Krishna Priya: Empowering the Future with Creativity and Compassion

Introduction:

Krishna Priyadarshan, an accomplished entrepreneur and leader, created a niche for herself in the different fields of education and arts. It is a journey of perseverance, vision, and, above all, unbridled passion to make a difference. And she stands as an inspiration for all sectors of people, especially those trying to balance multiple roles and ambitions. A mentor for people with hidden talents in arts and science, Krishna is a true leader for she inspires and empowers others to do things that they believe are impossible.

Her various roles as an artist, dancer, scriptwriter, choreographer, and educator make her a multi-tasker par excellence. Apart from holding an MSc degree with a first-class rank while she was third on the Merit List, Krishna Priya also has a Post Graduate Diploma in Child, Adolescent, and Family Counseling (PGD CAFC) and a Doctorate in Education.

Challenges and Achievements:

Early Professional Experience Krishna Priya worked at Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRA) as a Junior Research Fellow during her early professional years. Her career took a different turn, however, because she soon stood as an administrator of ABC Montessori School, Kerala, and, parallel to this, as a guest lecturer for Montessori teacher training programs conducted. Both roles involved preparing her for education-related courses of action in the future.

One of the most significant career turns came after her marriage in 2007, when she moved to Dubai. Though she was well qualified, she still faced a problem finding an appropriate job for herself. Not one to give up easily, Krishna Priya started a journey to solve an acute social issue: education for children with special needs. After a year of research, she opened the very first educational center, Euphony Future Education Center LLC, with a focus on developing children's motor and intellectual skills. Success at the first location came within six months due to which another branch was opened up. Krishna has seen many kids who don’t speak much but after a few sessions of therapy these kids turn out to be great talkers, she believes that these children are her true achievements.

Krishna also faced challenges while releasing her movie Oru Srilankan Sundari in Kerala, the whole Malayalam industry, was against the release of this movie. Finally, with the help of the honorable Chief Minister of Kerala, she was able to do the film release on 3rd November 2023.

Krishna directed many feature and short films too. The first feature film directed by her was released on 3rd November 2023 in Malayalam called Oru Srilankan Sundari in Abudhabi. For this she won the Satyajit Rai Award 2024, Kerala chapter awarded Best Film Script, Kailasanatha Puraskaram 2024 for Debut Feature Film Director, Oru Srilankan Sundari awarded by Kalaindhi Center for Indian Arts and Culture, Thiruvananthapuram, India, Eminent Media Cultural Gala 2024 UAE Award for Direction and Script, Oru Srilankan Sundari, Abudhabi, UAE, PremNaseer Film Awards 2024, Kerala, India for Debut Direction and Best Social Awareness movie, Oru Srilankan Sundari. She has also directed short films like  Meera (2022), Parayathe (2022), and Vaacha (2021). Vaccha is a children’s movie, in this movie, she is not only the director but as well as the scriptwriter and lyricist. She is also the producer, scriptwriter, and lyricist of the short film Kamala(2022). She won many awards for these short films like ASMMA Award 2022 for Lyrics & Direction, Kannur, India (Vaacha, children’s movie), Satyajit Ray Award 2022 for Direction Tvm, India (Vaacha, children’s movie), Solo Lady International Film Festival 2021: Best lyrics (Drishyam, Parayatha), Best character Artist (Kamala, Meera) Kollam, India, Nedumunduve media Hub Award for Lyrics, best actress (Vaacha), Best Script (Kamala 2022) Attingal, India. 

Krishna Priya is the director, scriptwriter, and lyricist for 17 video songs, and 5 poems namely ente Achan, ponpulari, mayilpeeli, prabhathame, and yatramozhi. She also published her book at the Sharjah International Book Fair: Priyageethangal 2022, A Collection of Poems. 

She also won Prem Naseer Suhrith Samathi Award for Best Entrepreneur, UAE 2022, Malabar Suhrith Vedi Awards 2022, Kozhikode, India, Best Lyricist (Drishyam 2 song), Second Best Director Pravasi (Vaacha), Malabar Suhrith Vedi Awards 2023, Kozhikode, India, Best script (Nidhra), second best short film Pravasi (Nidhra), Best male singer: Ansar (Nidhra), Prem Naseer Suhrith Samathi, UAE Chapter Award for Book on Poem: Priyageethangal 2023, UAE, and She Fusion Fiesta 2023 UAE, Award for Best Entrepreneur, UAE, Global Women Inspiration Award. For her lyrics writing skills she won Solo Lady International Film Festival 2021: Best lyrics (Drishyam, Parayatha), Best character Artist (Kamala, Meera) Kollam, India and South Indian Cinema Television Award 2021 Tvm India (Lyrics: songs). 

Personal Insights:

Krishna Priya has one strong principle which is continuous improvement in knowledge-based activities that could influence social change. This is evident in her focus on special education and child therapy. She has been changing challenges into opportunities, since when she moved into UAE.

She believes education should be wholesome, especially for children with a learning disability. This is a very sound approach, as teaching at both the intellectual and emotional levels is given equal importance. Child therapy, in her understanding, refers to the idea of personalized treatment whereby each child is unique and can improve if one guides them correctly. Her work, therefore, materialized from a vision wherein every child, irrespective of their ability, would have an opportunity to live their dreams.

Impact and Vision:

Krishna Priya makes a difference to society in terms of reforming numerous children and their families through beneficial change in their lives as an educator as well as therapist. Through her educational center with the name Euphony Education Center in the UAE, she established learning environments sensitive to the needs of children especially children facing diseases like ADHD. The fact that more than hundreds of students pass through the doors of these centers every year speaks of her ability in terms of implementing vision at a wide range scale.

She also had a highly influential impact due to her work in films and poems. Krishna Priya, through her creative output, has raised vital issues in society, such as mental health, special education, and women empowerment in her work. She is currently working on a new Tamil Movie, and after that, she wants to expand her horizon to doing Arabic and Hindi movies too.

She is excited about the expansion of her work in education to reach children across the globe. She plans to open multiple educational centers like Euphony Education Center around the world and develop new programs that merge art and therapy with special needs children. 

Her first goal was to get a golden visa that, she had already gotten from the Abu Dhabi government, with this visa she became the first woman director to get the golden visa. Next, she wishes to have a school, a school of her own foundation so that she can extend the education to the higher levels.

The world of arts is where Krishna Priya wants to continue her activities with the platform in social projects. She intends to make more films on important subjects, which she decides related to topics on education, mental health, and the empowerment of the marginalized sections.

Conclusion:

It was so evident in Krishna Priya's persona that all her life and work had been testimonials of her creative and committed approach towards social change. The person who started as an educator now acts as a child therapist, besides being a successful entrepreneur and filmmaker. Balancing education with the arts is no easy task, but Krishna Priya managed all of that without compromising on her profession. 

Her journey has been full of many challenges, but she has transformed each problem into an opportunity. Through educational centers, films as well as poems, Krishna Priya continues to make a lasting impact on society, and her vision for the future promises to bring even more positive change. At last, she added “Think good, do good, action is better than speech, be honest and have dedication in all the works that you do”.