It was the middle of August. The monsoon in India was about to end in a month, and soon it was to be succeeded by winters. Despite that, the clouds were pouring in enormous amounts of water in most of the states of India. The city of Nathdwara was no exception. Almost every day, the city saw a heavy shower in the evenings which continued till the dawn of the next day. But this rainfall made the atmosphere in the morning quite cold and soothing.

On one such afternoon, the sky was covered with clouds, overshadowing the sun. The cold breeze brought little sprinkles of water making the weather cold. In such a pleasant climate, the students of the Mahatma Gandhi Government School, Mohi, were standing in the ground and reciting prayers before leaving for their homes. Located 25 km away from the city of Nathdwara, Rajasthan, the school was well-maintained by the staff and students. It was painted in blue, with a big playground in the front.

As everyone left, there was a girl hopping around barefoot, looking for her shoes. The girl was Tanushree Rathore from 8th grade. Someone had accidentally taken her shoes, leaving only a misfit pair. Without complaint, she squeezed her feet into those small shoes and hopped home — a 5 km walk to her aunt's house.

"I love dancing. When I grow up, I want to become a dancer."

Tanushree lives around 5 km away from school with her aunt. Her parents sent her to the city to attain a better education and follow her dreams. Her father, Ratan Singh, runs a Kirana store. Her mother Devi — a homemaker who herself knows Kathak — fully supports Tanushree's ambitions. Her younger sister attends the village's government school in 5th standard.

Unable to afford formal dance classes, Tanushree turns to YouTube on her aunt's phone to watch and learn Kathak, a classical Indian dance form. Every afternoon after school, she practices for at least two hours, then completes her homework, studies in the evening, and is in bed by 10pm — a disciplined schedule driven entirely by her own motivation.

She is also preparing for an upcoming dance competition, guided by her primary school teacher who recognised her talent and motivated her to keep up her dance practices. The teacher helped create her audition tape and submitted it on her behalf. "I am just waiting now for the competition night," Tanushree says with anticipation.

"The plan is to pursue my dream ambition first. But one thing I am sure of is that I won't quit dancing anytime soon."

While Tanushree keeps on practising hard to perfect her dance steps, she needs to be energetic all the time. Akshaya Patra refuels her energy by providing her with hot and nutritious meals on a daily basis as an implementation of PM Poshan Abhiyaan. It helps Tanushree and 2 million children like her study with focus and work hard towards accomplishing their ambition.