KOCHI: Manju V Nair has one goal in life. Having grown in a privileged dance background, the Malappuram native believes in the concept of ‘learning with freedom’. “Earlier, we used to have a gurukula system. In the system, a dance student was able to understand his or her teacher and develop own style. However, it is not practical now. In current circumstances, I want my students to have the freedom to grow, which is only possible in creative breathing space,” she says. The dancer will be performing at the Changampuzha Park on Monday.
Manju’s tryst with bharatanatyam began at the age of four. “My mother Uma Devi is a dance teacher. So I believe dance was passed on to me. During this time, I was trained under Kabir Das and Bindu Mohanakrishnan. After Class VI, I was trained by Thrissur Janardhanan, who was a great influence on my life,” she says. However, it took her years of participating in school youth festivals and consequently winning prizes to finally get serious about the art form.
“During my Class XII days, I realised dance was, in fact, my passion and that this would be my career choice. That was the best decision I ever made. Because bharatanatyam has been an important part of my life since a young age, I cannot see myself living without dance. It is as important as my next breath,” she says.
After graduating in bharatanatyam with rank from the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Manju did her post-graduation at Bangalore University.
Ever since she realised her passion for the art form, Manju had been fascinated by the process of writing lyrics for dance compositions. “I began writing lyrics at 18. At the time, I used to write in Sanskrit and Manipravalam. Because I perform bharatanatyam and it originated in Tamil Nadu, I later began writing in Tamil,” she says.
In addition to this, Manju has always felt a sense of closeness to the language. “I don’t have a formal education in Tamil,” she says. Like many Keralites, she also learnt basic language by listening to Tamil songs. “For the past eight years, I have been honing my language skills by reading Tamil-English translations. Also, being not my native language, I ask my friends to proofread so that I don’t repeat my mistakes,” says Manju.
The artist has worked with the likes of R L V Radhakrishnan, Mini Pramod and Kalamandalam Rachitha Ravi.She recently wrote the lyrics for Rachitha’s dance composition ‘Parineetha’.Manju also wrote the lyrics for singer Job Kurian’s upcoming single ‘Thalelo’. “It is a Tamil lullaby which reflects the pain of child abuse. The project is very close to my heart,” she says.