“When I was 22…I was free and limitless,” recounts Sonalika Sahay

Where were you career-wise? I was an air hostess with Singapore Airlines and was modelling part time in Singapore.

The money situation…: …was decent. Flying and modelling pays well for a 22-year-old.

And on the romantic front…? I was in a long-distance relationship.

The focus areas: Work, career and travel.

What about your mindset? Free and limitless. I felt I could reach for the stars and grab them too!

The family situation: My family was in India and would visit me regularly in Singapore. And I had a very strong bond with my siblings.

What was your style sensibility like? Oh, it was warped! I was an easy dresser trying too hard to dress girly.

(Inset) Sonalika Sahay at 22, and now, at 39

And your fitness quotient: I was fit but never too driven. I’m fitter now.

Your most prized possessions: My books and my dogs.

And your biggest dream? Was to meet the Dalai Lama one day. I still haven’t managed that. And I wanted to be a great fashion model.

Sonalika appeared on the HT Brunch cover along with Lakshmi Rana in 2018
(
Rohit Chawla exclusively for HT Brunch
)

The craziest thing you remember doing…: On my first trip to Maldives, I tried diving for the first time. It was as if a new world opened before me. I remember a reef shark came out of the deep and startled me. I drank so much sea water that day!

One thing you’d rewind and change: I want to tell my younger self to pay more heed to parents’ advice. Everything that I didn’t follow has ended me in a quagmire.

Sonalika with her friend Nehmat while in New York, for her first show for Ritu Kumar

The biggest life lesson you learnt: That one can move forward in life and new roads open up. Leave your fears behind and take the plunge. Don’t hold yourself back.

From HT Brunch, September 21, 2020

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