Manya Singh⁠— ⁠the beauty queen who worked as domestic help after school

This is the story of the latest Femina Miss India Runner-up Manya Om Prakash Singh

Manya Singh, a daughter of an auto-rickshaw driver was born in a small town

Her childhood in Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh wasn’t easy, as revealed by her Instagram post.

She worked as domestic help in other homes during her teens after school, an interview revealed

When she grew older, she added a call centre job at night to make a few more bucks.

Her parents mortgaged whatever little jewellery they had for her to complete studies and get a degree.

“My mother has suffered a lot physically, emotionally.”

After all, it is not easy to be a woman in Uttar Pradesh,” she said.

Today, she is the runner up at one of India’s most-watched beauty pageants.

Inspiring doesn’t cut it. Manya Singh’s story is the very definition of the cliche, “against all odds”.