Mexico: Padma Gadiyar of Udupi to represent India in Mrs Universal contest
Udupi, Feb 14: By winning the Mrs. South India Universal beauty pageant held at Brisbane in Australia in last October, Udupi-based dentist Padma Gadiyar (34) will represent India in the Mrs Universal beauty pageant contest to be held in Mexico in August.
Being the elder daughter to industrialist Arun Shenoy and Archana Shenoy of Thenkapete, Padma has been living in Brisbane in Australia with husband Sanay Gadiyar, basically from Mumbai, and children Sama (7) and Sharoon (4).
She has completed her primary education at Indrali, high school in Udupi St. Mary’s, PU education in MGM college and dental course in Yenepoya College in Mangaluru. In Brisbane, Sanay Gadiyar is working as doctor, while Padma is a dentist. Padma’s sister Sandhya and her husband are also living in Australia.
Total 10 contestants including Padma from Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh participated in the contest held in Brisbane held in October 2018. Among them, Padma won the contest and selected for the Mrs Universe contest to be held in Mexico on August 20, 2019.
It is expected that more than 25 contestants will participate in the contest and she is the only contestant from India. Right from her childhood, Padma has dreamed of becoming a model. She has completed all preparations to win the Mrs Universe contest. A book ‘By Build Cell’ written on dental care by her will be released in March.
“More than a contest, it has given me a good experience. In my childhood, I have dreamed of becoming a model. Now after winning the contest, a number of ad agencies have contacted me. I have been getting complete support from my husband for all my endeavors. Reading and sports are my hobbies”.
- Padma Gadiyar, Mrs South India winner
“I am happy to see my daughter’s achievement. Parents like their children’s happiness. So, we will support all their happiness. It is our wish that she should win in the next contest”.
- Archana Shenoy, Padma Mother
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India harbouring big and bold dreams in space sector: Shubhanshu Shukla
Kolkata (PTI): Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian astronaut to go to the International Space Station, on Wednesday said the country is harbouring “big and bold dreams”, foraying into human spaceflight after a hiatus of 41 years.
Shukla was the first Indian to visit the International Space Station as part of the Axiom-4 mission. He returned to India from the US on August 17, 2025, after the 18-day mission.
The space is a “great place to be”, marked by deep peace and an “amazing view” that becomes more captivating with time, he said, interacting with schoolchildren at an event organised by the Indian Centre for Space Physics here.
“The longer you stay, the more you enjoy it,” Shukla said, adding on a lighter note that he “actually kind of did not want to come back”.
Shukla said the hands-on experience in space was very different from what he had learnt during training.
He said the future of India’s space science was “very bright”, with the country harbouring “very big and bold dreams”.
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Shukla described his ISS flight, undertaken with support from the US, as a crucial “stepping stone” towards realising India’s ‘Vision Gaganyaan’.
“The experience gained is a national asset. It is already being used by internal committees and design teams to ensure ongoing missions are on the right track,” he said.
Shukla said the country’s space ambitions include the Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme, the Bharatiya Station (India’s own space station), and eventually a human landing on the Moon.
While the Moon mission is targeted for 2040, he said these projects are already in the pipeline, and the field will evolve at a “very rapid pace” over the next 10-20 years.
He told the students that though these targets are challenging, they are “achievable by people like you”, urging them to take ownership of India’s aspirations.
The sector will generate “a lot of employment opportunities” as India expands its human spaceflight capabilities, he noted.
Echoing the iconic words of India’s first astronaut Rakesh Sharma, Shukla said that from orbit, “India is still the best in the world”.
Shukla also asserted that the achievement was not his alone, but that of the entire country.
“The youth of India are extremely talented. They must stay focused, remain curious and work hard. It is their responsibility to help build a developed India by 2047,” he said.
Highlighting a shift from Sharma’s era, Shukla said India is now developing a full-fledged astronaut ecosystem.
With Gaganyaan and future missions, children in India will be able to not only dream of becoming astronauts, but also achieving it within the country, he said.
“Space missions help a village kid believe he can go to space someday. When you send one person to space, you lift million hopes. That is why such programmes must continue... The sky is not the limit,” Shukla said.
“Scientists must prepare for systems that will last 20-30 years, while ensuring they can integrate technologies that will emerge a decade from now,” he said.
Shukla added that he looked forward to more space missions, and was keen to undertake a space walk, which will require him to "train for another two years".
