We rediscovered our childhood PASSIONS

Three women reveal how returning to their beloved childhood pastimes has changed their lives for the better

- GILLIAN HARVEY

'Art is a great way for me to connect with others'

Rekha Rajesh, 69, is retired and lives in Birmingham.

‘Rekha,’ my teacher said, smiling at me. ‘You’ve won first prize!’

It was 1961, I was nine and, unbeknown to me, my Art teacher had entered my picture of a market scene in a children’s painting competition with the Lions Club, in Pune in India, where we lived. I still remember how proud my parents were.

Sadly, in 1964 we moved away. My new school in Chennai (formerly Madras) was fine, but I was devastated to learn it had no Art department.

Although I continued to make my own Christmas cards and bookmarks, my schoolwork took over. I earnt a place at Madras Medical College, where I qualified as a doctor in 1975.

During my studies there, I met my husband Rajesh. We married in November 1975 and moved to England in early 1976. Our two children, Rahul and Monisha, were born in 1977 and 1982, and I eventually decided to train as a GP to fit around family life.

It was over 30 years before I’d pick up a paintbrush again.

As a GP, I often made home visits, and in 2007 one of my regulars – a professor’s wife – noticed how I’d always admire her artwork.

‘Do you paint, Dr Rajesh?’ she asked.

She suggested I attend a workshop at Midlands Art Centre, then on my next visit, she asked me whether I’d applied to the centre. I admitted I hadn’t had time.

At our next appointment, she brandished a form.