Gearing up for Mrs. Earth

She’s a dancer, a model, a social activist, apart from being the runner-up in the Mrs. Singapore Earth beauty pageant. And she’s now gearing up for Mrs. Earth which is set to happen in Las Vegas in June. Meet Anuradha Alex, who dons all these hats with ease. Having been born and brought up in Chennai, Anuradha, who is a mother of two boys, is currently in namma ooru to endorse a social initiative which is set to be undertaken to empower girls.

In a chat with us, Singapore-based Anuradha, speaks about how she thinks that her life has begun only after 40, her current and future projects and her fitness regime.

“I’m from Chennai — I was born, brought up and pursued my education here. I have two boys; the youngest is nine and the oldest is 21. My husband Alex is a Mexican. I have been living in Singapore for the past 11 years and hence, it has become my home now,” Anuradha introduces herself.

Speaking about her reason to visit the city, the 42-year-old says, “I’m here primarily to support my friend Deepa Aathreya in spreading girl power. Our motive is to teach value education to 50,000 boys and to teach self defense and martial arts to 50,000 girls. Right now, we are doing it in Chennai and soon I would love to go across the state and spread this initiative.”

Sharing with us on how she got interested in modelling, Anuradha shares, “I did a bit of modelling during school — but having come from a conservative family, there were many restrictions. Honestly, only for the past two years, I’ve been able to do it in full swing. If you ask how I got inclined towards it, I would say it’s because I have got people skills and I like to try my hand at multiple things.”
She also states that doing social work gives her utmost satisfaction. “I do many social activities — it’s mainly because of my upbringing and our culture has also taught us that. I visit old-age homes and serve people there. As I am a dancer, I perform and choreograph many charity events and also teach children.”

But how does she manage to balance all these, we ask. “It is not easy! I manage it because I set my calendar a week in advance and I let my children know about my availability. My husband is super supportive. We, as a family, do all the house work as we don’t have any helper. I feel it also makes my children independent,” she states.

Sharing with us her fitness regime, Anuradha says that she is not a gym-going person. “I do  yoga at home, along with other exercises,” she says, and adds, “I start with a king-size breakfast that includes oats, fresh fruits, soya milk and more. Then I have sumptuous meal for lunch and I make sure I wrap up my dinner by 6.30 pm. But I do have my cheat days during weekends (laughs).”
When asked if she ever thought about acting, she says, “I have never gotten a chance to try it. If something comes across my way, I might give that a try too!”
For now, Anuradha is solely focused on the Mrs. Earth pageant which is to happen next month. “I’m gearing up full-on for the international pageant, Mrs. Earth is happening in Las Vegas this June and I’m representing Singapore. There are many social activities involved, apart from grooming sessions. I’m pretty caught up with that,” she says.

On a concluding note, Anuradha shares a message for mothers. “As  mothers, as women and individuals, though we sacrifice many things, I would like all mothers to realise and work towards their own dreams. Honestly, my life started only after 40 — so if you’re passionate about anything, nothing else matters. Go chase your dreams,” she says and signs off.