Rekha Raju, an exponent of Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam, found her true calling as early as the age of three. Realising that Rekha was a born dancer, her mother, Jayalakshmi Raghavan, put her into the careful hands of guru Padmini Ramachandran, and there has been no looking back.
“The journey has never been easy, but every show has been a milestone. My journey has included a lot of struggles and contentment too,”, says Rekha.
The dancer believes that irrespective of who you are, any art form can change your perspective of life. “Any kind of art form makes any individual evolve; it also increases concentration and memory. An individual who is into art will exhibit a 'glow'. The entire nervous system is into that art form and you gain a lot of knowledge when you're involved in it”, she explains. Rekha attributes the development of her own personality to her chosen classical dances.
It was Bharatanatyam that she first learned, but it's Mohiniyattam that she loves more. “Mohiniyattam is better suited for me, it has a lot more femininity and grace”, she says.
Explaining the basic differences between the dance forms, she says, “Bharatanatyam is more like a line while Mohiniyattam is like a circle. Bharatanatyam can go up to the 3rd or 4th speed whereas Mohiniyattam goes only till 2nd speed because of its circular movements.”
Rekha dons many hats with elan. The dancer, who has master's degree in Business Administration and Performing Arts, is deeply engaged in social work too. She traces the roots of this to her childhood. “I have seen my father doing a lot of social work.”
A chartered accountant by profession, she has been associated with NGOs such as Christel House, St. Theresa Home for Children and Freedom Foundation. She works with them towards the all-round development of needy kids, and brings her personal vision to the task. “As an artiste, I would like to educate kids on dance forms like Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam and classical music,” says the danseuse, who also plays the mridangam.
Rekha will be performing Mohiniyattam at the TAG Auditorium in Chennai on December 22.
