At first sight, she reminded me of Sinead O Connor. She was helping in serving a meal at the Sivananda ashram in Madurai. You couldn't miss her in a crowd of 150 - tall, tonsured head, sparkling eyes and a demeanor of yogic calm.
She told me a couple of days later that she was from South Africa and that her name was Kiana. This was her second stint at the ashram, having spent 3 months last year being a karma yogi - helping with various chores,while also practicing her asanas and immersing herself in the austere ashram life.
What, I wondered, would drive a 23 year old to cross the Indian Ocean, traverse over 7000 kilometres, to serve in an ashram in Madurai?
As it turns out, not only is she a supermodel who's walked the Parisian catwalk, she's also been part of the Girls' International Tennis Tour - both involving a high amount of focus, pressure, commitment and the travel that comes with it.
While Fashion and Tennis took Kiana to the world's megacities, yoga is what brought her to sleepy Madurai.
It was at the ashram that she realised that travel could be external as well as internal.
The inner journey, she realised at the ripe old age of 23, is infinite in itself.
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