Shweta Srivastav was not always this confident, happy and self-assured. In fact, there was a time when this Ghaziabad-based fitness instructor and professional dancer was so unsure of herself that all she saw ahead was darkness and gloom.

“I had crossed 30 and was not working. I thought my life was over and that I wouldn’t be able to do anything in life, except take care of my home. It depressed me no end,” says Srivastav. So much so that it impacted her mental health.

“It was dance that brought me back to life,” she says. A post-graduate in Insurance Management, Srivastav was working with Kotak Mahindra when she got married to a Border Roads Organisation officer and shifted base to where her husband was posted.

“Being in BRO, we lived in remote areas where there was little population or civil life. Soon, I became a mother and slipped into postpartum depression,” she says, a little pensively, adding, “I was always on the plumper side and gained more weight during pregnancy that refused to leave me even after delivery. I remember I had stopped liking the person I saw in the mirror,” she says. During this time on a visit to her mom’s place in Ghaziabad, she got to know of auditions going on for a dance show. She went for the auditions, but got rejected.

“That was a big blow to my self-confidence. I knew I was a good dancer but couldn’t understand why I got rejected,” she adds. “I thought I was worthless. I would cry all the time,” she says. Then, like a spark of bright light, realisation dawned. “I thought to myself that how would someone select me for a dance show if I was this fat. I decided that I had to lose weight,” says Srivastav. She then joined a fitness centre and started dancing regularly.

“Dancing was the only thing that came to my mind. It was the only thing that could save me from myself,” she avers. And it did. As Srivastav started losing weight, thoughts of being worthless began fading away from her mind. She started believing and liking herself. The turning point came in 2011, when she got selected for Jhumroo, a musical show celebrating the life of legendary singer Kishore Kumar to be held at the Kingdom of Dreams in Gurugram. “It was a big high for me,” she reminisces. After a year of performing in Jhumroo, Srivastav quit the show, owing to her family responsibilities.

“During this period, my mother took care of my daughter when I was away but then she couldn’t continue to do so due to her health,” she says, adding, “But this time, rather than slipping into depression, I joined a Zumba class and later got into Shiamak Davar Dance Academy. Soon, I got into its prestigious Special Potential Batch, the members of which perform on various shows, and with film stars. I have performed in troupes of Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor and Vani Kapoor so far,” she says.

In August 2019, she appeared in a Diadem Mrs. India Legacy Classic-2019 and emerged as the winner. Earlier this month, Srivastav started her own studio, Jabtastic where she teaches kickboxing and Zumba among other dance forms. She is also a dance instructor at Lotus Valley International School, Noida.

“My whole point of talking all this is to tell all the people out there, especially women, that one can achieve success at any age. The only thing is that you must not stop believing in your dreams. Have conviction in your dreams and people will also begin believing in you,” she signs off.