Anukreethy Vas, who was crowned Femina Miss India 2018, is a college student from Tamil Nadu. Anukreethy Vas was born and brought up in Trichy, Tamil Nadu. 

She was raised by a single mother and says that it was challenging, but being strong in every situation kept them going.

"The challenges were there forever starting from school because I am not exactly from a city. I studied in Trichy (Tiruchirappalli), which is not really a city but I was very strong because my mother didn't let me down at any point. She used to say, 'You are a strong person. How can you cry?' and that's how she brought me up," Anukreethy told IANS.

"I have never seen her low. She has had a lot of problems in her own life but she never showed that to me and that is how I was brought up," she said.  

"Even if something troubled me, I never expressed it to another person because I feel that a smile is one thing that keeps the other person going. And this is what I learnt from her," Vas added.

Anukreethy calls herself a tomboy, loves to ride a bike, but more than that she is actively involved in educating transgenders.

"I work for transgender education. I had a transgender friend in school, whose family had abandoned her...I was helping an orphanage and NGO with the education of their children. In 2015, I joined an NGO, where the main area of work was education of transgender children. So far, we have adopted 30 transgenders and are educating them," she told IANS.

During the competition, Anukreethy Vas was also crowned Miss beautiful smile and won the Beauty with a Purpose award. 

She feels a smile keeps everyone going, a quality she has learnt from her mother, who raised her single-handedly.

Anukreethy stuns in a black ensemble with a quirky border. The minimal make up adds to her elegance. 

Soaking up the sun, Anukreethy is seen in a printed black dress. 

As part of a photoshoot, Anukreethy dons a raw look while she strikes a pose on a bike.