People now know me as Miss India, not Pooja Chopra

Pooja’s rollercoaster ride
I think it’s one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. We are living a very fast-paced life here and are travelling a lot. We recently visited five cities in a week. I am experiencing a mixed bag of emotions at the moment.

I am excited that I am representing my country at such a huge platform, meeting people of such high stature; we are showered with gifts wherever we go and are the focus of the entire media. At the same time, there is a lot of pressure, there is hope but the future is quite uncertain.

There is a huge amount of stress, as you have to look perfect all the time. You can’t roam around in casual clothes, everything about you is being observed so closely. How you carry yourself, how you eat, talk, how much you talk ... everything matters here.

India’s quite a hot topic: Pooja
The list of my friends here is very long, yet I will say I am close to the contestants from Bosnia, Serbia, Scotland, Russia and Indonesia, who’s my roommate as well. I also like Miss Japan, she’s really cute.

There are total 112 contestants, all extremely good-looking. We all speak different languages, follow different religions, have vast cultural diversities, yet are bonding pretty well.

Everyone here is so interested in knowing about India and our culture. All the contestants seem familiar with Bollywood. One of my very good friends here, Miss Scotland, has taken my contact details and wants to work in Bollywood. I was surprised to see a contestant wearing a saree during an event. I know so many girls here who are so fond of sarees and salwar kameez.

Recently, a lot of fellow contestants asked me about Aishwarya RaiAishwarya Rai. They said she is one of the most popular Miss World winners so far. They all are very impressed with her global popularity.