Neena Prasad is one of India’s finest Mohiniyattom dancers, but it was in folk dance, group dance, and Kathakali that she triumphed at the State School Arts Festival. Not that she did not want to compete in Mohiniyattom; she never got an opportunity. She tellsP.K. Ajith Kumarwhy.
I had studied at Holy Angels Convent School in Thiruvananthapuram, where our teachers would decide who should participate in which event. Since I was going to compete in Kathakali, I was not considered for Mohiniyattom or Bharatanatyam. It was disappointing for me, as a budding classical dancer.
I did enjoy my victory in folk dance at the 1985 arts festival in Kochi. I had danced to a few lines from Changampuzha’s famous poem Vazhakkula, choreographed by my teacher Girija Chandran.
That year, I was also part of the team (Holy Angels) that won the first prize in group dance. I had come second in Kathakali, in which I enacted Balabhadran.
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Folk dance was very popular those days, and the quality was much better too. There was tough competition when I won; Kala Baby Thottam was second, I remember. I was not impressed with the Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattom competitions I watched over the past two days. Bharatantyam has become trendy at the cost of tradition.