Imagine working tirelessly towards your goals and yet falling short. Imagine dreaming of something day and night, pouring your heart and soul into it to make it a reality, only to face challenges that make you want to give up.

Namrata KC, a professional Kathak dancer and the founder of Aesthetic Dance Studio, was once one of those dreamers.

Despite her dedication and hard work, life threw unanticipated obstacles in her path to pursuing Kathak.

“Kathak, a classical dance form from the Northern part of India, is characterised by rhythmically sophisticated footwork (tatkar), quick turns (chakkar), hand gestures (hasta-mudra) and storytelling. The grace, gesture, and movements make Kathak dance a beautiful fusion of mind, body, and spirit,” says KC.

“Kathak enables people to express their emotions through various bodily movements and expressions,” she adds.

Ghungroo, one of the base elements of Kathak, is highly important. The chimes of ghungroo enhance the beauty of the footwork and add musical quality to the performance.

While performing kathak, the sound of it helps express the dancer's enthusiasm and melancholic emotions, enriching the overall performance. Moreover, it helps balance the dancer's body while doing the footwork and spins.

“When I watched the dance form on screen, it seemed like an impossible dream,” says Pushpa Bhandari, one of KC’s students.

“Watching actresses like Rekha, Madhuri Dixit, and Aishwarya Rai perform with grace and femininity made me think I could never match their elegance. My decision to join the studio out of sheer curiosity has helped me overcome my fear of stage performance,” adds Bhandari.

Like Bhandari, around 240 students are currently learning under KC, who attribute Kathak as the key to bringing positive energy into their lives.

Kathak has shown them that dance is a form of meditation. It has helped them discover their inner grace and taught them to believe in their beauty, balance, and power.

Bhandari’s seemingly impossible dream became a reality thanks to her Guru, Namrata KC, whose dream of pursuing Kathak in India came true. But KC’s desire to become a dance artist by earning a master’s in Kathak, far from home, evoked fear and hesitation in her parents.

KC says, “Convincing my parents to let me go to India to pursue a master’s in dance felt like an uphill battle. They were against my decision. But after a year of persistence, I finally convinced them.”

When KC arrived in Lucknow, she felt a step closer to her dream of becoming a dance artist. However, she discovered that Tribhuvan University did not provide an equivalence certificate for the degree she was about to enrol in.

She was left with no choice but to return home. However, she did not give up.

She returned, this time to Lucknow University. However, gaining admission was no easy feat. All the effort she put into reaching the university seemed in vain when she encountered difficulties with the admission process.

“I found a significant disparity in the dance proficiency there. It felt exceedingly challenging. The staff informed me that I wasn’t sufficiently capable for the master’s course and was not admitted.”

With no other option, KC pleaded with the staff to give her a chance. She requested two months to learn and prove herself worthy of staying.

After two months of dedicated effort, her skills improved significantly, earning her a place among the students.

Upon returning with her master’s degree, she invested heavily and opened the Aesthetic Dance Studio in 2017. It was a dream come true for her, a moment she had longed for. However, little did she know that new challenges would arise, as investing to open the studio was just the beginning.

Running the studio also required substantial finances and capital, which she lacked during that phase. Additionally, minimal student enrollment and a lack of effective marketing compounded her challenges.

Despite taking on multiple jobs, the financial burden of running the studio remained overwhelming. Eventually, KC had to bow to fate and temporarily close the studio.

Fast-forward one and a half years, Covid-19 struck. At a time when everyone struggled with motivation, art came to the rescue. KC seized the opportunity to offer online Kathak classes to her students. Over time, the demand for enrollment grew steadily as more students sought solace and enrichment through her classes.

One of the students, Dipika Khatiwada, is now the operations manager and a Kathak dance instructor at Aesthetic Dance Studio. From a young age, Dipika carries a deep love for the arts.

Her passion for Kathak grew stronger when her teacher introduced her to classical dance in tenth grade, igniting a desire to master this dance form.

However, due to her family’s financial challenges, Dipika could not pursue formal Kathak classes. Instead, she turned to YouTube as her primary source of learning this dance form.

Over time, Khatiwada began earning and achieving financial independence. This newfound stability enabled her to finally heed the inner calling that had been urging her since her teenage years to pursue Kathak classes, which she embraced wholeheartedly.

The journey from aspiring to learn Kathak to becoming a student and now an instructor of the same dance form feels nothing short of a dream come true for Khatiwada.

“Going to Kathak classes rejuvenates my soul and provides me with the sheer contentment I once yearned for. Performing on stage has boosted my confidence, making me feel good about myself. The focus required to do footwork (tatkar) and quick turns (chakkar) puts me in a meditative state blocking the stream of unwanted thoughts. I find myself more at peace now,” says Khatiwada.