You know that saying, if I had a penny for every time something happened I’d be rich? Well I wonder how many penny's we’d have for every time we decided to give up a dream in fear of society. We all know it takes a huge amount of bravery to follow your dreams amidst societal norms, defying expectations and embracing your true self against all odds. Today i am talking with someone who broke away from traditional career expectations and chose the unconventional path of belly dance. Meghana has been a dancer all her life. At the 'ripe' age of 4, Meghana started Bharatnatyam classes and has since ventured into various other forms of dance. But she found her true calling in 2010 when she attended her first Bellydance class. Not only did Bellydance mark the beginning of a new chapter in her life but it also changed her, making her stronger and broadening her horizons. With a teaching experience of over 5 years, Meghana is currently the COO and Head Instructor at Samai Oriental Dance Company, a Bangalore-based belly dance school.

Recently, her dance film 'Chrysalis' was one of the top 5 nominees under the 'Best Artistic Production' and 'Best Fusion' categories at the International Raqs Film Festival, organized by the iconic dancer, Kamala Almanzar, and Dance Garden L.A., U.S.A.

When she is not dancing, Meghana also works as a content editor. I truly enjoyed talking with her today and i hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.

Intro and outro music credits- my super-talented friend, Shreya Shanbhag!

You can connect with Meghana on Instagram @themeghanasuresh

If you'd like to connect with me-

Instagram: @brravehearrt or @kavyaaa_

I would be so happy to hear your thoughts or feedback

-💜K

I think I was about 10 when I first picked up a fiction book and since then there has been no stopping. While I grew up devouring book after book, there were times when I wondered if I could also write stories. As is the case with a lot of people who read. And it makes me wonder, if only more people acted upon this instinct, how many more brilliant authors the world would get to see. Today I am joined by someone who not only acted upon her desire to write but she also went ahead and became a published author and boy am I glad she did! Shalini P Sawkar is an Indian Author, Columnist and TED Circles Speaker. She has written 3 books 2 short stories: Confessions Of An IT Employee, The Murder Of Jay Shekhar and When I Find you. She’s a Columnist with The Post India and SheThePeople.tv and a Software Engineer from Bangalore. Her novel Confessions of an IT Employee has been awarded the Coimbatore Literary Awards - Most Promising Fiction and has been reviewed by The New Indian Express and Economic Times. She has also received the Womennovator’s 1000 Faces of Asia Award 2021 in the Author Category in association with Consulate General of India, New York and Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India.

I truly loved talking with her today and I hope you enjoy this conversation just as much as we did!

Intro music credits- my super-talented friend, Shreya Shanbhag!

You can connect with Shalini on Instagram @shalinipsawkar

If you'd like to connect with me-

Instagram: @brravehearrt or @kavyaaa_

I would be so happy to hear your thoughts or feedback

-💜K

For my very first episode, I thought long and hard about who I should bring on here. As I looked back, one of the first instances of bravery that I got to witness was from my friend Apurva. At 18 when we were knee-deep with homework and mugging up textbooks, she announced to all of us that she was taking up Herbalife. A decade later, she's still as passionate about it, only now she's a full-time successful entrepreneur, a model, and a coach. Now the whole reason I wanted to do this podcast was to bring you all instances of bravery that we get to see in our daily lives that we can take inspiration from. What started off as a chat between two friends ended up with me getting tonnes of insight and wisdom. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.

Intro music credits- my super-talented friend, Shreya Shanbhag!

You can connect with Apurva on Instagram @coachapu

If you'd like to connect with me-

Instagram: @brravehearrt or @kavyaaa_

I would be so happy to hear your thoughts or feedback

-💜K

I believe that bravery is intrinsic to all of us, all humans. I am Kavya and this is my podcast Braveheart. Join me as we uncover what it takes to be brave for ourselves, in all scenarios of life, big and small,

And to do this I talk to some of the bravest people I know, who have had to muster enormous courage, stand in their power, their authenticity, be the outliers. 

And as for my story, in a very click-baity fashion I am going to say that we shall delve into it at some point, soon enough but until then, I am so excited for whats in store for us in the upcoming episodes. I am excited to prove my hypothesis for myself and to you. And I truly hope that you enjoy listening as much as I enjoy making these episodes. I will see you soon in the next one. Oh and welcome to Braveheart!