Ananda Shankar Jayant's new book, and fascinating facts about her

Ananda Shankar Jayant performs Thyagaraja Ramayana, PIC COURTESY/Author’s website

Training under Rukmini Devi

At the age of four, Ananda Shankar Jayant began learning Bharatanatyam when a teacher spotted her and took her in. One summer vacation in Madras (today's Chennai), when she was eight, she and her mother boarded a bus to Thiruvanmiyur, to visit the dance school, Kalakshetra.

This was legendary dancer Rukmini Devi Arundale's institute. On learning they couldn't afford the fees, Arundale offered her a full academic scholarship, and made arrangements to ensure Ananda's mother could take up a job as a music teacher at the school, and the other two daughters could complete their education. At Kalakshetra, Ananda learnt Bharatanatyam, Carnatic music, veena, dance theory, and philosophy, among other aspects.

Creating her first monodrama

The dancer receives the Padma Shri from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

The first monodrama (Ekaharya) created and choreographed by her was Thyagaraja Ramayana, which observed Ram through the vision of the Carnatic musician Thyagaraja. He was known for composing kritis (devotional songs). Ananda was already familiar with the details of the epic, having performed a six-part Ramayana series at Kalakshetra.

With the help of her mother, she performed the production, receiving great praise for it. The production was well received for nearly three and a half decades. In 2007, it was honoured by the then President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam from whom she received a Padma Shri.

Learning about a lump

When she was about to leave for an international conference in 2008, she noticed a lump in her breast. On returning, she was diagnosed with breast cancer three weeks before a festival she had curated in Hyderabad with performances from leading dancers of the country.

A performance of Darshanam

What she feared more than the battle with cancer was if this was the end of dance for her. Her husband Jayant's support and optimism helped her go through a lumpectomy, weeks before the festival and the first cycle of chemotherapy after it. Less than a month later, fighting the effects of chemotherapy, she continued to dance, putting up a 45-minute production Darshanam.

Nurturing dancers during the pandemic

COVID-19 had an enormous impact on performers and their practices. Through her institute, Shankarananda Kalakshetra and its online app Natyarambha, Ananda hosted many programmes with her team. She ran creative prompts and interactive sessions with senior dancers for young dancers, shot daily videos, and conducted training sessions on Zoom. During these difficult times, Ananda was sure about the need for one thing: To keep the spirit of dancers alive.

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