Dr Roopali reviews Olive Green to Beauty Queen by Ankita Srivastava, the life story of the first woman officer in the Army narrated with hilarity and sensitivity – exclusively for Different Truths.

Lt. Col. Ankita Srivastava (now retired) served in the Indian Army for 14 years. They were not easy years. She was one of the first women to be commissioned into the Indian Army.

Women officers were not allowed to serve for more than 14 years. They were pushed right back into civilian life when their time was up.

With these odds piled against her, Ankita Srivastava always pushed the envelope.

Her latest book, Olive Green to Beauty Queen, was released in October 2022. It recounts her efforts to reverse her de-feminised self and adjust to her new world. She tells us her story with humour, hilarity, and an equal measure of seriousness. 

She chooses to rid herself of the acquired masculinity, which was the result of her military training, by joining the ultimate hyper-feminine activity of beauty pageants. This was something she had turned up her nose at during her swashbuckling years.

She says she could have joined marathons or participated in car rallies and long mountain treks. But more was needed for a veteran. Her “Blue Boy” Indian Air Force officer husband continued to serve while she was forced to be a veteran.

The military posture had to be peeled off. Too many people looked at her intently. Her domestic staff, the grocery store sales boy, brazenly queried her about her commanding personality.  She exuded a kind of masculinity in her gait and speech.  Curious eyes and comments made her determined to retrieve her long subdued femininity. Only a beauty pageant company could help her now. 

Thus began her difficult training to exude her womanhood. Ankita Srivastava’s transformative memoir is written with much aplomb and a happy sense of humour. One that can make a challenging task into a hilarious episode. 

Her challenging journey takes her from combat boots to high heels. Not one to give up, she channelled her military training and took on the challenge.

Ankita Srivastava’s love for her military uniform is expressed in colours. Military training is deeply entrenched in the author, whose blood she declares is olive green. This in and of itself makes unlearning difficult. 

“Brass, black, blue and olive were the only four colours I had in my heart, mind, body and soul ever since I got commissioned into the Indian Army on March 5, 1994”, she writes. The narrative is full of details moving back and forth. It acquaints us with her strict training and service in the army. 

The narrative moves smoothly between the two extreme forms of training.  Some chapters take us deep into military life, where gender has no consequence. Courage, grit and toughness of mind and determination are all that matter. And then there are the challenging days and hours of unlearning or transforming.

Even as the narration is entertaining, we also learn of her complex army deployments and insurgency and counter-insurgency actions that were integral to her life. Hilarity is positioned in the difficult postures of the parade ground and the ramp walk! 

Everyday detailed episodes take us into the glamorous inner world of models and beauty pageants — a world peopled by beautiful, nervous, and overconfident women. 

As one of the Beauty Pageant contestants strides, Ankita Srivastava sticks out her chest. She stands to attention, Saavdhaan! 

The description is graphic and humorous! She leaps across and lands lightly on her toes when she wins the crown. You can visualise the army training coming in handy. 

The journey from Olive Green to Beauty Queen is an experiment on how to live queen-size.

The narrative has a purpose – the recalling and retelling of a transformative experience.  It is all about finding one’s calling, committing to it entirely and then reinventing oneself. It’s like moulting. It is a painful process but one made by choice. One life supports the other. It is ultimately a highly inspirational memoir which speaks to you.  

Please pick up the book and start reading!

The reviewer sourced the book cover’s image.

Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur

Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur is a poet, travel writer, and social justice activist. A former professor of English Literature at Delhi University, and a creative writing professor at IGNOU, she is a widely published academic and creative writer. Her book Twice Colonised: Women in African Literature, is a seminal text on women’s socio-political empowerment. In 2020-21, she co-edited two poetry anthologies – In All the Spaces: Diverse Voices in Global Women’s Poetry, and Earth Fire Water Wind.