While Ravi Bala’s husband Mukul Gopal Sharma was fighting his battle with cancer, he expressed the wish that Ravi finally follow her passion for dance.
Ravi obliged and she enrolled for a dance competition at the Punjab Kesari Club.
However, only a few months before the competition, Mukul succumbed to the cancer and Ravi was left lost and grieving.
“My sister and children realised that my husband’s death was affecting me mentally and emotionally. They intervened and pushed me to continue dancing and fulfil his last wish. That’s how I ended up performing on ‘Murli Manohar’ song,” Ravi says.
This moment became a crucial stepping stone for the age-defying illustrious social media fame that awaited Ravi in the future.
While Ravi was never a professional dancer, she grew up around Kathak dancers as her father was a music teacher and a tabla player.
Ravi gradually started participating in her school’s annual day functions and subsequently college festivals.
She completed her BEd and got married in 1989, after which she moved to Delhi and became a teacher at a government school.
“I never really got any chance to pursue my dancing after marriage. I was so swamped with work and family, that I forgot to live for myself. I felt more empty after Mukul passed away and I retired in 2019. But life is full of surprises,” she says.
In 2020, when the pandemic forced everyone to stay indoors, Ravi got to get more in tune with her long-lost passion. Her son made her an Instagram account and the rest is history.
Fondly knowns as the ‘dancing dadi’, her infectious smile and amazing dance moves took the platform by storm. Presently, she has 2,74,920 followers on Instagram.
So for those who feel they are too old to resume their hobbies, Ravi says, “Ageism may stop you from doing what you want, but in this last leg of your life, wouldn’t you want to do something for yourself? Go prove that age is really just a number.”