True Beauty

Let me clear this right in the beginning that this post has been written for the Yahoo! Real Beauty Contest by Indiblogger. Indiblogger is a group for Indian Bloggers...

Today in my Inbox I got a mail from Indiblogger - their newsletter announcing the contest. And the title got me thinking...

What is real beauty?

I have never been "beautiful" myself... I was always a plump kiddo next to my lovely cousin, Kshama. For me, she was the ultimate in beauty! I adored her. I tried to copy her, but being the tomboy that I was, I rarely managed it...

Even today, at 34, she look gorgeous!

Thats the two of us in Goa last year!

As I grew up, my face was covered in pimples! I hated the way I look. But after my graduation, when I started my own practice... I started thinking different... I was a 22 yr old architect, handling 12 projects at a time, creating what I feel - beautiful buildings!

 I spent hours on site, understanding every part of the process of construction so that I think of those details while designing... I spent nights working away on my PC trying to make my work look beautiful...

It was then that I realized what real beauty was... I always strived to make my buildings functional... If my client is spending a 1000 bucks (rupees) on a square foot of that "home" of his, then every square foot wasted is a direct loss of 1000 bucks for my client!

I realized that when I designed buildings with the optimum space utilization, they did not need any special elevation treatment! They already looked beautiful... 

Human Beauty is like that... When you have a firm purpose in life, and you tirelessly work towards that purpose, it shows on your face... You look beautiful...

For me the most beautiful woman is Mother Theresa...

The compassion, the love that she has shown is unmatched!

Behind those wrinkles lies a satisfaction that she has been able to do what she started out to do...

For me, Hellen Keller is beautiful...

She went beyond her physical capabilities and conquered the world...

For me, Kalpana Chawla is beautiful...

For she went beyond what other Indian Women have dreamt of!

And among the women I have met, these two are the most beautiful ones...

They both had an aim in life... After the early deaths of their respective husbands (who were brothers by the way), they both lived only for their kids... And today, their kids are successful people... In times when women in India did not work, my grandmother (right) ran my grandfather's shop! And Kakau-aaji (left) worked as a nurse to support and educate their children... I'm so proud of these two beautiful women! I just hope I can be at least 1% of what they were...

All these women were strong, focused and hence beautiful... Don't their faces look beautiful to you?

What you can see here is much more than cosmetics can bring out!

This beauty is unmatched!

"True beauty is in the way she laughs
True beauty is in her eyes
True beauty is how she acts
True beauty is inside
True beauty is unseen
True beauty is only felt
True beauty is not mean
True beauty is herself
True beauty can't be cruel
True beauty is bare
True beauty within you
True beauty is always there
True Beauty can't be covered with makeup
True beauty means true love
True beauty can't be baked up
True beauty is the flight of a dove
True beauty has no flaws
For True beauty is all that matters after all... "

~Jean Pullman

What does real beauty mean to you???

Leave a comment and tell me about it...