In 2016, when Ravi Bala’s husband, Mukul Gopal Sharma encouraged her to pursue her long-lost passion for dancing, she obliged in a heartbeat. It had been six years since he was diagnosed with cancer and he didn’t know if he would ever be able to watch her perform. So, she enrolled for a dance competition at the Punjab Kesari Club.
Ravi is not a professional dancer and the last time she did a stage performance was in a college festival in the late ’80s. She began her dance routines and as she improved her stamina and moves, Mukul’s health deteriorated further.
Just a few months before the competition, Mukul succumbed to cancer. Ravi felt lost, unable to accept what had happened. She couldn’t cope with the loss of her partner, with whom she had spent 31 years of her life. She closed herself off from everyone around her and saw no point in going ahead with the competition.
“My sister and children realised that my husband’s death was affecting me mentally and…