Ananda Shankar Jayant

Her striking personality filled with positivity envelops you even before a word is exchanged. Her beautiful, smiling, wide eyes ooze warmth, making you comfortable immediately.  Her uninhibited genuine laugh fills the room. Meet Ananda Shankar Jayant — a Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi artist, whose life is a demonstration of drive, grit and persistence.

Ananda’s foray into the arts began when she was around four, when her expressive eyes were spotted by a dance teacher while visiting a temple.  The seeds of the art form were sown then and nurtured by her ‘never take no for an answer’ attitude.  Whether it was moving to Kalakshetra in Chennai or obtaining an admission into a Master’s degree at Osmania University, or during the various challenges that dotted her path, she kept going.  She decided what she wanted and went for it. 

Backed by her family, especially her mother Subhashini Shankar, she created a name for herself through her programmes, classes, productions, choreographies -- all the while uncompromising on her commitment to her profession and her passion.  As one of the early women officers with the Indian Railway Traffic Service (that was primarily male-dominated) and as a classical dancer, she balances her work and her dance by managing her time efficiently, scheduling her programmes and rehearsals in a manner that doesn’t clash with her work requirements. But there have also been instances when she has had to miss a programme because of an emergency at work. But
that, as she says, is the peril of ‘treading two tracks’ in railway lingo!

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