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What motivated her to become an artist, in times when few women chose this vocation? Neena recounts the presence of her inspiring mother. Of course, the man who changed her life both personally and professionally was her late husband, who inspired her to join the NSD. Incidentally, they were already married when they became students of the institute. She is effusive about the NSD and its director, Ebrahim Alkazi, whom she hails as one of the greatest teachers. Nuggets he had shared with her like, "Let people judge whether you are an artist or not: just consider yourself a practitioner of theatre" are imprinted on her mind. One lesson of his—don’t ever give up theatre—both she and Harpal followed with total sincerity. Now that many of their students like Om Puri, Jasbir Jassi and Girija Shankar have moved to different directions, she rationalises, "Nobody can survive on theatre alone." Indeed, Harpal and she did and how well at that by putting up ticketed shows in Ludhiana. Of course, Neena always stuck to acting. Does she wish she had wielded the directorial baton? She smiles, "We never interfered in each other’s work. Had I taken up direction there may have been some hassles." Being the dutiful wife, she didn’t want to step on her spouse’s toes. Besides life as an actress was more than fulfilling. She played the lead parts, always the plum roles. The ones she remembers with great fondness are in plays such as Yerma, Deewa Bale Saari Raat, Laung Da Lashkara. And of course Ramlila that was staged for 26 days at a stretch and in which she played Kaikayi for the real challenge was in playing the devious scheming Kaikayi. "Expression comes from within," says this actress who not only won the admiration of audiences but also that of her directors. Harpal never dared to direct her for he felt she knew it all, but when more recently she acted in an Indo-Canadian film Murder Unveiled, the director Vick Sareen had similar observations on her acting potential. Once an actor always one and once a teacher always a teacher. She can never resist the temptation of transforming greenhorns into actors. For Harpal Tiwana Foundation’s most recent production Mein Tera Banda she picked up raw actors. Coping with the loss of her other half in 2002 wasn’t easy. But 20 days after she lost him in a car accident, she plunged into writing a biography Oh Jo Si on him. Then came the foundation and, more recently, the Harpal Tiwana Centre for Performing Arts, Patiala, whose resident director she is. Wistfully she says, "As a couple we began with a mission, to make Punjabi theatre a throbbing professional entity, in which we succeeded only partially." Commercial viability, she feels, is important for any endeavour to grow. So she hopes to see Harpal Tiwana Centre blossom into an enterprise that pays for its upkeep. Keeping alive her husband’s memory as well as fulfilling his dream is the essence of her life. But then the affair de amour that started with theatre and was nurtured by it can only culminate in the same way.
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