KOCHI: Internationol Women’s Day is an occasion for celebrating women who have managed to break stereotypes and continue doing it. Meet Amrutha Mohan, one such woman bodybuilder. Apart from winning the recent Miss Kerala Athletic Physique organised by the Bodybuilding Association of Kerala affiliated to the Kerala Sports Council, she has become the only woman from Kerala who recently earned an International coaching and judging license in powerlifting.
It was after winning the Miss Trivandrum Athletic Physique that she eventually reached the state-level competition.The lady is thrilled with her accomplishment, and thankful to her family for supporting her dreams. For the bodybuilder, her active life started as young as four years of age, when she started learning ‘Kalarippayattu’. According to Amrutha, it was her father who was the inspiration behind the same. She adds, “My father had also learnt Kalari and became my first teacher.”
Having perfected her skills in Kalari, she was far from being satisfied. She started learning Karate at the age of seven. Though after a brief break, she came back to perfecting her Karate skills. Currently a fifth degree black belt holder in Karate, she is also a black belt holder in Kung fu. Always wanting to bring out the strength in her, she always looked at bettering herself and overcoming challenges.
The list does not end here. The lady is passionate about bikes as well, again a hobby mostly associated with men. The bike lover says, “I have always been interested in bikes. In fact, I started learning on a bullet at the age of 13.”
Having earned a number of national powerlifting competitions, it was with the aim of conquering another challenge that she took to bodybuilding. Weighing over 100 kgs despite being a powerlifter, she decided to focus entirely on bringing down her weight and growing muscles. Enduring remarks of not being feminine enough has definitely not stopped Amrutha from pursuing her interests. The bodybuilder, who now weighs 72 kg says, “There have been people who rebuked me for growing muscles since it made me look ‘less feminine’. I have, at a number of occasions, felt the need to convince others.”
While ladies have started to break gender-specific barriers, the avid biker feels that we are yet to reach there. Sharing a message to her counterparts, Amrutha says, “Live life the way you want it, because there is no second chance. There may be ‘expectations’ from you, but it is hightime that you stop convincing others.”