Raageshwari’s world is still full of colours
Singer-turned life coach Raageshwari Loomba who was in city for an event shares she changed her life with positive thinking
Hyderabad: Pop singer-turned-life coach Raageshwari Loomba’s career was at its peak when life threw a curveball at her. She had just finished a series of concerts promoting the album ‘Saal Do Hazaar’ in 2000, when she was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis that left her with slurred speech.
It was a big shock for the ’90s pop icon who debuted in films with ‘Zid’ (1994). She had also acted in ‘Aankhen’ with Govinda and more films before turning VJ and TV host with a highly successful music career and churned out chartbusting albums such as ‘Duniya’, ‘Pyar Ka Rang’, ‘Sach Ka Saath’ to name a few.
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A diagnosis that left her unable to face the camera or sing could have broken a lesser person, but Raageshwari didn’t let it affect her attitude towards life. After being bedridden for four years, the singer regained normalcy through a combination of positive thinking steeped in a spiritual upbringing, yoga, physiotherapy and electrical stimulation.
Turning life coach wasn’t really on the cards for the 46-year-old. “My illness struck me at the peak of my career. I always believed that setbacks are your breakthroughs. The facial paralysis changed me, it got me into mindfulness. Whatever we go through in life, how we react to it matters and the way we think,” shares Raageshwari.
Participating in ‘Bigg Boss 5’ in 2011 was her way of telling the world that she was fine, but despite the big platform, not much work came her way. “I did ‘Bigg Boss’ to show that I wanted to get back to films, TV… but, sadly I didn’t get any work after that. Instead, I got marriage proposals,” laughs Raageshwari. In 2014, she married a human rights barrister, Sudhanshu Swaroop with whom she shares a daughter, Samaya.
Describing herself as someone ‘who goes with the flow’, Raageshwari said a simple video about ‘power of mindfulness and importance of not looking at your phone the moment you wake up’ went viral and showed her “there is an audience for this kind of motivational subjects”. “I didn’t think I would ever become a life coach, it happened gradually. I don’t want to do things led by money,” says Raageshwari.
The London-based motivational speaker is now using her life’s trials to inspire people to be mentally strong and show them the power of positive thinking. “What we consistently think keeps us positive. You can have the perfect job, figure and house… If you don’t have the right mindset, you will always find something to make you unhappy with life,” states Raageshwari who also authored a book ‘Building a Happy Family: 11 Practices of Mindful Parenting’.
Right now, the former singer is on a multi-city tour with FLO before she returns to London in September. Then she is going to work on a new book while balancing her motherly duties. “Dr Shashi Tharoor is involved in a big way with my second book. It’s about ancient Indian wisdom and modern-day science. It’s for all age groups and we want it to be a fun read,” concludes Raageshwari Loomba.
