Dance is her strength, energy and power. Ananda Shankar Jayant embraces the trials and tribulations in life in its flow, never letting them override her. In the city as part of the Dharani Kalotsav 2010, Ananda performed a rare and unique dance form from the traditional and ritual repertoire of kuchipudi, Simhanandini. She also performed a group show, ‘Navarasa - Expressions of Life’, with her students.
A dancer full of life and a happy soul, Ananda’s immaculate dance performances are a reflection of her inner self.
She performs as a soloist in two classical dance styles, bharatanatyam and kuchipudi, and believes that dance cannot be a mere geometry of the body or number crunching of rhythms. “It is a manifestation of my inner joy. It should touch the inner core of the dancer as well as the viewer,” says Ananda, who got initiated into dance when she was four-years-old. It was a visit to a temple that became a turning point in her life. “Someone told my parents that I had big eyes and I should be taught dance,” she says with a smile.
She learnt bharatanatyam, carnatic music, veena, choreography, nattuvangam, philosophy et al during her six-year stint at Kalakshetra, and later learnt kuchipudi from Pasumarthy Ramalinga Sastry. Ananda, who holds a Masters degree in ancient Indian history (she was the university topper), says it is to experience campus life that she joined for MA. An all-rounder, Ananda enjoyed campus life thoroughly and went on to do MPhil in art history and a PhD in tourism.
After clearing the UPSC examination, she joined the Indian Railway Service as a senior officer and is now the chief general manager for the Centre for Railway Information System.
She runs Shankarananda Kalakshetra, a premier institution for music and dance in Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
Despite her hectic schedule she finds time to perform all over India. “I have been able to balance both — my profession and passion — with ease.” But she says she is not getting enough time to cook for her husband. “But he is very supportive,” she says.
Ananda believes that since dance is a physical entity you should keep your body and mind in good shape. “I practice yoga and hit the gym at least thrice a week. Dancers should maintain his/ her body in good shape as they speak through the body.” She has choreographed traditional and contemporary dance numbers and says both are equally challenging.
“While you work on a contemporary dance sequence you don’t have a frame work to hold on to and there is a lot of freedom since you can go beyond the text. But you should be able to convey it to the audience. That is a challenge,” she explains.
She describes herself as a happy soul. “It is true that I’m living my dream and I won’t let anything dampen my spirit. When I was detected with breast cancer, I never asked God, ‘why me?’ My worry was how I will conduct my dance festival.” Ananda says cancer didn’t have an impact on her life. “It was just a passing phase. Two weeks after the surgery I was on stage. I didn’t allow cancer to ride me,” says this bold woman who is taking an effort to educate women on cancer. Her advice to all husbands is to gift their wives a mammogram. “Because they won’t go for the test on their own. Someone will have to push them to do it.” Ananda has shown the world that cancer is not the end of life. “Early detection helps cure it much faster. So deal with it quickly,” she says.
She has been bestowed with many awards like the ‘Natya Illavarasi’ from Sree Shanmukhananda Sangeet Sabha, New Delhi, and Kalaimamani, the highest state award given to performing artists by the Government of Tamil Nadu, in 2002.
So has she got any unfulfilled dream? “Yes. I would love to have a space or school for arts in Hyderabad just like the Kalamandalam in Kerala, Kalakshetra in Chennai and Nritya Gram in Andhra.” An intelligent and thinking dancer with contemporary sensibility, Ananda is all praise for Kerala. “In Kerala, people are in sync with culture. I would love to come back here to perform.”
manuvipin@expressbuzz.com
(This column features successful women from all walks of life)