Palm Springs in June does something to people. The heat, the resort glamour, the sense that anything could happen at the Westin Rancho Mirage. This year it was Sharada Narayanan walking away with the Mrs. Classique Globe Choice of the People Award 2025, determined by global vote across thirty-plus countries. First Indian woman to claim it.

I caught up with Sharada after the coronation, and the story’s better than expected. Bangalore entrepreneur running Metamorphosis boutique, founded Virya Trust empowering underprivileged women through vocational training. Former corporate professional, armed forces spouse, mother of two who shifted gears entirely. She also collected the Family Values Award during preliminaries. Veena Jain, her mentor from Mrs. India Globe 2017, called it before anyone else. The world agreed. We sat down to talk about how it all happened.

Over to Sharada Narayanan, winner of the Mrs. Classique Globe Choice of the People Award 2025…

THE MOMENT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING…

Rajeev Mokashi: When they announced your name and the world shifted, what was the first thought that flashed through your mind?

Sharada Narayanan: It was surreal, almost like the world paused for a split second. I felt an overwhelming wave of surprise, happiness, and heartfelt joy rush through me. For years, I had visualised moments of success, small milestones, big milestones, but nothing prepares you for the instant your name is called on a global stage. It wasn’t just about me; I thought of my daughters, my family, and every late night, every doubt, every hurdle that led me here.

THE CROWN VS. THE JOURNEY…

RM: If you had to choose: keep the crown forever or erase one struggle that led you here—which would you pick?

SN: To me the crown is a symbol of resilience and perseverance and a reminder of the hard work and struggles that had to be overcome to reach here. With struggle comes success and so keeping the crown is a reminder of the struggle that I overcame.

THE STRANGER’S VOTE…

RM: People from 30+ countries voted for you without knowing your coffee order. What did they see that even surprised you about yourself?

SN: What moved me most was that people resonated with my authenticity. In a competition where appearances and performances are often highlighted, I chose to show up simply as myself with my flaws, quirks, vulnerabilities. And people across continents saw something in that.

They saw compassion, strength, confidence, grace, and maybe even a reflection of their own journeys. What surprised me was how universal authenticity really is. You think the world wants perfection, but in reality, they connect most with someone willing to be real. That is a lesson I’ll carry for life.

THE METAMORPHOSIS PARADOX…

RM: Your boutique is called Metamorphosis, yet you have this incredible constant core. How do you transform while staying authentically Sharada?

SN: For me, transformation has never meant losing myself, it has meant becoming more of who I am. Life is a series of cocoons, and each time we outgrow one, we have the choice to either shrink back or step into our wings.

Metamorphosis was born from that belief that change is beautiful, but it must be embraced with confidence. When I design, when I speak, when I walk into a room, I carry my values, my culture, my authenticity with me. That is my constant. But the expression of it, through style, choices, risks that is where transformation happens. It’s not about changing who you are, it’s about amplifying your truest self.

THE DAUGHTER QUESTION…

RM: Your daughters are watching their mother redefine what’s possible after 45. What’s the one lesson you hope they never have to learn the hard way?

SN: I want them to grow up knowing that their worth is non-negotiable. Too often, women are conditioned to seek validation from others, to tie their sense of self to approval, relationships, or achievements. I want them to anchor themselves differently. To love themselves deeply, to stand strong both emotionally and financially, and to never barter their peace for acceptance. Life will test them, that’s inevitable. But if they carry integrity, resilience, and self-respect as shields, they won’t have to learn those lessons at the cost of heartbreak or compromise.

THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS…

RM: You’ve conquered corporate life, motherhood, entrepreneurship, global recognition. What still scares you enough to think “I’m not ready for that yet”?

SN: The unknown always carries an element of fear. It’s not about competence, I know I have the skills, I know I’ve proven myself. What challenges me now is emotional readiness. True success is not just measured by what you achieve, but how peacefully you can hold it. I often ask myself: do I have the resilience to weather the next storm? Do I have the rest, the creative evolution, the balance to step into a new chapter? Sometimes, it’s not about being ready in the external sense, it’s about believing that you can rise again, even when the terrain is unfamiliar.

THE LEGACY MOMENT…

RM: Fifty years from now, what’s the one thing you want people to remember about the woman who won hearts across continents?

SN: I want to be remembered not for the crown or the applause, but for the values I stood for. I want people to say that I carried courage and kindness in equal measure. That I reminded women especially those told it was “too late” that there is no expiration date on dreams. That I showed through my journey that reinvention is possible, that love and resilience are timeless, and that the truest beauty lies in authenticity. If fifty years from now, even one person says, that I made them believe in their self, that would be the legacy I’d be proudest.

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