There comes a time in every person’s life when they need to make a decision that could potentially alter their lives. Drastically. Completely. And often irreversibly. My time came a couple of months ago.

The story itself throws back about a decade. I’ve been dancing ever since I could walk, and a teeny part of me… well, that would be misleading; in all honesty, a resonating voice within me… wanted to dance. I’ve spent many an afternoon watching ‘Dance With Me’ and wanting to be there. Dancing, teaching dance, performing… I wanted to do it all.

But of course, good Malayalee Nair girls do not become dance teachers. Not unless it’s Bharatnatyam or Mohiniattam or the like, and even then it’s not quite considered a ‘career’. Dance was always looked upon, and even encouraged as, a hobby. A pastime. But it ended there.

And so my choice of career veered towards my second-but-disguised-as-first love, fashion. And so I slogged, managed to get myself accepted into the most prestigious fashion college in the country, and figured that the hardest part was over.

Wrong again. Even whilst at college, I spent far more time dancing and choreographing than ever designing. Every college festival, contest, inter-college event – you name it, I was there, either on stage performing, or in the wings watching my choreography unfold. Sometimes both! And yes, I’d sketch the odd garment every now and then. I managed to work a so-called balance between the two by designing stuff for my dance performances. For some reason though, my faculty never quite considered that a ‘balance’. Hmmm. So much for encouraging creativity!

And so I graduated, do not ask me how. Started working soon after, and then life changed dramatically. Work took over my very existence, and there was little or no time left to dance. Until it reached breaking point, and I could not go any longer without dance to help ease the pain inflicted by the corporate world.

And then, the magic began…