Hon Vice President Of India Releases Inspirational Memoir ‘Dancing With Joy’ By Ananda Shankar Jayant.

Hyderabad, Telangana, 14th of October, 2026 : Renowned dancer Ananda Shankar Jayant’s inspirational memoir ‘Dancing with Joy’ was released today by the Hon’ble Vice President of India Shri CP Radhakrishnan ji at the Uprashtrapathi Bhavan in New Delhi.

The book published by Garuda Prakashan, was released in the presence of Dr Sandhya Purecha, Chairman Sangeet Natak Academy, Dr Sachchidanand Joshi, Member Secretary Indra Gandhi National Centre for Arts – IGNCA and Dr P Raghu Ram, Chairman, Ushalakshmi Breast Cancer Foundation.

Addressing the gathering, the Hon’ble Vice President of India Shri CP Radhakrishnan ji described the book as much more than a story about dance and joy, calling it a powerful account of passion, hard work, resilience and the extraordinary strength that comes from discovering and nurturing one’s talent.

Highlighting the book’s account of Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant’s journey through cancer, the Vice-President said that it was not merely a book about cancer, but a story of life beyond cancer. He observed that a deeply nurtured passion could become an anchor during life’s most difficult moments and help transform adversity into an opportunity for self-discovery.

Referring to the book’s message that the ‘D’ in DANCER helped its author overcome the ‘C’ in cancer, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan said that dance, nurtured through years of discipline, learning and dedication, had become Dr. Ananda’s core strength in confronting one of life’s greatest challenges.

The Vice-President highlighted that, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Bharat is strengthening preventive healthcare, awareness and early screening through initiatives such as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases. He noted that the expansion of cancer care facilities across States was bringing specialised treatment closer to patients, with over 700 District Clinics and 500 Day Care Cancer Centres established, and 19 State Cancer Institutes and 20 Tertiary Care Cancer Centres approved for operationalisation. He also highlighted the ₹5 lakh annual health coverage for eligible families under Ayushman Bharat and the nationwide HPV vaccination campaign launched in February 2026, which aims to protect approximately 1.2 crore young girls against cervical cancer, with over 50 lakh girls already vaccinated.

Drawing lessons from Dr. Ananda’s experience, the Vice-President said that success and failure were two sides of the same coin and that every setback offered an opportunity to learn, reflect and return with renewed determination. He urged people facing cancer and other serious challenges not to lose hope, emphasising the importance of courage and a positive mindset. He emphasised that awareness, early detection and timely treatment could save lives.

The Vice-President also acknowledged the vital role played by families and volunteers in supporting cancer patients. He observed that families provided essential emotional strength, encouragement and care during the most difficult phases of a patient’s life, often making considerable personal and financial sacrifices.

The Vice-President said that talent, while a gift, could be transformed into excellence only through sustained learning, practice and commitment. He observed that passion was not a luxury but a source of strength, and that the abilities and interests nurtured during ordinary times could become invaluable resources when extraordinary challenges arose.

Congratulating Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant on the publication, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan expressed the hope that ‘Dancing with Joy’ would inspire young people to discover and develop their talents, touch countless lives and remind readers that, whatever rhythm life offered, it was possible to meet it with courage, grace and joy.

Dancing with Joy is an inspirational memoir by Ananda Shankar Jayant—one of India’s foremost classical dancers—whose life unfolds at the confluence of art, intellect, and public service, a journey marked by discipline, grace, and quiet courage.

At its heart is her encounter with cancer—met not as an ending, but as another rhythm to be understood and mastered. “Cancer is a mind game,” she writes, “and dance—my core strength—taught me to ride both the crab and my mind.”

Rich with insight and quiet wisdom, Dancing with Joy celebrates resilience and purpose, even as it urges readers to recognise and honour their unique gifts, while offering strength to anyone navigating uncertainty, self-doubt, or life’s unexpected turns. This is not merely a story of survival, but of choosing joy, again and again.

The release coinciding with the breast cancer month, October – ‘Dancing with Joy’ is a book that touches on many facets of the unique artist, and how this passion for an art form became her strength and bedrock, to deal with the life challenge called cancer, and dance through it.

Dancing with Joy, is a book that taps into the life, mind and spirit of Ananda – artiste, teacher, speaker, writer and arts entrepreneur, even as it will inspire young minds to nurture and nourish their unique talents, with learning possibilities for the reader, seeking motivation, when faced with setbacks and life obstacles, not necessarily cancer.

The book will be an inspiration to young artists, seeking to sustain and grow oneself in the unstructured world of performing arts; will motivate young parents to identify their child’s inborn talent and nurture it; and a guiding light to many, who seek to find strength when faced with life’s challenges. The function conducted at Uprashtrapathi Bhavan, New Delhi on 14^th October, was attended by prominent Dance and music gurus, artistes and bureaucrats.