Pratibha Prahlad is a picture of poise as she greets us with a warm welcome. And within minutes into a tete-a-tete, you are struck by the senior Bharatanatyam dancer’s intellect and wit. Better known as the architect of the mammoth Delhi International Arts Festival – a multifarious annual event happening simultaneously at diverse venues in the city, Pratibha needs no introduction in the cultural landscape of the Capital. “Well, this is the 12th year of the festival and also the last year, I’ll be holding it,” and before the shock sinks in, she continues, “As always we have 19 countries participating with 24 performances. We can’t be judgemental or bourgeois in art. The DIAF is a congregation of talent across different genres and it has the stamp of recognition in India and world over. This festival has challenged the cultural landscape and mindscape of consumers, connoisseurs and artists alike,” she is emphatic.
In keeping with Government of India’s focus on Look East-Act East and neighbouring Countries, DIAF will witness performances from Korea, China and Sri Lanka. A historical milestone at the opening ceremony on December 1 will be the Korean presentation – Echo of North – South Korea presented by South Korea, which is representative of the beginning of diplomatic ties between the two Koreas. The Chinese Drum Opera from Shanghai is a first with dancer-drummers who reverberate the sounds of the East. India’s Akram Khan will present an exciting rhythmic ensemble.
But why is this year the end of such a mega-scale event? “Yes this is my last year. The fest has attained monumental proportions. Now it is for the government to realise this and formalise it as the only living cultural equity which can position India in the front line of art and culture agenda on the global map. A festival of this magnitude can’t be put together by a single individual. So far, I did all this as my personal mission, not for anything else, however misunderstood I may be,” avers Pratibha.
Turning nostalgic, Pratibha recalls her journey as a dancer with a passion that was born at the tender age of four! Hailing from a family of academicians, she was a topper all through her school and college but dance was like a gravitational pull which drew her to her neighbour’s dance class as a tiny tot.
She plonked herself on stage with just ₹30 as the cost of her ghungroos, without formal training. Her parents were taken in by surprise too but were sensitive enough to realise the inborn talent and encourage her to learn dance from the best gurus possible. And then began her gruel with studies and dance classes taking her through various gurus like US Krishna Rao in Bangalore, her hometown and later weekend train rides to Chennai to hone her skills further under doyens like Kalanidhi Narayanan and Muthukumaraswami Pillai. “For years together life was a breathless song,” she says.
Stage performances galore at a very young age, she was at par with established classical dancers of the south (India).
“I realised the strength of academics when I went abroad for dance shows. My articulation skills were well appreciated. My post graduation in Mass Communication sharpened my writing skills and helped me to learn that acceptance comes from exposure followed by retention and finally a recall,” she explains about how dance or any classical art could be appreciated by a cross section who is constantly exposed to it.
It was not in Pratibha to just be content being a performing artiste. “Mine is an organic growth.” She wanted to make systematic changes to spread the flavours of arts across geographical and traditional boundaries. She literally went knocking at doors of art organisations, foreign embassies, private organisations, cajoling them to put up their own shows individually yet under a single umbrella. A lot of resistance initially finally yielded to the success of DIAF.
“Not just this fest, I had lobbied for artists getting leave travel concession in the Railways; I was the first to slot Purana Quila and Meghdoot as arts venues,” she lists out a few of her many initiatives. Her word of guidance to the younger lot in the field of arts is to develop resilience and self-belief and be an agent of change.
