Description

On Sunday mornings, long after class is over, some of Minal Prabhu's students linger. What begins as a 7 a.m. dance class often ends around her breakfast table, sharing a meal before heading home. It is a small ritual that reveals something about the Bharatanatyam teacher behind the large red bindi and lotus-shaped nose pin: for Minal Prabhu, teaching extends beyond the classroom into a community built through conversations, shared meals, and years of working closely with her students.

At eight years old, she was sent away to Chennai to study at Kalakshetra. As a teenager, she admits she rebelled, telling her father she was only dancing because he wanted her to. It wasn't until her twenties that she truly discovered her own love for the art form. That delayed but deep devotion would eventually shape her life's work.

Today, Minal Prabhu is one of Malleswaram's most respected dance educators, founder of the Mudrika Foundation for Indian Performing Arts, recipient of the Karnataka Kalashree and Vidya Tapasvi awards, choreographer of acclaimed productions including Panchatantra, Panchakanya, Krishna Navarasa and Moksha Mudra, and mentor to generations of dancers. Yet when she speaks about dance, her focus rarely returns to her own achievements.

Instead, she speaks about students.

Her goal, she says, is not merely to teach Bharatanatyam, but to make it compelling enough that young people choose it not as an extracurricular activity, but as a meaningful priority in their lives. It is perhaps why she stepped away from performing and devoted herself to teaching; why she continues to develop educational resources, conduct workshops, and nurture a learning environment that extends beyond technique.

Malleswaram, with its tree-lined streets, music classes, sabhas, and cultural institutions, provides the perfect setting for that mission. "Every street has some dance or music class," she says with unmistakable affection. It is a neighbourhood she cannot imagine leaving — a place where tradition remains visible in everyday life and where dance continues to be part of the community's rhythm.

For Minal Prabhu, teaching dance is not simply about preserving a classical form. It is about helping others discover the same passion she once took years to find herself.

Q And A

Q. Your father was a crucial reason why you started dancing. Could you tell us about that?

A. My father was very interested in dance and wanted to learn it himself. He once saw Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini perform and decided that if he ever had a daughter, she would learn dance. So my fate was sealed even before I was born.

I started dancing at four and music at six. Later, when my father learnt about Kalakshetra through Yamini Krishnamurthy's brochure, he decided to send me there so I could continue both my education and dance training.

Q. Initially it was not really your choice, you had to do dance, but when did you decide that you wanted to do it for yourself?

A. I think it was much later, because I had this constant turmoil within me. If I did not love it, I would not have done it. But because my father had told it to me, as a teenager I would throw it across his face and say I am doing it because of you. But suddenly one year when I could not be in touch with dancing, I realized it was miserable because of that. Probably in my twenties, I realized that I could not do without dancing, because I would be a horrible person if I was not in touch with dance.

Q. Could you tell us about your gurus?

A.I started at home with a person called Srinivas Acharya in Udupi. Later I learnt from Radhakrishna Tantri before going to Kalakshetra. When I went there, I thought it would be easier because a woman would be teaching, but I was jumping from the frying pan into the fire because it was very, very tough in Kalakshetra. Having said that, what I am today is because of Kalakshetra. The discipline, the aesthetics, the way they taught us—I owe everything to them.I also had a teacher called N.H. Jayalakshmi whom I still visit in Chennai. She was very kind to me in an atmosphere that was otherwise very rigid. 

Q. Are there memories from your Kalakshetra days that you still cherish?

A.We were situated outside the city those days. From our hostel we could actually see the beach. There were no buildings around. It was completely one with nature. There were flowers, trees, even snakes walking past. All we did was stand quietly and let them pass. We had a lot of time to think, to internalize, and it was only dance for us.

Q. What are some performances you have particularly admired?

A. Shreya Darshani Govind is a good dancer. My student Gayitri Shriram, when she was performing, she was a very evocative dancer and her abhinaya was very good. Indira Kadambi and her students also do very well. Praveen Kumar and his students, Satyanand Raju — there are many artists I really appreciate.

For me, it is all about art, not the individual performing it. The art is huge, we are nothing in comparison. So when someone does very well, you have to completely appreciate what they are doing because it is the art coming through them, not just the person.

Q. Do you find yourself using abhinaya in everyday life?

A. Very much. Not only me, I think all of us do. We simply stylise it in dance.As Indians, we are very expressive. Abhinaya is about everyday life. We take what we naturally do and transform it into a stylised form. Dance itself evolved from observing nature — birds, flowers, movement, rhythm. It all began with everyday experiences and gradually evolved into dance.

Q. Do you think you have to live through an experience to be able to portray it truthfully through abhinaya?

A. Experience for abhinaya is very important but that doesn't mean that inexperienced people cannot do it. We can make them feel it and make them do it, but when you experience it, it's a completely different portrayal. The same item is portrayed differently by different people depending on your experience.

Q. Do you ever get creative blocks in choreography and how do you get over them?

A. I think all of us do. But if you sit calm for a while, it comes. I listen to the music and that is what makes me get up and do things. I am very well connected with music. If there is no music, there is no dance.

Q. Apart from dance, is there anything that you feel very passionate about?

A. I do a lot of knitting. In dance there is a lot of thought that goes into what I am doing, so it can get overwhelming. When I come back, I am just looking at a pattern and following it. I do knitted toys and gift them to my students. It brings me back to a place where I do not have to use my brains, I just look at something and do it.Q. Do you miss the coastal regions, having grown up in Udupi?

A. Maybe initially. My husband was in the Navy, so we were always close to the coast.

But I think we have acclimatised very well to Bangalore. Malleswaram has a lot of trees and is much calmer than many other parts of the city.

Q. How has Malleswaram become part of your life?

A. I would personally hate to leave Malleswaram because it is such a beautiful place. It is culturally very rich. Every street has some dance or music class and something happening here. Chowdiah is very close, Seva Sadan is very close and everything is accessible. It is a beautiful place to be in, especially the tree-lined streets, which I think are very representative of Malleswaram.

Q. Is there a place in Malleswaram that you particularly enjoy?

A. Sankey Tank was one of the places that I really, really loved. And on 8th Cross there is a small temple called Karnika Parameshwari Temple. It is a very lovely place. Though it is in the hustle and bustle of 8th Cross, it is very peaceful inside.

Q. What is something that you learnt from your students as a guru?

A. If I have learnt a lot from my gurus, I have learnt a lot more from my shishyas. Each and every student of mine has something to teach and today also, I would say, there is a lot I need to learn. Every day I learn something. Even today, I have not completed my education. I am still learning a whole lot of things and my students are responsible for that.

Students on Minal Prabhu

Q. What was your first impression of her?

A. She was really sweet and warm. What surprised me is that she didn't care what I had learnt so far. Most teachers ask what you have learnt and take you from there, but she started from scratch and moulded me into who I am.

Q. How would you describe Minal mam's teaching style?

A. She is definitely strict. Any dance teacher is. But because she is like that, I can say that most of us do a pretty good job. She gives a lot of emphasis on basics, not just items. Most dance classes don't really focus much on basics, but she does. In the long run, that's what determines your stamina and how you are able to do complex items.

Q. Is there something she says often in class?

A. Sometimes when we goof up our steps, she says, "Don't make a khichdi item. Do it properly."

Q. How has your impression of her changed over time?

A. What I found out most was her discipline. No matter what the circumstance, she follows her routine. She's always on time. Her humility is one of the biggest things I've appreciated. She always says the amount of dance knowledge she has is like a drop in the ocean.

Q. How would you describe your relationship with her outside class?

A. We're not exactly in a formal relationship. She's more than just a teacher. She's like a second mother to all of us. There are times when after our 7 a.m. Sunday class she'll call us up for breakfast at her house. Sometimes rehearsals go on for five hours and she'll cook for us in between. At the end, she wants what's best for you and she will tell you directly whether it's good or bad.

Q. Do you have a favourite memory of her?

A. She kept correcting me during an abhinaya piece and I was getting frustrated. She could tell immediately. She said, "Of course you are feeling bad, the whole body language is telling me." Then she said, "I love all of you, but I love my dance more."

Q. What is something she has told you that has stayed with you?

A. This is something that she tells all the time. She says, "Do your best. You cannot do somebody else's best, but you can reach your maximum potential." That is something that really helps me when I am feeling down.

More on Minal Prabhu

Guru. Smt. Minal Prabhu | "DANCER'S TALK" a Unique Journey | FKCD

Unraveling the pauses in dance | Minal Prabhu | TEDxNITKSurathkal

https://ananyabengaluru.com/kala-samvaada-guru-smt-minal-prabhu

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