‘Light’ at the end of angst
This 22-year-old cancer survivor has been chosen as the mascot for a women’s marathon in the city.
By : namita gupta
Update: 2016-01-06 18:03 GMT
She might be all of 22, but Roshini Kumar’s innate love for life can inspire anyone to believe that life is worth fighting for. The cancer survivor has been announced as the mascot for the three km run and is being currently trained for it. The city’s ‘she’ro will be the mascot of the Pinkathon, a women’s marathon in the city on January 31. We speak to the young girl on her passion for life, her challenges and her preparations for the upcoming event.
A freelance fashion photographer, Roshini loves capturing the beautiful facets of the fashion world from behind the lens. “I always had the passion for photography and used to click pictures of anything and everything I found interesting with my camera phone.
When I turned 16, I asked my dad for a camera and started experimenting with fashion and portraits and started researching more on the subject and honing my skills. After schooling from Vidya Shilp and completing 11th and 12th grade from Mallya Aditi International School, I decided to take formal training and learn professional lighting and other photography techniques to be more technically sound. I went to Bharati Vidyapeeth School of Photography for a course in fashion and people. I’ve been featured in leading glossy national and international magazines. My cancer self portrait shoot, that I did to share my story and raise awareness was also used as an ad campaign on social media by Mazumdar Shaw Medical Foundation,” she shares.
The spunky young girl was diagnosed with cancer (non-hodgkins lymphoma) at 14, but she wasn’t one to take this as a let down. “We found out after I kept having constant health issues for two months, one being severe back pain. It was in the last stage and I had to take strong chemotherapy to come out of it. Other than medicines, I always believed everything would be okay, and was always positive about everything. I have been physically active and it was essential for me as my back and knees are still weak. I go to the gym as well and walk a few kilometres everyday. I am now also doing that extra bit at the gym and walking more to increase my stamina, so on the final day of the SBI Pinkathon, I can be in good shape. It feels wonderful to be their mascot.” About what keeps her motivated, Roshini adds, “I follow fashion trends and have a fashion blog with my best friend. I also sketch and paint and when I travel I like to imbibe the culture of the place, but now I’m involved with fashion shoots and that’s what keeps me going.”
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