SURAT: She is all of 23 and was racing to dress the world with her vibrant creations. But along the way, life suddenly cut a different pattern on her fabric of thoughts and the aspiring fashion designer, Poonam Mehta, decided to abandon it all for the monochromatic hues of monkhood.
Mehta, a resident of Palanpur town of Banaskantha district, who has been living with Jain monks and sadhvis for the last few weeks. She will renounce the worldly ways a few months later when she takes Diksha on May 15 in a grand function in Manilaxmi Tirth near Vadodara.
Her father, Kiran Mehta, is a businessman in Palanpur town and owns a tyre business.
“My sister Poonam is pursuing a fashion designing course in a college in Palanpur after graduating in Commerce.
Another sister of ours had taken up monkhood seven years ago. Poonam, who had been visiting Jain monks and our Sadhvi sister got attracted towards the simple life of penance and decided to take Diksha,” Khushali Mehta, Poonam’s sister, told TOI from Ahmedabad.
“Poonam has been learning religious scripture and gaining knowledge about the religious life from Jain monks for the last two and a half years,” her family members said.
“Poonam is the fourth child among five siblings. Her sister, who turned into sadhvi Yugadirathna shriji seven years ago had studied management and was also a hockey player representing the state in the national team,” the family said.