Coming Of Age

‘Having kids after 35 is difficult.’ ‘You can’t run a company until you’re 30.’ ‘Turning 50? Don’t go trekking.’ Doing the right thing at the right time often overrides the concept of following one’s dreams. Neeti Jaychander meets five women who defied social and biological norms to honour their choices, and finds out what makes them tick

- Neeti Jaychander

DIANA HAYDEN,43

DECIDED TO FREEZE HER EGGS EIGHT YEARS AGO AND GAVE BIRTH TO HER DAUGHTER, ARYA, EARLY LAST YEAR

Last year, former Miss World Diana Hayden made headlines when she delivered a baby girl from eggs she had frozen eight years prior. Mumbai-based Hayden always knew she wanted to have kids. “Always. Absolutely. 100 per cent. In fact, everyone in my family, including myself, thought I’d be married and would start a family by the time I was 18 or 19,” says Hayden, who studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, and made her debut in the film version of Othello in South Africa. She also wrote a book in 2012 called A Beautiful Guide, which is an encyclopedia on grooming, personality development and confidence building. But until recently the die-hard romantic in her had not yet found the man she could spend the rest of her life with. “There was no way I was gonna get married to anyone but Mr Right!” she says.