Despite putting in her best efforts, Kajal Srivastava faced disappointment after each unsuccessful attempt at the UPSC exam.

“I started remaining anxious and became obese. This was followed by diseases like thyroid and PCOS,” she recalls. In 2020, she took her sixth and final attempt.

When the results were announced, and she once again didn’t make the list, Kajal found herself standing on the edge of despair, yearning to jump off the eighth-floor balcony of her apartment in Greater Noida.

“I was so sure of my success but I failed to clear UPSC even in my last chance. I wanted to jump off the balcony not because I had failed again but because I was tired. I was too tired to prove myself. I wanted peace instantly,” she shares.

However, instead of giving up, Kajal chose to explore other avenues and stumbled upon Kalaripayattu, an ancient martial art form that originated in Kerala.

Fascinated by the rich history and cultural significance of Kalaripayattu, she decided to immerse herself in learning it.

Through her training, Kajal found not only a new passion but also a sense of purpose and inner strength she had never known before.

Kajal now says that she doesn’t recognise the previous version of herself anymore. She credits this transformation to Kalaripayattu.

“Practising this art really helped me in curing my spondylitis, thyroid, regulating body weight, and controlling my mental state. I felt it was healing the broken me. I was becoming a different person,” Kajal adds.

Inspired by her own transformation through Kalaripayattu, Kajal made it her mission to share the benefits of the martial art with others.

So far, she has conducted several workshops to promote the art and has assisted more than 2,000 people living in trauma to find solace.

Looking back at her journey, Kajal says, “Had it not been for Kalari, I would not have survived. This art saved my life. I might be a UPSC failure, but I did not fail in life.”