Dr Shubhangi Parkar
Head of Psychiatry| KEM Hospital

Considering the statement Viveka made about "going far away" shows that she was getting alienated. She was in a state of mental and psychological isolation or alienation. She could have been suffering from the loss of an object or the like.

The fact that she sent roses and gifts on the days preceding her suicide was, in fact, a goodbye of sorts. She was on the edge and tethering. Gestures have long been known as a pre-suicidal act. Social autopsies of people who have committed suicide will reveal that they usually give gifts as a manner of saying `sorry for having cause you pain' or they give away their favourite possessions.

In this case, one cannot forget that modeling as a profession is stressful. It lays a lot of stress on performance. There is the daily stress of trying to become a brand. If in this environment of stress - where it is a constant - even a small trigger, which could be an interpersonal problem, can act as the proverbial last straw that breaks the camel's back. This is known as the stresstrigger module.

A senior psychiatrist who asked not to be named

Here we have a girl who had called up people and talked about going away. The jottings in her diary also hint at the same. She had had long chats in which she had reminisced about her life. Perhaps she came to the conclusion that there is no hope in life for her.

She was someone who had tasted success, but it is important to note that she had a largely non-controversial career. She didn't attract too much attention;she seemed calm and even reticent. In fact, she seemed to have put herself in a cocoon-her funeral was attended only by a couple of contemporaries, all quotes given by other models to newspapers hinted only at a professional relationship and not a deep emotional bonding. None of the other models have drawn her picture as a bubbly material girl; she seemed far from it.

It seems she had little emotional support. She had moved away from her family long back, had even crossed countries. She was in a long relationship that didn't fructify. She didn't have many girl friends that usually help women sort out their emotional tangles. Her circle of friends seemed small. She seemed, in fact, to only open up to her boyfriend. She was perhaps a Siberian crane (Siberian cranes are known to move in pairs all the time).

She also seemed to have developed a tendency to cling to, say, a friend. A psychological autopsy would suggest that she was in a state of clinical depression, and could mistake the branch of a tree for its trunk. Depressed people tend to mistake a twig or branch for the trunk;they sit on the branch only to fall.


-Interviews by Malathy Iyer