By Crystal Okusa
She struts the runway like she was born to do it and makes heads turn with her enchanting features, long mane and the fact that she is usually the only Asian on most catwalks in Nairobi.
But 29-year-old Amrit Khalsi has another life: She traded the haute couture designer outfits for a lab coat and the runway for the Kenyatta National Hospital morgue.
An odontologist by profession, Amrit identifies the deceased by checking their DNA from the remains of their teeth and jaw bones. She is a forensic dentist who swings into action every time a person is burnt, mangled or dismembered beyond recognition.
She and her team hope to create a national dental ante-mortem database for the country, which will make it easier to identify a dead person because their details are already in the records.
"People involved in risky careers like soldiers, airline crew, police and firemen should have their records in the database," she says.
Making money
The problem, she says, is that in Kenya, police officers are usually called to the scene of crime before the forensic experts.
Says she: "The cops then tamper with the evidence of crime and thus, the many ‘no evidence’ court cases."
Although her job doesn’t give her as much money as she would make were she a regular dentist, Amrit says she derives satisfaction from working for the government and looks for the extra perks elsewhere.
"I want to work for the government till I retire. Making a lot of money in a job doesn’t give me gratification: It instead makes people lose the essence of who they are and what they really like to do. If I need to make money, I can get that from modelling," explains the former Miss India-Kenya, 2006.
As a child, Amrit was fascinated by investigatory plots and was always buried behind a Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys or Secret 7. She knew then that she wanted to grow up an investigator; to unravel situations.
"Ever since I was a kid, I wanted people to respect me and call me daktari; I wanted to be the one people come to when they want to unearth the truth about difficult situations. As I went through my 0-levels and A-levels I knew there was no turning back," remembers Amrit.
Amrit refers to hers as a family of nerds. Her parents emphasised the importance of good education and a good career.
She joined the University of Nairobi, Dentistry department with more than just the thought of it being a career.
"Dentistry is both an art and a science — you are doing a curative procedure but in an artistic way, and it feels like you are moulding something when you fix a tooth or put a crown on it. You have to have an eye for colour and proportions to know how to do it right," says Amrit.
I love odontology
After graduating, she did a one-year internship at the Kenyatta National Hospital and was then transferred to Voi District hospital in 2007 where she worked for another year. During her leave that year, she took a specialist course at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in the United States. She still goes every year for refresher courses in the field. She was later transferred to Nairobi to DDFS for her proficiency.
She asserts: "I want to become a pioneer specialist in forensic dentistry in Kenya, and although after I won Miss India-Kenya I developed a liking for the runway, my place is really in odontology."
She developed her love for modelling as a child. Curious Amrit would wear her mother’s heels and pose in front of the mirror. She was also inspired by Elsa Klench of CNN. After clinching the 2006 crown, she was approached by the organisers of FAFA Fashion For Peace.
She explains: "I participated as a model in the first Fashion For Peace catwalk and that’s how I got hooked to it. I really love modelling but the pressure in that field is too much. It is also hard to protect your image as a model while, as a doctor, it is easier to deal with people professionally because they take you seriously."
Amrit is currently studying for a Master of Forensic Odontology in the University of Western Cape in South Africa.
In the cards for her are a PhD in odontology and a second degree in Law.
