HYDERABAD: They are talented. They have time in their hands and they know how to channel their energies. Their passion to master what they are good at is what is driving them to perfection. They stand apart because they rule their own lives. Social media is their tool for visibilty and they are more than self-sufficient. Meet these young and independent 20-somethings playing in the most unusual fields.
City Express catches up with them
Nidarshana Sharma,
Make a Move Dance & Fitness
Check out the videos on her Facebook page and you will start moving your legs, even if you are one with two left feet.
This 24-year-old Zumba instructor, dancer and choreographer started the brand in October last year. “I trained in Bharatnatyam for a short while. I was eight years old then. It did not materialise, and since then I have been dancing, in school, college – everywhere I got a chance,” says Nidarshana. She started teaching while she was studying and later went on to work for Google. “One and a half year ago, I was introduced to Zumba and I enjoyed it. My instructor noticed that I was good at it and encouraged me to get trained,” she adds and that’s how she became a certified Zumba instructor.
“I left my job and started out on my own primarily because I wanted to be experimental and operate on my own. I did not want to be answerable to anyone,” says Nidarshana.
Started only four months ago, Nidarshana does not have a studio of her own yet. However, she is booked through the week and she takes classes at different places in the city. She calls social media instrumental in widening her client range. “I have a page on Zumba.com and also Facebook. I post motivational quotes, videos, and fitness tips on my page. People contact me mostly through the page after seeing my videos and pictures of my sessions,” she explains.
You want to take up a fun fitness class or get in shape, you know where to go.
Details: on.fb.me/1ASuOBr
Sangeetha Chawla,
by the same name on Instagram
“My quest in life is to be unique, at everything I do,” says the 24-year-old who started her personal styling brand a few months a ago. Spreading the motto of her life, Sangeetha’s styling aims at making every individual look and feel unique. “I do not work with one idea for everyone. When I am approached by someone, I look at their needs – that includes their budget, body type and comfort most importantly,” explains the certfied medical doctor whose love lies with shoes. “I want to become a shoe designer. All of this is only the first step,” she says.
Her interest in staying fashionable and her taste for things developed with encouragment from her sisters and her mother. “I started off by styling them and also myself,” she reveals. She started posting pictures on Instagram and Facebook. “That is the best and only marketing space for me. I started getting orders after I made myself visible on social media,” shares Sangeetha who is currently working on a Tollywood film that stars actor Ravi Teja in the lead.
Her business required some initial investment. “I invested money from my pocket. I charge my customers accordingly and within the first few months I started making a decent profit,” she shares.
If you want to wear the best of you, within your budget, here she is. Details: bit.ly/1CPPYHg
Disha Singh,
yoga.write.inspire on Instagram
This 25-year-old yoga instructor and student, wants to share the magic of yoga that she experiences with the world around her. “I can’t describe exactly what it means to me but I can say that it has impacted my life in a big way. I was fortunate enough to discover it three years ago. I began to feel different about myself through daily practice,” says Disha who believes that yoga is a way of life and is not just about fitness.
She began teaching a year-and-a-half ago at a studio in Banjara Hills. “I then took a big leap of faith and went to Bali in October to gain a broader perspective of what is Yoga and why is it so popular globally,” shares Disha.
Currently in Melbourne she teaches yoga along with a friend. Though it is extremely challenging to make ends meet, Disha focuses on personalised classes that have a lot of scope. “I also plan workshops that last for a span of two or three days. As they are specialised, a lot of people sign up. This takes up more time to plan, but financial rewards are higher,” she explains.
She relies on social media just like the others. She believes that networking and visibility of what one has to offer is important. “You have to be bold enough to put yourself out there,” she points out and adds the reason why she chose Instagram. “I post some of it on Facebook as well, but Instagram is very popular in the fitness field as the pictures speak of what you can teach,” shares Disha.
Need some inspiration to kickstart the yogi/yogini inside you, say hello to Disha.
Details: bit.ly/1EECTjh
Chitra Maudgil,
Chitra Maudgil Artistry on FB
Her obsession with makeup and colours started when her friend showed her how she can makeup a tiger face. What? “Yes, I was fascinated with tigers back then,” she laughs. That is how she started watching makeup videos and there was no looking back since then. “I was in my second year of masters, but my focus was on makeup videos. I used to spend money on cosmetics and try it out on myself. I used to go to classes with loud make up on,” she says and admits that she wasn’t very good at it back then. Chitra then went on to work as a retail make-up artist. “I was surrounded by cosmetics and all things vanity around me. It was exciting because I got to learn a lot of new things, but it eventually got mundane,” she shares.
That is when she decided to move on, and start off on her own. “I decided to express myself through makeup and started working on my portfolio. I would meet young photographers, models – all of them looking to build portfolios,” she recalls. And this 26-year-old now works with T’town celebrities like Allu Sirish, Adah Sharma and Lavanya Tripathi.
Chitra shares that she started out on her own mainly because she wanted to diversify the idea of using cosmetics. “The perception of makeup is limited. I wanted to change that,” she expresses. And social media is what makes it work for her too. “I share my work on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. It works because it is one stop to put down all that you have done. It also pushes me to work harder,” she says.
To scare someone at a Halloween party, fake a bruise or look beautiful on any occasion, you can call her. Details: on.fb.me/1EZAb8d