I had a strong belief that when you grow old you grow out of life. The enthusiasm for taking up novel activities is not what ‘senior citizens’ do, instead they pray to God and shun routine life.
It was only when I started writing on the series Age no Bar and meeting every new ‘old’ person, I saw myself weakening in my thinking and more inspired by the youth that manifests in them.
One such person is Mrs. Ila Kikani, a painter, a designer, an avid learner and a true artist.
Story 2: Ila Kikani
Almost everyone in Coimbatore knows about the Kikani family, their philanthropy and interest in providing an impetus to education. But beyond these is the story of the head of the family, the family binder Mrs. Ila Kikani.
At 74, it’s very rare to see a woman bend down to decorate her rangolis, open the door for her guests and welcome them with utmost warmth and love, and I was a witness to that.
“My mother never allowed me to remain idle; we were kept busy throughout the day doing something. Knitting, painting, making rangolis, preparing sweets at home or making something artistic out of nothing. All these came naturally to me and I still continue to do that,” says the elegant Mrs. Kikani draped in a beautiful Ikat sari.
Pointing out that her age had nothing to do with her passion, she is quick to add: “I am free now, I have no restrictions or barriers on me. Instead of counting my days, I spend them in innovating art out of things that are around. No I don’t do it for money. I do it to live my passion and still continue to hone my skills."
She creates beautiful rangolis on cardboard papers that can be used innumerable times by decorating its borders with simple flowers. She has been an honoured guest in many competitions.
And that’s not all. She still designs a lot of saris with intricate embroidery for her near and dear ones. “It’s a little difficult now. Initially I could do it much quicker, but now I more take time” she agrees when asked about how she manages to embroider intricate designs at her age.
“I usually go to the temple everyday. Once I saw a very beautiful idol of Lord Krishna, but it didn’t have jewels on it, So I decided to make one for the Gods, I borrowed my grand-daughter’s jewel beads, learnt how to design it from her, and since then I make jewellery for the Gods in temple, I create flower ‘malas’ too,” says this septuagenarian who swears to learn till the day she dies.
She not only gives away her works of art free of cost, she also teaches many at no cost. Most importantly, she taught me age was a maturity of the body and not the mind and soul.