Last Saturday (8 March 2014), marked the beginning of a new dawn for Ragini Makkhar and her Naadyog team as they went on to win Colors’ ndia’s Got Talent (IGT) Season 5 trophy. For most winners, their victory was usually a surprise, but not for Ragini who looks at IGT as her hard-earned victory. “It’s my lifelong dream, dedication and hard work that have finally paid off. I have rehearsed Kathak for 17 years with sheer dedication and punctuality,” states the dancer. From this point, Ragini plans to take the dance form ahead. “I would like to adopt the kids who cannot afford the money to learn the dance form. In fact we already have a few poor children at Naadyog whom we teach Kathak free of cost,” reveals the lady. “It was my dream to present Kathak in a different style and I have managed to do that finally in IGT,” she goes on to add. Did you doubt your victory even for a second? “Not at all, I was 99 per cent sure that I would win. In fact, for me there was just one per cent chance of the trophy going to someone else because of the votes. But then India showed faith in us and gave me the respect that I was waiting for all these years,” she avers. If not you, whom would have you wanted to see as a winner? “Beat Breakers or Hargun Kaur. I simply loved them, for they are really genuine people. In fact, I’ve offered to help Beat Breakers if ever they need some financial help,” informs Ragini. Finally while narrating about the days of struggle, she avers, “When my family shifted from Punjab to MP, we were broke. My parents could either feed us or send us to school. So my father left me in a gurukul where I acquired the art. From thereon I worked hard to get scholarships. Since Kathak is my passion I also travelled with my team to perform. But it wasn’t easy, for it requires a lot of money. One has to pay the musicians accompanying you plus the staying charges.” She goes on, “There were times when I survived on one vada pav and spent a day in the waiting room of a railway station; I did this for ten years. I was completely blown in 1994 when my father passed away as I had no support left. But then I worked hard to form my dance institute Naadyog.” Her struggle did not end here… “Since I was a Punjabi, people had their own reservations. They did not feel that a Punjabi could master the Kathak dance form, but then here we are,” exclaims Ragini. Now that’s quite a journey. Keep up the good work, Ragini!