Dr Janaki Rangarajan is not your quintessential dancer. With a PhD in molecular genetics, MSc in human genetics and BSc in microbiology, this beauty with brains, conquered the dance world by grooving to the ‘thillanas’ and ‘varnas’ of Bharatanatyam. On her visit to the capital city, Janaki shares the positives and negatives of being a dancer.
“I am a full-time Bharatanatyam performer, which means you have to learn, choreograph, read and research about it and then perform. In order to do all that, 24 hours in a day is not enough. We do not have any time limits like 9-5 or so, we work through the day,” says Janaki, who believes a dancer has to make many sacrifices including the time spent with family to pursue dance as a career.
Currently she is on an ‘Antharyathra’ (a voyage into her inner self), something she has chosen to attain via Bharatanatyam. Janaki’s ‘Antharyathra’, a compilation of two poems, ‘Kamayani’, (a Hindi epic poem written by Jaishankar Prasad) and ‘Draupadi’s Dharma’ (by Pramila Venkateswaran), premiered recently in Singapore received rave reviews for its uniqueness and complexity. She is all set to go for a world-tour with it.
“I feel all the emotions we go through - jealousy, anger, sadness - are all for attaining one sole thing, ‘love that is peace’. When we finally do achieve that, there is that completeness. And you don’t need another person to be complete. This concept is very abstract yet very beautiful,” says Janaki about her magnum opus.
With her elegant postures and exemplary compositions, this disciple of Dr Padma Subrahmanyam carries her legacy with élan. Janaki’s stint with Bharatanatyam started when she was barely four-years-old. Brought up by her grandparents till the age of seven at Tiruchirappalli, she took to dancing to fulfill her grandmother’s desire.
“My grandmother wanted to learn dance but being brought up in a conventional society, dance was a forbidden territory for her. When I was born she was yearning for a grand daughter to teach her dance,” says Janaki.
Janaki took her first step into Bharatanatyam under the tutelage of Madhavi Chandrasekhar. After five years of intense training under Madhavi, she had to shift with her parents to Chennai, the treasure trove of Bharatanatyam. Though, she was unaware then, Janaki’s life took a serious turn there after. Between cutthroat competitions in the arena, she managed to secure a place in Dr Padma Subrahmanyam’s class and within a short-span of time became her favourite disciple.
“My guru gave me the opportunity to teach Bharatanatyam at the gurukul when I was fourteen-years-of-age. Though I don’t follow ‘Bharatanrityam’ designed by Dr Padma, I dedicate all my learning to her,” says Janaki. She was also the youngest dancer, who performed with Dr Padma in Natyasastra, a dance-based programme aired in Doordarshan.
Janaki’s connection with arts do not stop at dance, she is also a vocalist, who has a strong carnatic base. With her impeccable academic background, her impulsive decision to quit science and take up dance as a career did surprise a few. But she had her own reasons.
“Don’t get me wrong, I was quite passionate about science as well. I did serve my time as a research scientist. But if you cannot give your heart and time to it, you are being unfair to the profession. Around 9 years back, while I was sitting in my office I found that my mind was dabbling with the thoughts of dance. That was the moment I decided to quit science,” says Janaki. She didn’t have to look back after that.
In the last 9 years, she spent as a full-time artist, Janaki has garnered many an accolade, such as Nadanamamani - Shriram Award of Excellence and Vasanthalakshmi - Narasimhachari Award. She is also an empanelled artist with Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). Settled in US with husband and a daughter, this artist, shuttles between India and USA for her performances.
“For pursuing art, be it dance, music or painting, you need the complete support of your family and I am fortunate in that way,” Janaki signs off.