Juggling between law, fashion

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She sets the ramp on fire; sashaying with élan, mischievously grinning at the audience, and even throwing in some dance moves for our benefit. The popular face of several advertisements; a black-belt holder; trained classical danseuse; and second runner-up at the World Miss University pageant last year, Chennai girl Swetha Sridhar really has it going.

To top it all, she’s a law graduate all set to scorch the courtroom soon.
“As a true blue Chennai Iyer ponnu, I never envisioned myself in the fashion industry. Like any other girl, I just wanted to take some fun, narcissistic photos of myself and those resulted in me being asked to model! A series of fortunate events led me to participate in the World Miss University 2011 at the Gangwon Province in Korea, where I placed third! It was an amazing experience to be an ambassador for our country. Among the 64 contestants there, I was the most proud to represent India’s culture and education. Everyone went gaga over my sari and was impressed by how quickly I was able to drape it. I guess the talent round, in which I performed Bharatanatyam and yoga, clinched it for me,” gushes Swetha.
“Ironically, my most memorable moment was competing in a sledding contest against the likes of contestants from the UK and Norway, and falling off my sled!” she adds.
So what’s it like being a model in today’s fast-lane? “It’s very important to meet the right kind of people in the glam world, and to have family support. I have to thank my mom for that. Grooming workshops, pageants such as Miss Chennai, friendships with fellow models — are all part of the journey. I’m thrilled when people recognise me from an ad or a show. Since I was also studying, I had to juggle my time between the diverse worlds of law and fashion. My college was incredibly supportive. You can only join the dots by looking backward,” smiles Swetha.
On her other interests and style statement, she says, “If you’re an Iyer, dance and music is an obvious part of your upbringing. Apart from classical dance, I also trained in salsa, jive, tango and Western. I prefer dancing with a partner than going solo. I was also an athlete in school and a karate champ, which should explain my love for adventure sports these days.”