Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the grit of Mangaluru-based 17-year-old Bharatanatyam dancer Remona Evette Pereira and the support of her mother despite many odds and said it was nothing but tapasya (penance).
In his virtual five-minute interaction, after presenting the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2022, to mark the National Girl Child Day, Mr. Modi said youth like Ms. Pereira are the future of the country.
When the Prime Minister said the family must have struggled a lot to support her, Ms. Pereira revealed that she lost her father early. She and her brother Ronaldo Rockson Pereira were brought up by mother Gladis Periera with great difficulty. Hearing this, Mr. Modi said he salutes her mother.
The Prime Minister said he had heard Ms. Pereira was pursuing Bharatanatyam since the age of 3 and asked how she developed an interest in the art form.
She replied it was her mother’s passion to make her a great dancer. “I owe a lot to my mother and my family,” the girl told Mr. Modi adding she would strive to spread the richness of Indian culture across the world.
The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development informed the Dakshina Kannada district administration on Friday of Ms. Remona being chosen for the national award and asked it to arrange a virtual interaction on Monday at 11 a.m.
The interaction was arranged at the zilla panchayat office.
Ms. Pereira is a student of Sourabha Sangeetha Nrithya Kala Parishath and Sandesha Foundation of Arts and Culture. She also learns Western dance, folk dance and other dance forms and pursues I PU at Padua PU College, Mangaluru.
Her name figures in the India Book of Records, Bharat Book of World Records and Golden Book of World Record-London. She is a winner of Bal Gourav Prashasthi 2021 at the State level and Asadharana Pratibha Puraskara 2017 at the district level. She has performed Bharatanatyam in 16 States across India and received more than 20 awards.
After the interaction with the Prime Minister, Mr. Kumara felicitated the Pereira family on behalf of the district administration.
Ms. Remona told The Hindu she intends to obtain a doctoral degree in Bharatanatyam while her dream is to enter the Guinness Book of World Records. “I am keen on spreading the culture of Bharatanatyam and teach kids, particularly those from economically weaker sections,” she said.
Having lost her husband Everest Pereira just before the birth of Ms. Remona, Ms. Gladis Periera brought up the children doing tailoring work and the support of her family members. Mr. Ronaldo is in final year of hotel management undergraduate course, she said.
