Dr Ananda (right) and Neha will be taking turns to depict the beloved characters of Rama and Sita in the 'Thyagaraja Ramayanam' show in KL on June 17. Photo: G. Murali
Ten pages would not be enough to list the string of accolades and awards Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant has accumulated as a performing arts practitioner from India.
Add in a doctorate in tourism, first woman officer in Indian Railways, breast cancer survivor, TEDx speaker, you’ll need some snacks and a chair to hear the rest.
At 62, nothing is beyond the eminent dance scholar who says she has a lot more to contribute to the arts.
So no, she’s not ready to hang up her anklets or bid adieu to the stage.
Ananda, celebrated as one of India’s finest classical dancers, will be in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday (July 17) to perform her signature bharatanatyam work – Thyagaraja Ramayanam at the Tan Sri KR Soma Auditorium, Wisma Tun Sambanthan.
“What 62?” she cheekily says in a recent interview. “I don’t know what you are talking about! I can only say that I am now so steeped in Ramayana that every time, some new nuance appears on stage.”
The Padma Shri (she was conferred India’s fourth highest civilian award in 2007) was supposed to stage a full length production last November but it had to be postponed due to health issues.
She shares: “I had to undergo a catheterisation laboratory diagnosis, following which I needed four – yes four – stents in my heart.
“Having been through breast cancer in 2008, and dealing with it from the mind and the power of dance, I now had a template to follow!
“So that’s what I did – danced and worked the mind.”
When she was diagnosed with cancer, instead of breaking down under the weight of the drastic news, she set rules for the battle ahead.
Neha, who was Ananda's student, takes flight in a dramatic scene from the Ramayana production. Photo: G. Murali
“I said three things to myself, and out loud, so I know it I cannot back out from it. One: Cancer is just one page of my life; I will not allow it to become the whole book. Two: I will ride it out; I will not allow it to ride me. Three: I will never ask, ‘why me?’
“I refused to take a break from dance and bargained with my oncologist – ‘I have a performance, can we do chemo on the next day?’ He thought I had lost my marbles, putting my dance before my treatment,” she recalls.
An ancient epic
Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic authored by poet Valmiki, which follows Prince Rama’s quest to rescue his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of Ravana, with the help of an army of monkeys.
Ananda first staged it in 1986 at the annual Tyagaraja Gana Sabha, an event where artistes from the performing arts were honoured.
Her musician mother told her: “Instead of the usual bharatanatyam margam (path), why don’t you create an ekaharya (a single dancer portraying multiple roles) based on Thyagaraja kritis (a composition in three parts)?”
Tyagaraja and his contemporaries, Shyama Shastri and Muthuswami Dikshitar, are regarded as the trinity of Carnatic music. He composed thousands of devotional songs, mostly in Telugu and in praise of Rama, many of which remain popular today.
“We heard about D. Seshadri who had authored a book called Thyagaraja Kriti Ramayanam. My mother and I met him and he explained how he had strung together selected krithis to bring out the story of Ramayana.
“I realised we would need some connecting links to the selected krithis, which were set to music by my mother,” recalls Ananda, who is also a kuchipudi exponent.
Basically, the ekaharya strung together the story of Rama as visualised by Thyagaraja, alongside selected episodes of Ramayana with selected shlokas (verses) for continuity.
The debut performance was a hit.
Despite her health challenges, Dr Ananda still remains youthful and attributes it to dance. Photo: G. Murali
She adds: “Since then, the ekaharya has been a perennial favourite of mine as well as other presenters. It has stood the test of time (37 years) and continues to be in demand.
“In 2006, I released two DVDs on dance – one was Thyagaraja Ramayanam."
Dynamic duo on stage
While she always danced solo overseas, this time, Ananda has re-choreographed it as a duet, which will see her student Neha Sathanapalli dancing alongside as the duo take turns to portray the characters of Rama and Sita.
“Last July, I was asked to present an online work with a student. Neha learnt the piece and I recast the choreography to suit a duet performance. She had already been trained to do another full length work on the Ramayana and was already familiar with the dance nuances.
“This is the first time we are bringing Thyagaraja Ramayanam as a duet performance overseas,” says Ananda, the artistic director of Hyderabad-based arts company Shankarananda Kalakshetra.
The dance drama will be featured in two parts – from Rama’s birth to Sita Kalyanam and from Bharata’s search for Rama to the final coronation of Sri Rama in Ayodhya.
While there isn’t a specific character that she loves portraying, Ananda tries to “get under the skin/mood/attitude and context of every character and their peculiar situation in the story.”
She explains: “I try not to ‘portray’ or ‘enact’ and instead I try to ‘be’ the character. But, the character of Vali (the initial king of monkeys in Kiskinda kingdom) and his deathbed remorse, is a scene that has me in tears always.
The many expressions of Sita that Ananda will be portraying in the production. Photo: G. Murali
“Every time I have performed this work, I am energised and animated by the eternal story of Rama and the timeless quality of the poetry and music of Thyagaraja.”
Thyagaraja Ramayanam has been performed to critical acclaim all over the world but Ananda remains unfazed by the numerous standing ovations and awards she has garnered.
“Audiences have loved this work because they can see the characters come alive in my performance – and for that, I am grateful to the in-depth training I received at Kalakshetra Chennai.
“I am just a patra (vehicle) for the story of Rama to flow. It is his signature work!” she says.
What started as an extra-curricular activity at four has now turned into a passion for almost six decades. Ananda has cast aside all health challenges and keeps stomping on.
“I danced through my job as a senior bureaucrat and through cancer – dance is my life breath – life and passion cannot be either or options. Treading the two paths has helped me deal with life’s many challenges.
“So the moral of the story: keep doing what you love and do what you have to do, to keep doing what you love to do. It’s that simple!” she concludes.
The one-night Malaysian performance is organised by Kalpana Dance Theatre.
Its founder Shangita Namasivayam says: “Ananda was my senior in Kalakshetra and she is a really fun person to be with. What amazes me most about her is her indomitable spirit with which she faces both her accolades and challenges.
“She is a role model for all young women, showing them that it is possible to have a successful career and also follow one’s passion.”
Thyagaraja Ramayanam will be staged at Tan Sri KR Soma Auditorium, Wisma Tun Sambanthan in Kuala Lumpur on June 17. Showtime: 7pm. For tickets, contact: 017-672 5672.
