“Growing up I realised academics wasn’t my thing. I latched onto what I loved the most, the one thing that actively engaged my mind with creativity which was dance and choreography. This love for the art started at a young age when I followed my sister into dance and music classes. Eventually dance became my favourite after school activity and became the one thing I would always look forward to. I fell in love.

As I finished writing my board exams, I joined a professional dance company in Chennai, where I was exposed to different forms of art and the know-how of it. We used to choreograph performances for schools and colleges, perform theatrical shows and what not. We even got to teach science using our movement vocabulary! Now that’s something new.

The regular nine-to-five corporate life never interested me. Being in the creative space made me feel more alive, I followed my heart and took up choreography as a profession. After all, it was all that I’ve wanted all along, ever since I was a kid.

I was able to manage myself financially since college as I was primarily working with our dance company. It was during this time our dance company got an opportunity to perform in Scotland before the Commonwealth Games in 2014. We had no funding to get there and to raise funds we did a yard sale. During this sale, my sister picked up an empty glass bottle and painted it flawlessly. This grabbed my attention and we thought we could make something out of my sister’s artistic skills.
We started “Bodhai” to bridge the gap between utility and sustainability. It has now grown to be a brand that recycles used glass/bottles to be made into sustainable home decor. We also run our choreography brand – “The Shankar Sisters”, keeping our passion alive.

No matter what we do with our lives, challenges are fated and there’s nothing we can do about it. We just need to make our presence wherever we are and move on, disregarding the unwarranted criticism. Do what you love and love what you do. The things in life that motivate you to get going every day, without any monetary expectations often turn out to be your best friend for the rest of your life!”