‘LIFE IS SHORT, ENJOY’

After decades as a teacher at schools, a writer for some top magazines in the country and a corporate trainer for English language, Mukta Singh found joy in painting, something she’d missed in all her other jobs. The paintings, which she juxtaposed with her love of the ’70s and ’80’s music, was a self-discovery as much as it was a pleasant surprise for her kids — son and daughter.

Mukta’s daughter, impressed by her mum’s latest vocation, soon got her on Instagram, where she gathered a good number of followers loving her paintings. In 2019, Mukta lost her mum to cancer, something that affected her pretty badly. Mukta’s daughter worried for her especially after she stopped colouring her short mane of greys. “She was worried I’d get depressed,” remembers Mukta, wife of a former Indian Air Force pilot who retired as a commercial pilot. “I promised her I’d keep myself fit and look good.”

Around then, Mukta, who usually chose western wear, wore a sari to an upcoming wedding. “I ordered a designer tissue sari I’d seen on a model friend because seeing her wear it changed my perception of saris and traditional wear. My daughter clicked several pictures of me and posted them on Instagram,” she said.

The sari designer saw her post and had it reposted on his page. He later admitted to Mukta that he got more likes for that repost than for pictures with models wearing his saris. Some days later, he arrived at Mukta’s home with more saris for her to drape and get photographed in. Then, in the thick of the pandemic, she was approached by another designer for a shoot. “I was flattered,” recollects Mukta.

Soon after, a top magazine connected with her for a story, wanting her with her silver mane. Later, she was commissioned as a model for Amit Aggarwal, the Delhi-based couturier known for his lux and glamorous fashion wear.

“This avatar has come as a boon,” admits Mukta who claims she was a tall, gawky girl with curly hair, growing up among beautiful siblings with silky, straight hair.

Mukta believes in doing what brings joy to others. “It fills my heart with delight when 30-yearolds approach me saying, ‘Thank you. I thought my life was over, but seeing you I realise there’s so much more.’”

To her, life is both eternal and ephemeral. “I’ve a short while on this earth and I’d rather spend it relishing,” she says.