on social media on Sunday, 31st August 2026, that she was walking away from civil services. The resignation of the 43-year old 2013-batch Uttar Pradesh cadre  officer serving as special secretary in the revenue department is yet to be formally accepted. 

The Times of India of 4th September 2026, reports that her farewell post retraced her journey from IIT-Delhi and IIM-Bangalore to a job -JP Morgan - in London and then back to India to repay what she called a "debt to this soil."

Her decision surprised colleagues and admirers. She had acquired a public following unusual for a bureaucrat. In Mirzapur and Deoria, she became known as an accessible, hands-on administrator. She used social media to communicate on her work. 

Her best known initiative brought piped water to Lahuriya Deh, a remote hilltop hamlet. People there had been depending on tankers and  pits for drinking water since 1947 and before. The completion of the Lahuriya Deh water project became a source of friction. She had perfoemed the "jal puja' when water reached the village. Elected representatives were absent. Critics accused her of sidelining politicians. Her supporters saw an administrator more interested in finishing the work than managing political optics.

She was transferred from Mirzapur,  soon after the event. She remained without a posting for several months. 

Those who worked with her describe two distinct phases to her administrative personality. She was soft spoken and approachable with members of the public. But she could lose her temper in official meetings when instructions were ignored. Her willingness to take decisions independently won her admirers. But it did not always create easy relations with elected representatives.

She was DM at Deoria and Mirzapur. When she had sent a represenative to receive a Union Minister - also the Mirzapur MP - it generated a confrontation. Her differences with Committees had generated contoversies. Her visibility added another layer to the friction. Detractors were of the view that the officer's public profile was beginning to overshadow the institution she represented.

She belonged to Rewari, Haryana. Later the family shifted to Delhi. She studied engineering at IIT-delhi -2001-2005- and afterwards  the IIM Bangalore. After obtaining her management degree, she joined JP Morgan in London. 

Her husband, Gagandeep Singh Dhillon, was her senior at bith IIT-Delhi and IIM-Bangalore. He was with the Citigroup in London. The couple had married in 2007.

Despite well paid jobsnl in international finance they jointly returned to India in 2009 to prepare for civil services. While Mittal entered IAS in 2013, Dhillon joined the Indian Trade Service in 2011.. He worked in areas like foreign trade and export controls. However he resigned from  govt service in May 2022. He has returned to financial markets. 

Former colleagues state, Divya's ambition and appetite for difficult assignments were evident early on, in her career. When delays arose in cadre allocation at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, she and two other officers took on the technically demanding exercise themselves and had completed it for the entire batch.

Some officers who know Divya describe her as an "over achiever." They believe professional stagnation may have influenced he move.

According to them she may have found the slower pace of  the bureaucratic career quite frustrating,  after moving rapidly through elite academic institutions and international finances to demanding to district assignments.

Divya has stated that her resignation was neither impulsive nor due to pressure.

Her interests outside administration have been varied. 

Divya Mittal is the author of, "The  Crafted Genius." It is a book about preparation, discipline and resilience.   She, through her social media posts, frequently discusses parenting. She often harps on what formal education fails to teach - emotional regulation, communication, financial management, loneliness and mental health.

She has indicated that writing, teaching and social service could be among the avenues she explores next.

Though politics is another possibility being discussed - the proximity of the 2027 UP election adding to that speculation - she has said nothing to suggest that a political debut is imminent.

Divya Mittal's farewell note offers only one certainty. She may have surrendered the office through which she pursued her idea of public service. But she does not see herself as having surrendered the idea itself 

She states, "The position may be gone. But the dream this country's soil gave me will not leave me." 

Rajiv Srivastava & Arvind Chauhan

ELUDES

 

The love that eludes us 

is always more attractive 

than the love we live with

STORIES

 

Stories become talking points 

when fiction stops being fiction 

and becomes an extended version 

of our own desires.