‘I’m open to anything exciting’

Malavika Tiwari, yesteryear model of refined grace speaks of love, life and glass...

Born July 21, a cusp between Cancer and Leo, the porcelain beauty of the 80’s, Malavika Tiwari is an eclectic mix of both signs. “I have the gregariousness and audacity of a Leo, and am emotional and sentimental like Cancer. Both are fairly constricting signs and I am known to strike like a lion and withdraw like a crab,” she quips.

Once known for her delicate beauty, Malavika chose to express her creative side through a medium as fragile as she appears. Currently her works in stain glass adorn many celebrity homes, offices and popular institutions. “I do not like flowers and leaves in my designs typically associated with stain glass. I like organic forms and keep the design simple. I truly believe - less is more.”

“Stain glass is lucrative but profit margins have gone down. As a single woman, though I make enough money, I can’t afford to fly business class to London twice a year if I wished so.” After a successful stint in modelling and acting, do none of the older options beckon? “I find being an artist most fulfilling. Of course modelling and acting were fulfilling at that time. I made the switch when I did because I couldn’t have continued with them for the rest of my life.”

About her future plans, Malvika says, “I am open to anything exciting. But, I am not desperate or soliciting work. Someday I would like to get in the spa business. The other thing I plan on doing is getting an MBA degree. It would be nice to have more initials on my business card. It is so boring to keep doing the same thing and there is always this fear that I can’t keep changing my core competence often. And I love learning.”

So, what keeps Malavika busy when she is not wielding the brush? “I love gardening. I find it very therapeutic. The other thing I enjoy is scuba diving and I am a licensed scuba diver.” Speaking about love gets Malavika brooding, “I have been seeing somebody for more than 5 years, and where it goes, time will tell. We both have been married before, and have been single after that for a long time. You wouldn’t want to grow old, single; but that’s not the only reason to get married.”

“I don’t believe in soul mates. There isn’t just a single person for anybody. One learns to make compromises as we grow older. Life is more like a roller coaster, not a Ferris wheel. It is the ups and downs that make us appreciate life more.”

s_asish@dnaindia.net