‘Age is only a number’: the Indian women defying old-age stereotypes to live life to its fullest

From snorkelling in the tropics to running multiple marathons, a generation of older Indian women are redefining what it means to be in their age group

They include Bollywood legend Waheeda Rehman and 81-year-old fitness guru Usha Soman – but less well-known names are helping drive the change too

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Mala Vijaykumar, a grandmother of four from Chennai, believes in staying fit by running marathons and trekking in the Himalayas. Photo: Handout

Published: 3:00pm, 2 May 2021Updated: 1:50am, 2 May 2023

When Bollywood veteran Waheeda Rehman appeared in Indians’ Instagram feeds snorkelling with her daughter in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands recently, the 83-year-old actor turned wildlife photographer was roundly applauded for defying stereotypes and refusing to let her age hold her back.

Usha Soman, the 81-year-old fitness guru and mother of Indian actor and model Milind Soman, has likewise been hailed as an inspiration for social media posts showing her skipping, doing push-ups and running marathons.

Both Rehman and Soman are representative of a generation of older Indian women who are changing the narrative of what it means to be in their age group. Rather than obey the traditional, patriarchal stereotypes that seek to define India’s women only in relation to their families and the men in their lives, they instead pursue their own interests and look to live life to the full.

Take Rajini Chandy, a 69-year-old homemaker turned actress who caused a social media stir in the conservative southern state of Kerala where she lives – and where most women still dress modestly in traditional garb – with photos showing her in short denim dresses, ripped jeans and other clothes deemed “too sexy” by online trolls.

The photo shoot, Chandy told the BBC in response to the furore it caused, was the idea of 29-year-old photographer Athira Joy, who took the pictures she uploaded to Instagram.

“I’m just having fun,” Chandy was cited as saying in the interview. “I have fulfilled all my family and social obligations and now I’m just doing what brings me pleasure.”

Other high-profile older women rocking the Indian influencer scene include Manjri Varde, a 65-year-old painter and mother-in-law to actor Sameera Reddy who creates “wearable art” adorned with calligraphy using a font she designed herself.