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updated 28 Apr 2012, 12:27
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Fri, Jan 27, 2012
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Singaporean girl walks the ramp in Mumbai
by Sheela Narayanan

AWESOME. That is how Tasha Idnani summed up her three-day modelling experience at the recently-concluded India Kids Fashion Week (IKFW) held in Mumbai.

The nine-year-old Tanjong Katong Primary School student was the only Singaporean at the event and she was excited to have been a part of it.

She told tabla! that she was very nervous during the auditions in Mumbai: "I had to walk down the ramp in front of the judges. There were so many people there. The peppy music helped me recover my nerves."

The curly-haired Primary 4 student was asked to walk for two shows... for the label Mineral and for designer Archana Patel.

She even managed to snag a photo with actress Sushmita Sen who was at the show with her two daughers. "Sushmita told me: 'You were awesome on the ramp'," said Tasha.

Her mother Sujata Idnani, a Singapore citizen of 14 years who is originally from Mumbai, told tabla! that the whole experience began with a phone call from her family friends who told them about the auditions for the IKFW.

Since Tasha had been a child model here in Singapore since the age of two - she stopped for a while to concentrate on school - Mrs Idnani thought the India experience would be good for her and submitted a photograph.

Tasha was selected by the organisers and the timing for the auditions in Mumbai fell in nicely with her school holidays in December. Since she was visiting relatives in the city, she went for two rounds of auditions before making it to the final call.

Mrs Idnani believes Tasha was chosen as she had a lot of confidence on the catwalk and is photogenic.

However, being part of the IKFW meant Tasha missing school as it was held over three days from Jan 17. "We had to get special permission from the school but it was good exposure for her and she loves to be in the limelight," added Mrs Idnani.

As for Tasha, she didn't mind missing school at all... she made friends at the show and her "nani" (grandmother) was able to watch her model.

And she's already getting picky about her modelling gigs: She has been invited to walk the catwalk at the Autumn-Winter show in July but she's turned it down as it is in Delhi. "I want to do it in Mumbai so I can visit my grandparents," explained Tasha.

Looking into the future, Tasha said she might want to be a model when she is older but has not decided at the moment. She is too busy having fun.

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