A multi-talented woman, Leena believes that classical dance is the base of all dance forms, and if you can learn that, then you can do any type of dance in the world.A multi-talented woman, Leena believes that classical dance is the base of all dance forms, and if you can learn that, then you can do any type of dance in the world.

Leena Sharma is the founder of Bhakti Events & Wedding Planners and Rajeev Surti Dance Factory in Udaipur.

Recalling her childhood, Leena says that she was a very naughty child. She used to play sports in her school days and was mainly interested in water sports. She did sea swimming, scuba diving, etc. and didn’t have the fear of death.

Talking about her journey, Leena says that she had been interested in dance since childhood while simultaneously playing cricket too. She took six months of cricket training from Diana Edulji, but her father was not in favour of her pursuing cricket. Then she learnt swimming, and Anita Sood was her main inspiration. Afterwards, her father pressured her to appear for the bank exams, and luckily, she got a job at the Bank of India. She joined the Bank of India as a cashier in Mumbai. After getting married, she got transferred to the Udaipur branch of the bank, and a completely new  life started for her.

Talking about her talented daughter, Leena shares that her daughter started learning swimming when she was just two years old.  By the age of five, her daughter  had started competing at state and national level swimming competitions.  Seeing her daughter’s passion for swimming, Leena totally involved herself in guiding her and getting her trained. As a result, Leena’s daughter was later able to achieve the feat of crossing the English Channel.

Sharing about her challenges, Leena says that though as a coach, she was confident that her daughter would be able to cross the English Channel, but as a mother, she was worried.  Again, when her daughter stood first in the Zurich competition,  it was a proud moment for her as a mother and a coach. Once, when her daughter was swimming in the Antarctic Ocean, she was half in a coma, but she still set the record.  Leena says that it was a very tough journey for her as a mother and a coach.

After winning the international competition, her daughter decided to swim the seven seas. In 2007, her daughter went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean. Then in 2008, she swam in the Mediterranean Sea. In 2008, Leena also did her own practice of swimming at the age of 42 to establish a world record. She established a world record by crossing the English Channel with her daughter. Afterwards, in 2010, she got the help of Mr. Kelly from Iceland, and her daughter set another record by swimming for 33 minutes in the Arctic Ocean.

In 2007, Leena started her Kathak journey again to complete her graduation. She quit her job to focus on her dance. She invested a huge amount of money with a partner to open a dance academy and event company. But after three years, she suffered a huge loss because of her partner. Slowly and gradually, she started again, and within one year, her dance academy, RSDF, was at the top. For events, she initially started by organising annual functions of schools. Then she learned about organising and planning wedding events. Afterwards, she also started wedding decor and photography. She always tries to fit things into the client's budget. For the last four years, she has had NRI clients in her event company. In her dance academy, she has hired choreographers who train the students in different dance forms, like classical and western.

Leena says that she has had leadership qualities since childhood.

While comparing education and experience, Leena says that both are equally important in life.

If given a time machine, Leena would like to achieve something that nobody has done yet.

Leena believes that it is important to always choose an event planner who can match your mindset and understand your requirements.

Advising the youth, Leena says that it is good to dream, but it is also essential to put in hard work to execute it. Don’t give up due to struggles; try to overcome them. She advises you to chase your dreams and try hard to fulfil them.