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 Dance was in her blood. It was ever waiting to flow out and shapeup into a beautiful, young, meticulate and disciplined dansuese. Young?!! Could be as young as six years of age at which she started with the rhymes of Bharatanatyam not understanding though what it was all about.
Padma Priya (Popularly known as Priya) has grown up to be a vibrant dansuese under the auspicies of the famous guru Natya Brahma V.S.Ramamurthy.
An offspring of Brig (Retd) V.K. Janakiraman and Mrs. Vijaya Janakiraman, Priya was growing to be a celebrity from the tender age of eight. With over 200 public performances to her credit, she had won plenty of accolades. Her Krishna Leela Ballet, where she performed the role of Lord Krishna for Hyderabad Doordarshan in 1990 is telecast even today on almost all Krishna Jayanti festivals and was specially chosen for the SAARC exchange program - she also featured in ‘Nritya Rupam’, an innovative choreography by Jayalakshmi Eshwar at Delhi, which was also specially telecast by Delhi Doordarshan.
The following are excerpts from her exclusive interview to Primetime Prism.
Q. Do you have a natural inclination towards dance or was it imposed upon you just because it was in your family?
Answer : “See I would like to answer it this way” (very confidently), in all my performances, I manage to keep the audience glued to their seats. It is the rasika or rasa which I present to the audience that helps me doing this and to develop rasa to this extent one has to have a natural inclination or interest towards the art form. It cannot be injected into one’s system.
Q. In dance, nritya & abhinaya are two main components, how do you manage a good balance among these and how does one master them?
Answer : Well, it all depends on your guru, his guidance and of course your personal interest also matters. I would like to mention here that I had the privilege of getting trained in two great traditions — the Vaghuvar & Kalakshetra styles. The more styles you learn, the more you develop in these skills. I would also like to make a definite note of the systematic training imparted to me under the able guidance of Guru V.S.Ramamurthy and the intense attention of his daughter Mrs. Manjula Ramaswamy towards my overall development into what I am today.
Q. Has your natural beauty and grace added to your popularity?
Answer : Bharatanatyam, the art form itself is so beautiful & charming that any dansuese has to look beautiful in that make-up. So I don’t think that really is an issue.
Q. Was dance always has all that you wanted or you had anything else in mind?
Answer : It is unfortunate yet true that only dance cannot feed every artist. It can only be a supportive element. I was and am inclined towards modelling and have also done many assignments (print & video). I am looking for good cinema offers too. But I am too choosy. I don’t want to take a wrong step. Apart from all this I am a B.Com (Hons) graduate & intend to do my MBA very soon.
Q. What is your ultimate goal in life ?
Answer : (Instantly) I want to start an institution which teaches dance to the talented, free of cost. Cast, creed, status will be no bar for the students who have the potential. They well get the best possible training here & a lot of opportunities to perform too.
Q. When is this likely to happen ?
Answer : I myself am still learning now. It would still take atleast 4-5 years before that happens.
Q. Lastly what is your message to the people ?
Answer : We have a lot of classical art forms in India, which slowly are getting extinct because of lack of public interest. I feel that every Indian should in his lifetime learn & teach atleast one of these artform. Then we will be the world leaders in this field.
Eloquent eyes, infectious smile, perfect grace, enchanting looks and true to real bhavas and abhinayas are her assets. The ease with which she weaves intrinsic patterns, her dexterity in performing elaborate and complex nuances and the way she lives through the portrayals make her a star performer. Priya captures the imagination of the audience with the alacrity of her rhythmic energy and was ever the cynosure of all eyes, be it a dance ballet, a drama or a group choreography”. This is what her father felt about her daughter.
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