Noida girl makes it to global pageant, city joins hands to support her

Noida: Officials of the Noida Authority and various private groups from the city have come together to support Miss Deaf India 2019 Vidisha Baliyan in her journey to participate in Miss Deaf World pageant that will be held in South Africa later this year.
Organisers of the international beauty pageant for the deaf have already accepted Vidisha’s entry from India. Her profile video for the contest will now be shot, all thanks to Noida Authority and paralympian Deepa Mallik, on June 3.
“Vidisha is a great example of transformation and I’m glad to be helping her achieve her potential. It’s been a great journey with help from various groups, especially in Noida, that could support her from the photoshoot to the venue, make-up, grooming, wardrobe and a lot more,” said Deepa Mallik, first Indian Paralympic medal winner.
Deepa’s NGO Wheeling Happiness has been helping Vidisha overcome her disability to participate in the international beauty pageant with the help of various organisations that could partner or sponsor her. Vidisha’s profile video for the Miss World Deaf 2019 contest was a bottleneck as finding a venue with all required elements was expensive and difficult to get.
The Noida Authority has now contacted Jaypee Greens, which will provide the venue free of cost for a two-day shoot. “We are proud that we have been able to support a young achiever and hope she is loved by the international community. The community and private partners in Noida have also helped a lot, we hope Vidisha gets more support,” said Rajeev Tyagi, general manager, Noida Authority.
A 21-year-old athlete, Vidisha has completed her bachelors in physical education. She has also won a silver medal for tennis at the International Deaf Olympics. Vidisha has 100% hearing impairment in one ear and 90% in the other. However, she can lip read and communicate.
Coming from a humble background, Vidisha is now focusing on her grooming and training sessions for the Miss Deaf World contest. Learning universal sign language, table etiquettes, walking the ramp, posing for photographs, learning traditional dance forms are just some of the activities that Vidisha has been engaged in.