Leg-less and walking tall

omebody had once told me that in order to be a catwalk model, you need to be “leggy”. Obviously that’s a given (as we all know), but I somehow remember the first time I’d heard the word “leggy”; it was in context of “model”. It’s a bit surreal then (if you want to go the whole surrealistic hog, check out Closing Credits — and be rewarded with a piece of David Lynch’s mind; whenever I am confronted with a situation that borders on surreality, I always say, “It’s all beginning to play out like a David Lynch film”, and I felt that while I read his quotes) that we speak to a woman who’s a catwalk model but has no legs. Stacy Paris lost both her legs to a double amputation when she contracted Necrotising Fasciitis, but instead of wallowing in self-pity, she chose to take it, literally, in her stride. She now catwalks in her prosthetic legs. One of the coolest parts in the story is how Stacy, a girl from Scotland, turned her perceived “misery” into a tall advantage. “I was 5ft 6 inches, but had always wanted to be taller. ‘Can you make my legs longer?’ I asked. Being a double amputee had to have some perks. My new legs arrived and I put them on. And smiled. I was now 5ft 9 and 1/2 inches.” With that, she joined a fabled league of models, and is now actively campaigning to promote the cause of differently-abled models.” More power to her!

The great actor Om Puri passed away way too soon, but has left behind an incredible legacy — read about it in Bollywood. In Travel, go Segway-ing in Philadelphia and soak into some street art. Work-life balance gets a look-in again... in Talking Point. Sabyasachi Mukherjee has new designs up his sleeve. And charcoal art comes into its own in Dubai. All this and much more. Enjoy reading wknd. and have a great weekend.

Stacy Paris lost BOTH Her legs To a double amputation BUT SHE Took it, literally, in Her Stride