Leaving her country, Leena Malakar shifted to India to pursue her passion for dance. She believes that Kathak is a difficult art form and demands consistency and hard work to achieve success.

Leena Malakar Vij is a Kathak dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She spent her childhood in Kathmandu but later shifted to Delhi to continue with her dancing profession.

Leena hails from Kathmandu, Nepal. She took her initial dance training from there itself under the guidance of her Guru Honey Shreshtha. Thereafter, she got a scholarship from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and shifted to Delhi and started practicing Kathak with Nandini Singh as her Guru.

Recalling her childhood memories, Leena says that she used to live in a joint family and had a great childhood around her family.

When asked how she got into Kathak, Leena says that she chose Kathak as her subject in her college and that was when she actually got interested in the art form. Then, after coming to Delhi, she practiced Kathak and did her post-graduation from Bhartiya Kala Kendra.

Talking about the challenges she faced, Leena says that dance is a tough profession and an artist must consistently work in order to get success. She says that like any other artist, she also had challenges in her journey, however, with patience and persistence, she overcame all the challenges.

To the budding aspirants of Kathak, Leena advises them to be patient in order to achieve things, and find an appropriate guru or institution to learn Kathak. Also, she advises them to give equal importance to their education and their passion.

Speaking about her mistakes, Leena says that she wanted to learn the classical dance of Nepal but could not do it due to circumstances that she regrets the most. While speaking about her regret, she advises the youngsters to properly manage time.

Giving a brief of her achievements, Leena says that classical art has given her wide experiences which she considers as her accomplishment. Also, Kathak has made her meet new people and learn about varied cultures, she says.

Leena considers her Guru Nandini Singh as her role model. She says that she is really inspired by the journey of her guru and has learned a lot from her experiences.

Leena says that her riyaz and meditation make her feel relieved in her stressful times.

In her free time, Leena loves to read books, travel, watch sports, and more.