by Anshu Gupta (PC-17/403, 9810075172)
Shagun (PC-2/701) is a well-known and adorable personality in our township who has been actively contributing to the field of dance and fitness through her workshops and social events for Wishtown residents. The latest was the blockbuster Groomer performance of Wishtown ladies in the WTSS Durga Puja event which left everyone mesmerized and inspired.
We wanted to know more and share with our readers about this talented, bubbly girl next door and her resolve to follow her passion.
The dancer in her has always been there. Although very fortunate.., she comes from a humble family in Prayagraj city, where girls had very limited exposure to non-academic interests. Neither were there resources, nor the mindset to nourish and promote the liking she had towards dance. Her self-taught moves were restricted to closed-door family gatherings and school/college functions.
Like many other middle-class families; expectations and direction had always been to do well in academics and get married. As a result; an engineering degree came atop crushed desires to do well in the area of performing arts.
Hobby Becomes Passion
Life was going easy with a job at Ericsson India and a happy married life. It was during her maternity leave; she took a pause and pondered over what she wanted to do and become in her life. This was the time when a child, a mother and a dancer started taking shape of life.
As her son, Shubh, crossed the neonatal age; she decided to take formal training in Western and Indian classical dance forms. Ballet, Jazz and Bharatnatyam were her picks among many. Her excellence in Jazz got her an opportunity to work with the Jhumroo group (Kingdom of Dreams fame, Gurgaon).
Challenges
Learning dance at the age of 30 comes with a whole lot of challenges… She did not have the advantage many of her much younger colleagues had in terms of physical flexibility, strength and time on their side. 6 -8 hours of rigorous training with a 2-year-old kid to take care of was never going to be easy. Looking at her passion and resolve; her trainers allowed Shubh to be around during long training sessions and this was the opportunity for a mother and a dancer to flourish together.
Leap Towards Fitness
Shagun had to leave her Bharatnatyam training midway due to a physical deformity and that was the time she realized the importance of being fit and started working on it. At the age of 32, she was again ready for a new assignment in the world of physical fitness and smoothly integrated it with her passion for dance. After exhaustive training and certification programs; she has been taking fitness classes which include Power yoga, Pilate, Tabata, Zumba and other high-intensity workouts.
Balancing Factor
The kind of energy required to manage a profession and family is derived from sheer passion and well balanced with her love for painting and plants. These two hobbies have a soothing effect on her personality. Every corner of her home has a place and space for plants which she fondly calls her babies.
Her eyes glitter with pride and satisfaction when she talks about how she followed the calling in her life rather than flowing with the current. She can never thank her husband enough for all the support and encouragement he has been providing to let her choose and live her life. “Age is just a number “and “You live for your passion” just summarize her mindset and attitude towards life.
