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{{Short description|Indian dancer, choreographer and dance scholar}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ananda Shankar Jayant
| image = Ananda_Shankar_Jayant_for_her_outstanding_contribution_to_Bharatanatyam_(cropped).jpg
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1961}}{{Refn|group=note|53 years old as of 2015<ref name="A life in ‘mudra’" />}}
| birth_place = [[Chennai]] of [[Tamil Nadu]], India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| restingplace =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| othername =
| occupation = Classical dancer Choreographer
| yearsactive = Since 1972
| known for = [[Bharatanatyam]] [[Kuchipudi]]
| spouse = Jayant
| domesticpartner =
| children =
| parents = G. S. Shankar Subhashini Shankar
| website = {{URL|anandashankarjayant.com}}
| signature =
| awards = [[Padma Shri]] [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] [[Kala Ratna|Kala Ratna Award]] Nritya Choodamani [[Kalaimamani Award]] Natya Illavarasi Nritya Choodamani Nritya Kalasagara Natya Kalasagar Guru Debaprasad Award [[Indian Express]] Devi Award [[Alliance University]] Nritya Saraswati Vidya Tapasvi Award
}}
[[File:Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award-2009 to Ms. Ananda Shankar Jayant for her outstanding contribution to Bharatanatyam.jpg|thumb|Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award-2009 to Ms. Ananda Shankar Jayant for her outstanding contribution to Bharatanatyam]]
'''Ananda Shankar Jayant''' is an Indian classical dancer, choreographer, scholar and bureaucrat, known for her proficiency in the classical dance forms of [[Bharatanatyam]] and [[Kuchipudi]].<ref name="Ananda Shankar Jayant: She who danced her way through cancer and conquered it">{{cite web | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/ananda-shankar-jayant-she-who-danced-her-way-through-cancer-and-conquered-it-271190-2015-11-03 | title=Ananda Shankar Jayant: She who danced her way through cancer and conquered it | publisher=India Today | date=3 November 2015 | access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref> She is the first woman officer in the [[Indian Railway Traffic Service]] on South Central Railway <ref name="Ananda Shankar Jayant : The First Lady IRTS Officer of Indian Railways">{{cite web | url=http://www.du.ac.in/du/uploads/alumni/19102015/19102015_0011.pdf | title=Ananda Shankar Jayant : The First Lady IRTS Officer of South Central Railway, Indian Railways | publisher=Delhi University | date=2015 | access-date=24 August 2016}}</ref> and her 2009 [[TED talk]] is ranked among the top twelve ''Incredible TED talks on cancer''.<ref name="12 Incredible TED Talks on Cancer">{{cite web | url=http://mastersinhealthcare.com/blog/2011/12-incredible-ted-talks-on-cancer/ | title=12 Incredible TED Talks on Cancer | publisher=Masters in Healthcare | date=2016 | access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref> She is a recipient of [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]], [[Kalaimamani Award]] of the Government of Tamil Nadu and [[Kala Ratna|Kala Ratna Award]] of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the [[Padma Shri]], in 2007, for her contributions to arts.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2013 |access-date=20 August 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref>

== Biography ==
Ananda Shankar, born in a [[Tamil Brahmin]] family from [[Tirunelveli district]] of [[Tamil Nadu]] to G. S. Shankar, an officer with [[Indian Railways]] and Subhashini, a school teacher and a musician, was brought up in [[Hyderabad]] where she did her early education at [[St. Ann's High School, Secunderabad]].<ref name="Padmashri Ananda Shankar Jayant – Part 1">{{cite web | url=http://coffeewithsundar.com/padmashri-ananda-shankar-jayant-part-1/ | title=Padmashri Ananda Shankar Jayant – Part 1 | publisher=Coffee with Sundar | work=August 20, 2011 | access-date=25 August 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501222957/http://coffeewithsundar.com/padmashri-ananda-shankar-jayant-part-1/ | archive-date=1 May 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref> She started learning classical dance at the age of 4 under Sharada Keshava Rao and, later, K. N. Pakkiriswamy Pillai, and in 1972 at the age of 11, she joined [[Kalakshetra]] of [[Rukmini Devi Arundale]] where she trained in [[Bharatanatyam]] under teachers such as Padma Balagopal, Sharada Hoffman and Krishnaveni Laxman. After six years of study, she secured her diploma and post graduate diploma from the institution in disciplines of Bharatanatyam, [[Carnatic music]], veena, dance theory and philosophy. She returned to Hyderabad at the age of 17 and founded ''Shankarananda Kalakshetra'', a dance school with eight students, which has since grown into a dance academy, associating such artists as [[Partha Ghose]], Mrunalini Chunduri, Sathiraju Venumadhav and Dolan Banerjee among others.<ref name="Shankarananda Kalakshetra presents Kavyanjali">{{cite web | url=http://www.narthaki.com/info/prv16/prv1070.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220072034/http://www.narthaki.com/info/prv16/prv1070.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=20 December 2016 | title=Shankarananda Kalakshetra presents Kavyanjali | publisher=Narthaki | date=23 August 2016 | access-date=25 August 2016 }}</ref> In Hyderabad, she also learned [[Kuchipudi]] under Pasumarthy Ramalinga Shastry.<ref name="Dance - the essence of my life">{{cite web | url=http://www.narthaki.com/info/intervw/intrvw93.html | title=Dance - the essence of my life | publisher=Narthaki | date=23 November 2006 | access-date=25 August 2016 | author=Lalitha Venkat}}</ref> Concurrently, she pursued her academic studies and after completing her master's degree in Indian History and Culture from [[Osmania University]], she passed the civil services examination to join the [[Indian Railway Traffic Service]] (IRTS), thus becoming the first woman officer of the service on South Central Railway <ref name="The cancer conqueror">{{cite web | url=http://www.rediff.com/getahead/report/achievers-ananda-shankar-jayant-is-the-cancer-conqueror/20150601.htm | title=The cancer conqueror | publisher=ReDiff | date=1 June 2015 | access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref> While serving IRTS, she continued her studies to secure an MPhil in Art History on a [[University Grants Commission (India)|UGC]] research scholarship and a doctoral degree (PhD) in tourism; her thesis being ''Promotion of Tourism in India - Role of Railways''.<ref name="Dance - the essence of my life" />

In June 2008, after returning from a ''Kuchipudi Conference'' in the US, she was diagnosed with breast cancer which was subsequently treated.<ref name="Padmashri Ananda Shankar Jayant – Part 2">{{cite web | url=http://coffeewithsundar.com/padmashri-ananda-shankar-jayant-part-2/ | title=Padmashri Ananda Shankar Jayant – Part 2 | publisher=Coffee with Sundar | work=August 20, 2011 | access-date=25 August 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501223000/http://coffeewithsundar.com/padmashri-ananda-shankar-jayant-part-2/ | archive-date=1 May 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

In November 2009, she was invited to share her experiences on [[TED talk]] and she delivered a speech, incorporating dance moves in between,<ref name="Ananda Shankar Jayant: Fighting cancer with dance">{{cite web | url=https://www.ted.com/talks/ananda_shankar_jayant_fighting_cancer_with_dance | title=Ananda Shankar Jayant: Fighting cancer with dance | publisher=TED Ideas Worth Spreading | work=Web video | date=November 2009 | access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref> which has since been rated as one of the twelve ''Incredible TED talks on cancer''.<ref name="The cancer conqueror" /> The [[Huffington Post]] ranked her talk as ''one of the five greatest TED talks by Indians''.<ref name="Ananda Shankar Jayant on HBS">{{cite web | url=http://indiaconferenceatharvard.com/2016/speakers/dr-ananda-shankar-jayant/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919133614/http://indiaconferenceatharvard.com/2016/speakers/dr-ananda-shankar-jayant/ | url-status=usurped | archive-date=19 September 2016 | title=Ananda Shankar Jayant on HBS | publisher=India Conference at Harvard | date=2016 | access-date=25 August 2016 }}</ref> She resumed her dancing career after her cancer days which lasted two years. Under the aegis of her dance academy, she composed many dance ensembles like ''What About Me?'' (1999) and the subsequent ''Dancing Tales - [[Panchatantra]]'', based on the ancient Indian fables of the same name and performed on many stages including in Cambodia.<ref name="Dance helped me to shift my mind away from cancer">{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/ananda-shankar-jayant-fights-cancer-with-dance/article6249535.ece | title=Dance helped me to shift my mind away from cancer | work=The Hindu | date=25 July 2014 | access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref> ''Buddham Saranam Gachchami'', ''Jonathan Livingston Seagull'', ''Sri Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum'', ''Buddham Saranam Gachchami'', ''Expressions of Truth'' (on [[Gandhism|Gandhian ideals]]), ''An Easel Called Life'', ''Navarasa - Expressions of Life'', ''Darshanam - An Ode to the Eye,'' ''Kavyanjali and Tales from the Bull and the Tiger (2019)'' are some of the dance productions choreographed by her.<ref name="Devi Award for Dynamism and Innovation">{{cite web | url=http://www.eventxpress.com/devi2015/ | title=Devi Award for Dynamism and Innovation | publisher=Indian Express | date=2015 | access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref> She also continued her motivational talks and was one of the speakers of the ''Inspire'' series at the ''India Conference at Harvard'' held at [[Harvard Business School]] in February 2016 as well as at [[Columbia College Chicago]] and at [[Oberlin College]], Ohio.<ref name="Never give up on your passion">{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/renowned-dancer-ananda-shankar-jayant-shares-her-experience-of-her-talk-at-harvard-business-school/article8365554.ece | title=Never give up on your passion | work=The Hindu | date=17 March 2016 | access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref> She guest-edited the 16th edition of ''Attendance-The Dance Annual Magazine of India'',<ref name="Dance and Telugu traditions, by Ananda Shankar Jayant">{{cite web | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/supplement/story/20140901-dance-and-telugu-traditions-ananda-shankar-jayant-804967-1999-11-29 | title=Dance and Telugu traditions, by Ananda Shankar Jayant | publisher=India Today | date=21 August 2014 | access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref> and has released a desktop app for practicing dance.<ref name="A life in ‘mudra’">{{cite web | url=http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/3AN1T3yZbwJDhFkddhIsXN/A-life-in-mudra.html | title=A life in 'mudra' | publisher=Live Mint | date=26 August 2015 | access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref>

Ananda Shakar is married to Jayant Dwarkanath <ref name="Ananda Shankar Jayant fights cancer with dance">{{cite web | url=http://www.pharmainfo.net/shanthi-priya/ananda-shankar-jayant-fights-cancer-dance | title=Ananda Shankar Jayant fights cancer with dance | publisher=Pharma Info | date=2016 | access-date=25 August 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827103506/http://www.pharmainfo.net/shanthi-priya/ananda-shankar-jayant-fights-cancer-dance | archive-date=27 August 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref> and she worked as an officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service on the Ministry of Railways from where she retired after 33 years of service .<ref name="In Conversation With Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant">{{cite web | url=http://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=11837 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826102025/http://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=11837 | url-status=usurped | archive-date=26 August 2016 | title=In Conversation With Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant | publisher=Lokvani | work=Interview | date=10 February 2016 | access-date=25 August 2016 | author=Nirmala Garimella}}</ref>

== Awards and honors ==
The Government of Tamil Nadu honored Ananda Shankar with [[Kalaimamani|Kalamamani Award]] in 2002<ref name="Kalaimamani awards announced">{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/2003/10/11/stories/2003101106480400.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221085654/http://www.thehindu.com/2003/10/11/stories/2003101106480400.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=21 December 2016 | title=Kalaimamani awards announced | date=11 October 2003 | work=[[The Hindu]] | access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref>

In 2004, she received the ''Natya Illavarasi'' title of the Sree Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Sabha, New Delhi<ref name="Tyagaraja music and dance fest / New Delhi">{{cite web | url=http://www.kutcheribuzz.com/news/general/2393-tyagaraja-music-and-dance-fest | title=Tyagaraja music and dance fest / New Delhi | publisher=Kutcheri Buzz | date=February 2004 | access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref> and two years later, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai awarded her the title of ''Nritya Choodamani'' in 2006.<ref name="Nritya Choodamani Awardees Gallery">{{cite web | url=http://krishnaganasabha.org/kgs_old/nrityachoo.html | title=Nritya Choodamani Awardees Gallery | publisher=Krishna Gana Sabha | date=2016 | access-date=25 August 2016 | archive-date=20 December 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220071045/http://krishnaganasabha.org/kgs_old/nrityachoo.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> The Government of India awarded her the civilian honor of the [[Padma Shri]] in 2007,<ref name="Padma Awards" /> the same year as she received the title, ''Nritya Kalasagara'' from Kalasagaram, Secunderabad.<ref name="Highlights - November 2007">{{cite web | url=http://www.narthaki.com/info/hl/hl07.html | title=Highlights - November 2007 | publisher=Narthaki | date=2007 | access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref> and the Government of Andhra Pradesh included her in the [[Ugadi]] Day honors list for the [[Kala Ratna]] award in 2008.<ref name="29 selected for Ugadi Puraskarams">{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/29-selected-for-ugadi-puraskarams/article1234239.ece | title=29 selected for Ugadi Puraskarams | work=The Hindu | date=7 April 2008 | access-date=25 August 2016}}</ref> She received the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]] in 2009 for her contributions to the dance form of [[Bharatnatyam]].<ref name="SNA Awardees">{{cite web | url=http://www.sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/Awardees.php?section=aa | title=SNA Awardees | publisher=Sangeet Natak Akademi | date=2016 | access-date=25 August 2016 | archive-date=31 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331060603/http://www.sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/awardeeslist.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Natya Kalasagar'' title of Visakha Music Academy reached her in 2010 and she received three awards in 2015, ''Guru Debaprasad Award'' of Tridhara,<ref name="9th Guru Debaprasad Award Festival">{{cite web | url=http://www.narthaki.com/info/prv15/prv1008.html | title=9th Guru Debaprasad Award Festival | publisher=Narthaki | date=22 October 2015 | access-date=25 August 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220072030/http://www.narthaki.com/info/prv15/prv1008.html | archive-date=20 December 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Devi Award for Dynamism and Innovation'' of the [[Indian Express]]<ref name="Devi Award for Dynamism and Innovation" /> and ''Nritya Saraswati'' title of [[Alliance University]], Bengaluru.<ref name="Nrithya Saraswathi award for Prof. Anuradha">{{cite web | url=http://uohherald.commuoh.in/nrithya-saraswathi-award-for-prof-anuradha/ | title=Nrithya Saraswathi award for Prof. Anuradha | publisher=University of Hyderabad | date=12 May 2015 | access-date=25 August 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827221700/http://uohherald.commuoh.in/nrithya-saraswathi-award-for-prof-anuradha/ | archive-date=27 August 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Kalakshetra]]
* [[Bharatanatyam]]
* [[Kuchipudi]]
* [[List of Osmania University people]]
{{div col end}}
{{Portal|India}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web | url=http://amara.org/en/videos/C9jkLjiQ0bmK/info/fighting-cancer-with-dance/ | title=Fighting cancer with dance | publisher=Amara.org | work=Ananda Shankar Jayant (TED Talk Video) | access-date=24 August 2016}}
* {{cite web | url=http://www.storypick.com/ananda-shankar-jayant/ | title=Meet Ananda Shankar Jayant Who 'Conquered' Cancer With Dance. Isn't That Great? | publisher=Story Pick | work=Web feature | date=2 November 2015 | access-date=25 August 2016 | author=Aparajita Mishra | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220063509/http://www.storypick.com/ananda-shankar-jayant/ | archive-date=20 December 2016 | url-status=dead }}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayant, Ananda Shankar}}
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Kala Ratna]]
[[Category:1960s births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Bharatanatyam dancers]]
[[Category:People from Tirunelveli district]]
[[Category:Indian Tamil people]]
[[Category:Kalakshetra Foundation alumni]]
[[Category:Osmania University alumni]]
[[Category:Delhi University alumni]]
[[Category:Indian female classical dancers]]
[[Category:Indian dance teachers]]
[[Category:Indian classical choreographers]]
[[Category:Indian Railways officers]]
[[Category:Indian motivational speakers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]]
[[Category:Dancers from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Teachers of Indian classical dance]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dancers]]
[[Category:Women educators from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women educators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women artists]]
[[Category:Women artists from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Tamil artists]]
[[Category:Educators from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

Ananda Shankar Jayant - Revision history

Aryakin2021 at 04:16, 12 January 2026