The iconic celebrity, fitness expert, and bodybuilder Kiran Dembla is an inspiration to all the women who have the notion that the time to live one’s life to the fullest stops at 30. A mother of two kids, she is a popular name as a sports personality in India. Weightlifting as a sport in India is largely male-dominated. According to popular societal stereotypes, bodybuilding has been closely associated with males and women do not generally choose a career in this field.
To enter into the realms of this particular sport, being a woman is a difficult challenge altogether, that too at the age of 40, even more challenging. But Kiran wasn’t the one who could be stopped. Her determination and self-belief led her to represent India at several world championships, and her story is an inspiration not only to the sportswomen but also to every woman out there.
Early Life
Kiran Dembla was born in a traditional Sindhi family. Like most stereotypical and traditional Indian women, she harboured no career aspirations for herself. She got married and had two children. Everything was moving quite smoothly until she was diagnosed with multiple brain clots during her second delivery. Immediately she had to pursue treatment for the brain clots. During the treatment, as a side effect of the medications, she gained weight. Being around 25 kilograms overweight, and always in a lethargic mode, Kiran decided to work on her body and started with a weight loss session.
In several of her interviews, Kiran has stated that she felt severely body-negative while looking in the mirror. And that was when she decided that it was time to do something about her physical appearance. After following an intense diet and workout schedule for 6 to 7 months, she successfully lost 24 kgs. Being a housewife and a devoted mother of two young kids, it was difficult to manage her fitness regime with the household chores. She got up at 5 in the morning to make time for her gym sessions. When she finally achieved success through massive weight loss, she decided to become a fitness coach to other women.
Her weight loss success proved to be a huge boost for her future success waiting for her.
The Journey from Being a Housewife to Bodybuilder
Kiran Dembla soon became a popular name in the world of bodybuilding. In 2013, she represented India in the Bodybuilding championship in Budapest. The championship was a difficult phase for her. For the bodybuilding competition, she had to wear a bikini which is a standard dress code in almost all bodybuilding competitions. But as we know, it is not quite acceptable in Indian households for women to wear bikinis. In spite of the restraints, she participated in the competition. Not only did she bag the sixth prize in the championship but also won the title for the most beautiful body.
Kiran Dembla – A True Face of Inspiration
The world will always offer a barrage of criticism, especially if it is a woman. But it is essential to believe in your own strengths and move forward no matter what the haters and conservative minds say. Kiran has several health issues, in spite of which with her individual effort she managed to lose 24 kilos of weight impressively in under a year. This inspiring story motivated her to come up with her own gym and become a fitness trainer to several other women who can’t find their way through life’s challenges. At the age of 40, with her immense effort and deviation. Kiran Dembla built six-pack abs! This was significant in two ways – first, six-pack abs as a mark of fitness are largely masculine and very few women dare to do it and yet fewer achieve it. Second, six-pack abs at the age of 40 which is already a sunset period in women’s biological clock, couldn’t stop Kiran.
Not only were her health issues a constant restraint in her journey, but it was also the hate comments that she received from society and immediate family members that made matters difficult for her. Fitness and bodybuilding since time immemorial have been associated with men. Women stepping into the field made her receive derogatory comments like “You look so much like a man!”
However, nothing could cast a shadow on her journey of being just another housewife to one of the most well-known bodybuilders in India. Her journey of dealing with several trolls and negative comments is an inspiration to most other Indian women who are not confident to try out their dreams and take a rather unconventional decision. Kiran has shown us the path helping us understand that our dreams can pave the way for our achievements. She is also the prime example proving that age can never confine us if we are true towards our goals. She personifies the statement, “Age is just a number!”
