From civil service to the world of classical dance, what helped Padma Shri Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant overcome one of life’s toughest challenges?
For decades, she inspired audiences through her mastery of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. But it was her journey through cancer that taught some of life’s most powerful lessons in courage and resilience.
A celebrated dancer, choreographer, scholar, motivational speaker, and former senior railway officer, Dr. Jayant has spent a lifetime building resilience through dedication and hard work. When diagnosed with cancer, she relied on that strength to face the challenge with courage and determination.
Her experiences are captured in her new memoir, ‘Dancing with Joy’ (Garuda), where she reflects on her journey through art, adversity, and healing. Through personal stories and life lessons, the book shows how passion can inspire strength, healing, and purpose, offering valuable insights for young artists, parents, and anyone navigating life’s challenges.
At a time when conversations around mental well-being, purpose, and resilience are more relevant than ever, Dr. Jayant’s journey serves as a reminder that the skills and passions we cultivate throughout our lives can help us overcome unexpected challenges. As she writes, ‘Cancer is a mind game, and dance—my core strength—taught me to ride both the crab and my mind.’
More than a memoir, ‘Dancing with Joy’ is a celebration of the human spirit and a reminder that the passions we nurture often become the strengths that help us overcome life’s greatest challenges.
Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant inhabits the worlds of administration, academics, and arts, straddling them with equal ease, and is celebrated as one of India’s most eminent and renowned classical dancers, choreographers and dance scholars, with a highly acclaimed artistic body of work.
For her contribution to the field of classical dance, Ananda was conferred the Padma Shri in 2007, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar for Bharatanatyam in 2009. Ananda is a sought-after motivational speaker and actively engages with young India on a wide range of topics. Her TED talk in 2009 is much-viewed and highly ranked.
An arts entrepreneur, Ananda has conceptualised and created ‘Natyarambha’, a pioneering Bharatanatyam practice app that was launched in January 2017 and is now followed across the globe.
Ananda’s cutting-edge digital product – ‘Kutty Kahani’ – a video-embedded e-book that brings Indic stories by and for children through the prism of art – was mentioned by the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, in his Man ki Baat of 18th June, 2023.
Ananda also served the Ministry of Railways as a senior officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service.
To know more about this journey of resilience and creativity combined, Sonakshi Datta of GoaChronicle posed a few questions to Dr. Jayant.
‘Dancing with Joy’ Author Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant
What is that one most important thing to remember, which, according to you, could be enough to overcome any challenge whatsoever that life throws at us?
That this too shall pass! This is a challenge that life throws at you and is an excellent opportunity to raise the learning curve of life – Yes, while you are in the middle of the ‘VISITING’ crisis, this may be difficult to conceive or perceive. However, if we are able to look at the crisis from outside and not from within the vortex – this will be crystal clear.
What helps in this shift of vision and perception is a core strength – a life calling, a unique passion that lifts us above the speed-breaker that is what any challenge is.
How would you describe your journey of grappling with and defeating cancer?
A lesson in gratitude to my parents and gurus who set me on the path of nurturing my core strength – my talent – dance. That is what helped me stay above the clamour and clutter that cancer brings along. And of course, excellent and compassionate medical support, and the bedrock called family. I am in remission and truly hope that it will stay that way.
Do you think finding joy is a conscious choice? If yes, how do you reckon people should approach life to make sure they keep choosing joy for themselves each day?
Like almost everything else–Yes, owning joy is a conscious choice! Consciously remember that we are here on this planet for a short while–and every moment is precious–yes, not easy, as we can very easily be overwhelmed by the minutiae of the mundane and the everyday. Finding snatches of what brings us joy will then become the bridge to transcend the daily irritations.
And soon, that will become a habit–of finding joy in the smallest of things-Like all habits–we need to cultivate it.
What made you conceptualise and create Natyarambha and Kutty Kahani? How would you describe this innovative journey of yours?
Natyarambha was conceived in 2012, at a time when we were all getting aware of apps for all our activities. As practice is the major cornerstone of classical dance, I was eager to facilitate a practice tool for dancers across the world. A tool that would help young students to practice their basics at home, a ready reference tool for young teachers. It was a long trek! Bringing a classical art form to the platform of digital technology.
We finally launched it after 5 years – as it took that much time for technology to support that idea of internet connectivity, wi-fi access, of digital platforms, testing etc. Today, it is followed across the globe and now has more chapters added on – of basic theory etc. We hope to bring on other styles too.
Kutty kahani was birthed during the pandemic – inspired by PM’s Mann ki Baat of September 2020 on the power of stories, storytellers and storytelling, to build values. This struck a chord with me. As dancers we are essentially story-tellers. Besides, I grew up listening to stories!
Even as the pandemic raged and kept us all locked in our homes, with parents continuing being busy with their work from home schedules, it was young children, cloistered indoors, missing school, games and arts classes, who found this lockdown the most difficult, with very few Indian learning and creative options, available in the digital space.
The dismal scenario prompted me to create something online for kids.
The multi lingual Kutty Kahani – 55-episode was a daily series of short video premieres by children between the ages of 5 and 13 years, who would present a favourite Indic story through the prism of their own creative talent, that was hailed as an absolutely new way of sharing India’s timeless stories and eternal wisdom, that braided tradition, technology and the arts.
Kutty Kahani caught the imagination of children and adults alike, as it was aired on digital media from 20th November to 31st December, 2020, and was a runaway success. We were all deeply humbled when the Honourable PM mentioned our work in his Mann ki Baat of 18 June, 2023! It is now available on Amazon as a video enabled e-book.
What makes ‘Dancing with Joy’ a must-read for all, whether they are dancers or not?
Dancing with Joy is a book that is more than my journey in dance or my trek through cancer; I have shared the many life lessons and insights that have lit the pathways of my life.
I truly hope readers will be inspired to pursue their uniqueness, and find their individual strength to look at every visiting life challenge, in the eye, and make a habit of choosing joy again and again.
I hope you will enjoy reading this book.
