A Kathak dancer who achieved her dream despite facing challenges in her life, Neetu has been in this field for more than 25 years, inspiring boys to join the dance field.A Kathak dancer who achieved her dream despite facing challenges in her life, Neetu has been in this field for more than 25 years, inspiring boys to join the dance field.

Neetu Mehra is a dancer and choreographer.

Recalling her childhood, Neetu says she hails from Jalandhar, Punjab. She used to be an introvert. When she was young, she only used to talk and play with her classmates. She did her 11th and 12th grades at APJ college.

During her college years, she was asked to take dance classes only at their college. However, she learned dance from her guru. Later, she did her BA from KMP College. Her teacher wanted her to further pursue her career in dance , but her music teacher also wanted her to take music as a career. She pursued an MA in Music (instrumental) from HMV College. She also did her Master in Dance at Pracheen Kala Kendra,Chandigarh.

Describing her journey, Neetu says once she watched a classical dance performance by a 75-year-old dancer on TV, which inspired her to dance. She started learning dance and also took additional dance classes. She got her first chance to perform in a cultural programme at Garkhal. She got appreciation for her performance. People started recognising her by the name of Meera Devi as she performed the dance of Meera on stage.

She continued to perform there yearly for two to three years. She wanted to learn more, but family circumstances and the death of her father put a temporary stop to her learning. She started providing classes part-time because she was pursuing an MA. Later, she started a job as a dance teacher at LBS. She continued to perform along with her job. Later, she started her own institute of dance and has been teaching dance for 23 years.

Talking about her mistakes, Neetu says she wasted her golden period of life at the same institute though she got various other opportunities, which she declined as she wanted to be loyal to her job. Later, she realized her mistake and left the job.

When asked about her role models, Neetu says she takes inspiration from her guru, as he taught her dance and provided her with a stage to perform. She also learned how to teach, which is helping her with choreography. Furthermore, she looks up to Shovana Narayan and Birju Maharaj, along with Rajendra Gangani, as she is inspired by their dance.

Sharing her achievements, Neetu says she considers her performance in Ludhiana on Janmashtami as her best.

Neetu’s life mantra is "Be among the positive and loyal people."

Advising the younger generation, Neetu says there has become a mentality that boys should not dance, especially in Punjab. She believes that people should provide a stage for the boys. She says a boy should be mentally prepared in order to join the classical dance field. She says the government is also providing scholarships to the students. There are a lot of opportunities in the dance field, so people should join it.