#PeopleOfDonatekart: Meet Aditi Singhvi
“When I dance, it’s all I think about. It’s my time, my space. For me, dancing is not only about physical and mental balance but also about healing. I’ve trained in Bharatanatyam for six years and then went on to learn contemporary, Bollywood and Zumba. But the more I started focusing on it as a career rather than a passion, I didn’t feel like doing it anymore. And just like so many other things that I loved to do — art, craft, playing cricket, and listening to music, I stopped dancing too. I didn’t know why.
I’ve always been someone who’s very expressive. I could laugh at the silliest of things, but at the same time, I could also get angry at the smallest of things. My emotions have always been extreme — anger, sadness, happiness…everything! I could never find a middle ground. And for a long time, I didn’t realize that this was something serious.
It was when I moved from Hyderabad to Bangalore to do my MA in Psychology that I started to have anger management issues. I was tired all the time, I would fall asleep in class, and I just couldn’t focus. I was angry, but also on the verge of tears. It was very confusing at that time. But I was lucky enough to realize that I needed help. I started going for therapy, my best friends came to be with me and I felt like I was finally on the right path.
Working on myself has been the greatest blessing. I was so used to doing everything for everyone else, that I never really spent time with myself. So that’s exactly what I did. I took myself out for dinner, for movies, went to cafes, live music shows…and I had the best time! After a year, I felt better and more positive. I truly believe that you can show up for people only when you’re able to show up for yourself.
All of this has helped me tremendously with my work here at Donatekart. Being here has changed the way I think and made me more conscious of my choices. All the NGOs that we work with have shown me how important it is to support our local businesses, and how much good can come out of it.
Today it feels like my journey has just begun. And what better way to do that than by starting to dance again?”
- Aditi Singhvi, Business Development Associate
