From the civil services to the world stage: How Padma Shri Ananda Shankar Jayant danced through life’s toughest challenge

(Aug 4, 2026) Padma Shri awardee Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant has spent decades taking Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi to audiences across the world while breaking barriers as the first woman officer in the Indian Railway Traffic Service on South Central Railway. Her memoir Dancing with Joy reveals how dance became her anchor through cancer and life’s deepest trials.

When Padma Shri awardee Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, she refused to let the disease define her. Instead, she turned to the one constant that had shaped her life since childhood—dance. The discipline, focus and inner joy she had cultivated through decades of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi became the foundation of her resilience, a journey she now recounts in her memoir, Dancing with Joy.

A celebrated classical dancer, choreographer, scholar, motivational speaker and the first woman officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) on South Central Railway, Dr Ananda has performed in nearly 50 countries across five continents. Honoured with the Padma Shri in 2007 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, she says her greatest lessons came not under the spotlight but during one of the most difficult chapters of her life.

“Cancer is a mind game, and dance—my core strength—taught me to ride both the crab and my mind,” Dr Ananda tells The Global Indian.

Finding joy amid adversity

Rich with personal reflections and hard-earned wisdom, Dancing with Joy celebrates the human spirit’s ability to rise above adversity. Through triumphs, setbacks and moments of self-discovery, Dr Ananda encourages readers to recognise their own strengths while embracing life with purpose and gratitude.

“The first thing you learn to overcome as a dancer is stage fear—almost all of us artists scale this very early,” she says. “You learn to side-step the nervousness by focusing on the programme itself or by emptying the mind.”

When cancer entered her life, she instinctively applied the same discipline. She refused to get consumed by the fear, clutter and emotional weight that often accompany the disease.

I stayed clear of the clamour, clutter and melodrama that cancer comes with, or what society and media associate with cancer. I focused on my dance, books and comedies. Essentially, not allowing the maudlin state to get you.

Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant

Instead of allowing the diagnosis to dictate her life, she redirected her attention towards the things that had always grounded her. “The body follows the mind,” she says, explaining how she consciously rebuilt her physical strength by first mastering her thoughts.

The memoir, however, is not intended as a guidebook. “I’ve always wanted to share the insights and lessons life has taught me. It had to be much more than just my personal journey.” It took almost eight years to write because it kept evolving with time. “It offers hope and strength to anyone facing uncertainty, self-doubt, illness or life’s unexpected turns.”

Yet Dr Jayant is careful not to preach. “I wouldn’t call it a message because that sounds too didactic. But I do hope readers take away the importance of discovering their own core strength.” That philosophy has resonated with audiences well beyond the pages of the book. Her 2009 TED Talk on cancer, drawn from her own experience, continues to inspire viewers around the world and is ranked among the top TED talks on the subject.

The diagnosis that changed everything

The defining moment came unexpectedly in June 2008. Dr Ananda was attending a Kuchipudi conference in San Jose, California, when she noticed a lump in her left breast just a day before she was due to fly back to India.

“I was at a Kuchipudi conference in San Jose when, just a day before I was due to leave, I felt a lump in my left breast,” she recalls. She immediately underwent a mammogram before boarding her flight home the following day.

Having been away for nearly two weeks, she was touched to find her husband, Jayant Dwarkanath, waiting to receive her in Mumbai. “I thought it was such a romantic gesture,” she recalls with a smile. The conversation that followed changed everything.

“During the flight from Mumbai to Hyderabad, he told me that the mammogram results had come back malignant.” Unknown to her, he had already arranged an appointment with renowned breast cancer surgeon Dr P. Raghuram, who had recently returned from the United Kingdom. On reaching Hyderabad that very evening, she underwent a series of medical tests.

Initially, she remained composed. “I wasn’t too worried and decided to deal with it.” But as doctors began explaining carcinoma and everything that lay ahead, the enormity of the diagnosis finally sank in. “Once the doctor started explaining carcinoma and everything that came with it, it became very overwhelming, frustrating and unsettling.”

What followed was not just a battle against cancer, but a test of the mental discipline she had cultivated over decades as a dancer. Rather than allowing the disease to become the defining chapter of her life, she chose to treat it as another challenge to understand, confront and eventually master. That decision, she believes, made all the difference.

A life shaped by discipline

Born in Chennai to Indian Railways officer G.S. Shankar and school teacher and musician Subhashini, she grew up in Hyderabad, where she received her early education at St. Ann’s High School, Secunderabad. Dance entered her life at the age of four, and by 11 she had joined Kalakshetra, the institution founded by Rukmini Devi Arundale, to train in Bharatanatyam under gurus including Padma Balagopal, Sharada Hoffman and Krishnaveni Laxman.

After six years of rigorous training, she earned her diploma and postgraduate diploma in Bharatanatyam, Carnatic music, veena, dance theory and philosophy. Returning to Hyderabad at 17, she founded Shankarananda Kalakshetra with just eight students. What began as a small dance school has since grown into a respected academy that has nurtured generations of dancers.

Even as dance became her calling, academics remained equally important. She completed a master’s degree in Indian History and Culture from Osmania University before clearing the Civil Services Examination to join the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), becoming the first woman officer of the service on South Central Railway.

Breaking barriers in the railways

Being the first woman officer in a largely male environment naturally came with its share of attention.

I was the first woman officer in my division, and for almost three months everyone addressed me as ‘Sir.’ It was quite amusing, Yes, it was a male-dominated organisation, but I never felt discriminated against. I approached every posting the way any other officer would. I never wanted anyone to treat me differently because I was a woman.

Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant

She performed night duties, inspections, accident site visits and assignments in Naxal-affected areas, taking on every responsibility expected of an officer.

The experience shaped a philosophy she continues to share with her students. “I tell them that if they want to succeed in the workplace, they should leave their gender at home. Stop playing the martyr or victim, just focus on doing your job well. That’s my personal philosophy.”

Alongside a demanding government career and an equally demanding dance schedule, Dr Ananda continued to study, earning an MPhil in Art History on a UGC research scholarship and later completing a PhD in tourism.

Taking Indian classical dance to the world

While her administrative career broke barriers, dance carried her across continents. Over the past four decades, Dr Ananda has performed in nearly 50 countries across five continents, presenting Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi to audiences around the world through solo recitals, dance theatre productions and innovative group choreographies.

“Australia is probably the only country where I haven’t performed yet,” she says with a smile. Her productions have explored both traditional and contemporary themes, earning acclaim for their lyrical storytelling and distinctive choreography. One compliment she values above all is when audiences say she dances with joy.

I believe dance cannot be mere geometry of the body or number crunching of rhythms. It has to touch an inner core—in me the dancer and you the viewer.

Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant

That philosophy has defined her work on stage and beyond. Recognition followed over the years. The Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri in 2007 for her contribution to the arts, followed by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Bharatanatyam in 2009. She has also received the Kalaimamani Award from the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Kala Ratna Award from the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant received Padma Shri Award from the then President of India, Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam

Taking the message global

Dr Ananda’s experiences have taken her beyond auditoriums and performance venues to lecture halls and international conferences.

In 2016, she was invited to speak in the Inspire series at the India Conference held at Harvard Business School. “My talk was about the importance of discovering one’s core strength and developing an alternate identity beyond one’s profession,” she says.

She has also addressed audiences at Columbia College Chicago and Oberlin College in Ohio, while her 2009 TED Talk on cancer has continued to inspire viewers around the world. The Huffington Post ranked it among the five greatest TED Talks by Indians.

Whether speaking to students, professionals or artists, her message remains consistent: cultivate an identity that extends beyond your profession, because it is often those passions that sustain you during life’s most difficult moments.

Creating awareness through experience

Having experienced cancer firsthand, Dr Ananda is passionate about encouraging early diagnosis. “Many women still avoid getting screened. Early diagnosis can make all the difference and gives you a much better chance of dealing with the disease successfully.”

She often suggests a simple but meaningful gesture—gifting a mammogram or preventive health screening to loved ones on birthdays, anniversaries or festivals. For her, awareness is one of the most effective forms of prevention.

Innovation rooted in tradition

Even after decades as a performer, teacher and scholar, Dr Ananda continues to explore new ways of taking Indian classical arts to younger generations. Her mornings begin with yoga and exercise before rehearsals with her students, often starting at six o’clock.

“I’m always working on something new,” she says. That spirit of innovation led to Natyarambha, a pioneering Bharatanatyam practice app launched in 2017 and now used by dance students around the world.

She also conceptualised Kutty Kahani, a video-embedded digital book that introduces children to Indic stories through the prism of art. The initiative received national recognition when Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned it during his Mann Ki Baat address in June 2023.

Dr Anand Shankar Ananda’s journey from pioneering civil servant to internationally acclaimed classical dancer, cancer survivor and author is proof that resilience is not found in extraordinary circumstances, but in the passions and purpose we cultivate long before adversity arrives. It is that conviction that continues to shape her life and now, through Dancing with Joy, offers inspiration to countless others.

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