KANNUR: As age advances, it brings with it problems, most physical, some psychological. However, what matters the most is how young you are at heart. This is what eight women from Koovode near Taliparamba in Kannur proved with their dance performance during an Onam function recently. Backed by a committed teacher, the group of women, all aged between 60 and 75, held nothing back as they regaled the audience with their moves. The video of the performance has gone viral on social media and is being hailed as the most beautiful statement of old generation trying to express their joy.
It was dance teacher Praveena Mohan, 40, who came up with the idea. “We were planning the programmes for the Onam celebrations of Koovode Grameena Kala Samithi. That’s when I thought about trying something with elderly women. I shared the idea with them. The women were extremely excited at the prospect of dancing,” said Praveena, who is an ASHA worker under Ezhome primary health centre.
The task was not easy, Praveena said. “It was tough to teach dance to the women, all grandmothers, as some were over 70 years of age and had difficulty in moving their limbs to the rhythm. However, they gave it their everything and in the end, we presented a beautiful show,” Praveena said. She trained the women for a week for the 4-minute-long performance on the Malayalam song ‘Ellarum Chollanu’ from Neelakkuyil (1954).
V Kalyani, 75, a Koovode native who was the most senior team member, said all of them were thrilled with the idea. “We could not dance as kids because the situation in our houses back then was not conducive for learning any art form. We are lucky, we got the chance to dance now,” she said.
V Karthiayani, M Kamala, Shyamala Koovodan, A Madhavi, C Yasodha, Vanaja and C Bindu. Karthiayani, 74, said none of them faced any physical difficulty. Most of the women are Kudumbashree workers and some work menial jobs. “We are indebted to Praveena. She gave us the confidence to dance,” Kalyani said.
The group is not done though. Led by Praveena, the women are rehearsing for more performances in the coming days. “We have done some 10 programmes so far and plan to do more,” Praveena said.