Hyderabad, Dec 21: Renowned classical dancer Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant received the prestigious Natya Kalashikamani title from the nine-decade-old Indian Fine Arts Society amid the start of the annual Margazhi cultural festival in Chennai.
“What a special honour to receive this award that was earlier given to several stars of the dance firmament,” Padma Shri Dr Ananda said, after being bestowed with Natya Kalashikamani from the 1932-established Fine Arts Society, one of South India’s oldest cultural organisations.
Industrialist-philanthropist Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti gave away the gold medal, citation to Hyderabad-based Dr Ananda, known for her mastery in Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. The Artistic Director of the 1979-founded Shankarananda Kalakshetra in the Telangana capital, she is an alumnus of Chennai’s Kalakshetra and has won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar.
Dr Ananda’s latest dance production ‘Tales from the Bull and the Tiger’ is set to be staged in two venues inChennai this season. On December 30, the 80-minute production will be presented at the Kalakshetra festival and, on January 1, 2024 at Krishna Gana Sabha.
Dr Ananda’s signature production ‘Navarasa’, which has travelled around the world, will be presented by the Shankarananda Kalakshetra ensemble on December 31 for the Indian Fine Arts Festival in Chennai.
The artiste, who served Railways as an IRTS officer, has a penchant for harnessing technology for the arts. Thisled Dr Ananda to create Natyarambha — a first-of-its-kind Bharatanatyam practice app in 2017. A sought-after TED speaker, who actively engages with young India on a wide range of topics, Dr Ananda’s unique video enabled e-book Kutty Kahani found mention in the Prime Minister’s popular Mann ki Baat radio address this summer.