For a lot of women, especially in India, things completely change after marriage. Often, this doesn’t leave them with time to do what they want or love to do.

This is a story about a woman who changed that. Speaking to Humans of Bombay, Kiran Dembla, a fitness expert, shared her story of finding her purpose in life. Except, she found many others on the way.

After marriage, my life was confined to the 4 walls of my home. I’d wake up & cook for the family. 10 years went by & every day, I felt like I wasn’t doing anything I loved. So I decided to take music classes for kids at home. But I barely left the house. My health worsened; I was inactive & put on 25 Kgs. 
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So, she joined a gym. Still fulfilling her parental duties, she used to go there at 5 AM and return by the time kids needed to be ready for school. Thanks to her dedication, she lost 24 Kgs in in 7 months. 

Later, she told her husband she wants to start a gym of her own and the couple did.

After that, I told my husband I wanted to open my own gym. So we rented a flat & made it into a mini-gym. I sold my jewellery & we took a loan. In 4 months, our entire colony knew about us. 
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From that point on, there was no looking back. She made 6-pack abs, found her ground and got an invitation from the Indian Body Building Federation for the world championship.

However, right when she started training for the competition and her father-in-law passed away. This was an unexpected problem but she overcame it.

We stayed for a week & then I told my mom-in-law that I had to go home to look after the kids. I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by telling her the truth. I reached Budapest for the competition & won 6th place!
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But this was not it. She found that she also has passion for mountaineering, photography and DJing. 

So, what advice does she have for people? 

So what if I started a little later? At 45, I’m a trainer, a DJ, a mountaineer & a photographer, but most importantly, the happiest version of myself, & that’s really the best advice I can give–just do whatever the hell makes you happy!
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You can read her complete story here:

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“After marriage, my life was confined to the 4 walls of my home. I’d wake up & cook for the family. 10 years went by & every day, I felt like I wasn’t doing anything I loved. So I decided to take music classes for kids at home. But I barely left the house. My health worsened; I was inactive & put on 25 kgs. So I joined a gym & started going daily at 5 AM–I’d be home in time to get the kids ready for school. In 7 months, I lost 24 kgs. After that, I told my husband I wanted to open my own gym. So we rented a flat & made it into a mini-gym. I sold my jewellery & we took a loan. In 4 months, our entire colony knew about us. As my body felt better everyday, I became obsessed with getting a 6-pack. I made that my goal–I worked hard & in 8 months, I had a 6-pack! I felt more confident–once, a scooter dashed my car. I was in a saree & at first I didn’t say anything. But when he abused me, I got out of my car. He saw my body & was mum. I slapped him & told him to never abuse women. Even agencies began contacting me for shoots. Then the Indian Body Building Federation gave me entry into the bodybuilding world championship–I couldn’t believe it & started training. But 15 days before the championship, my dad-in-law died. So while we were at their house, I wore a salwar to cover my body. There was no time to work out & non-veg wasn’t allowed in her house. So I went around trying to find someone to boil eggs for me. My nephew even snuck me out & helped me go to the gym. We stayed for a week & then I told my mom-in-law that I had to go home to look after the kids– I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by telling her the truth. I reached Budapest for the competition & won 6th place! After I even started mountaineering–my husband thought it was risky, but I told him, ‘Risk lena hi padhta hai life mein!’ Soon, I followed my passion for music & took up DJing & then did a photography course. It was simple–I did everything I loved. So what if I started a little later? At 45, I’m a trainer, a DJ, a mountaineer & a photographer, but most importantly, the happiest version of myself, & that’s really the best advice I can give–just do whatever the hell makes you happy!”

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