Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Kohali (Gurdaspur), Dec 13
This nondescript village located 20 km from Batala on the Sri Hargobinpur road suddenly came alive on Monday morning when the news of Harnaaz Sandhu winning the coveted Miss Universe title spread like a wildfire in her native village and also the adjoining ones.
Fitness fanatic
My niece is a fitness fanatic. In October, she was with us at her ancestral house here after she won the Miss Diva Universe India-2021. — Jaswinder Singh, Harnaaz’s Uncle
Harnaaz’s uncle Jaswinder and his wife Lakhwinder Kaur remained busy throughout the day attending to fellow villagers who came in droves to savour the moment. The media also descended on the village in large numbers and everything changed for the family.
“My niece is a fitness fanatic. In October, she was with us at her ancestral house here after she won the Miss Diva Universe India-2021. I remember, she was flooded with telephone calls from Bollywood personalities. Her Australia-based cousin too was in the village at that time. He had gifted a silver crown to her to mark her victory. We are four brothers and she is the only daughter in the family. She has a passion for modelling and working in films. When she told us she wanted to act in the Punjabi film industry, we never gave it a second thought,” said Jaswinder Singh.
Her aunt said Harnaaz was a deeply religious girl. “She revels in cooking. I knew, given her talent, that she would make it big one day. Late last night, somebody told us that she was close to clinching the title. We were mentally keyed up for the news, and when it came this morning our joy knew no bounds,” she said.
Village gurdwara head Sukhbir Singh said Harnaaz was very young when her grandfather passed away. “I still vividly remember the young girl taking part in the kirtan and ardaas (prayers) at the bhog ceremony,” he said.
The family was apprehensive whether the Miss Universe contest would be held at all due to the latest Covid wave. “It was God’s wish that the event was held. And it was again God’s wish that our daughter won it,” said a relative.
Native village erupts over daughter's feat
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