At 76, Vimla Dookhony has no intention of slowing down. After a 40-year multifaceted career in education, she has found a new language in Chinese painting. For her, retirement is not an ending, but another chapter, filled with discoveries and adventures. She shares with “In Focus” some of the highlights of a life fulfilled and well lived. She urges her peers that life after 70 still has challenges to address and joys to be shared…

From Queen Victoria to Port-Louis

This is how Vimla Dookhony, born Mohonee, describes her beginning. “My story begins in the beautiful village of Queen Victoria, where I was born. My family later moved to Port-Louis in search of better opportunities, notably higher schooling for the six children.” In the capital, she had a hectic adolescence. Vimla joined youth and academic clubs, then very common, and the St John Ambulance Brigade. With the Vivre en Plein Air team, she discovered several hidden places in Mauritius. One memory stays with her: “I was proudly part of the Independence Day parade as a young witness to the birth of our nation.” The pride has not faded. “Since then, I have watched with quiet pride as our dear country has grown and evolved, and I remain deeply proud of all it has achieved.”

Four decades dedicated to education

Vimla’s studies took her to Miranda House, University of Delhi, where she graduated in Geography. In 1974, she returned to Mauritius. Like many graduates of the 1970s, she started teaching – Geography and Social Studies – for almost a year at a private secondary school. She was then appointed, in 1977, as Education Officer at Royal College Port-Louis, followed by Royal College Curepipe, Queen Elizabeth College and Droopnath Ramphul College in Pamplemousses. The classroom shaped her person and her vision. “These years in the classroom gave me valuable experience and a deeper understanding of the education system.” And her former students remain close, “a bond that has been one of the most enduring rewards of my career in education”.

In 1995, she was promoted to Senior Education Officer and transferred to the Ministry of Education, where she took on administrative responsibilities. She was gradually promoted and put in charge of several projects, including the initiation of the Model United Nations project in Mauritius. Another project remains close to her heart. “I was also the consultant on the setting up of the National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) project in Mauritius and I am happy that the Prime Minister is now reinitiating the project.”

Her path also led to the international stage. She served as Secretary-General of the National Commission for UNESCO in Mauritius, working in education, culture and international cooperation. She supported the inscription of Le Morne Cultural Landscape and Aapravasi Ghat on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, and this work brought “meaningful and privileged” encounters. “I had the immense privilege to meet Federico Mayor, Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela.”

“After 40 years in the service of education, I retired in 2013.” Her verdict on this long journey is candid. “Looking back, I can say that it was a long, demanding, and sometimes tedious journey, but also a happy and deeply rewarding one.” For her, the ladder was never the point. “My career was not simply about climbing the professional ladder.” It was about learning, taking on responsibilities and overcoming challenges.

New chapter through arts

Retirement revived her passion for painting. “My love for painting goes back to my secondary school days. Arts was one of my principal subjects. At that time in 1973, my paintings were in watercolour. However, I did some oil paintings as well, including of Telfair Gardens in Souillac and Grand-Port. I even painted on cloth for my HSC Arts and craft paper.” Vimla began with Madhubani painting from India following courses at The Rabindranath Tagore Institute in Ilot. She then focused on Chinese painting at the Chinese Cultural Centre (CCC) and the Confucius Institute. Her Chinese artist name is Tuwela. Her works have been shown in exhibitions organised by the CCC, the Confucius Institute at the University of Mauritius and the Economic Development Board at venues including the MBC, the Municipality of Port-Louis and So’Flo. She has travelled to China several times, visiting galleries and museums and meeting masters of Chinese painting. She also helped paint umbrellas with traditional Chinese motifs for the Spring Festival parade in Port-Louis.

She has studied Gongbi, the meticulous realist technique built on fine, even outlines and layer upon layer of colour wash, often ten or more, each left to dry before the next. Precision is everything, since “the technique is unforgiving of mistakes”. She has also worked with Xieyi, the expressive freehand style, and Shan shui, the mountain-and-water landscape. Calligraphy, she says, helps in mastering the art of painting. Silk is another matter. “This is an art that demands extraordinary patience.” The silk must be prepared and stretched, and a single painting took her several months. The effort pays off: “The reward is a depth and luminosity that paper cannot easily replicate.”

She has also learnt Chinese mounting, which is fundamentally different from European framing. The painting is backed with paper, bordered with silk and dried on a wall, so that the finished work remains soft and can be rolled for storage. “I have also learnt calligraphy which helps in mastering the art of painting and benefited from the expertise of various Masters (Laoshi) from China invited by the CCC. I also started Mandarin, but found it too tough…”

She also dances with the Fun Dance group of Mrs Soorya Gayan, a reminder that “joy and movement are among the best medicines”. Vimla is also a seasoned traveller. “I’ve had the privilege of travelling extensively – including recent trips to Europe, South Africa, Egypt, Rwanda, Kenya, China and India – often following in the footsteps of my father, my mother, and my grandfather, whose lives and journeys have deeply inspired my own.”

Looking forward and giving back

As a married woman, mother of two daughters and grandmother of a boy and a girl, she names her family first. “One of my greatest joys in life is seeing my children doing so well in their respective lives.” Her elder daughter, after years as an expatriate in the United States and Rwanda, now lives and works in Mauritius; the younger one lives abroad. The circle is wide. She stays very close to her siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews. “These gatherings are among the happiest moments of my life, filled with laughter, shared memories, and, very often, dancing.”

A member and former chair of Soroptimist International, she has contributed to causes advancing the status of women and girls. To her peers who feel a little lost after retirement, her message is clear: “It is always possible to remain active and take up new passions. A new life begins. When the brain is still active, anything can still be achieved.” Lifelong learning is her creed, and success has a particular measure. “Success is not measured only by the positions we hold, but by the contributions we make and the lives we touch along the way.” She looks back “with gratitude” and forward “with an open heart”, still finding “the opportunity to learn something new every day”.