Dr. Anjana has lived Kathak her whole life. As an instructor of Kathak, she has been passing the knowledge she received from gurus down to her students for the past seven years.

Dr. Anjana Jha is a Kathak dancer and instructor. She is the HOD of Kathak Dance at Raja Mansingh Tomar Music and Arts University in Gwalior, MP.

Dr. Anjana was born and raised in the Bhind district of MP. She studied at Saraswati Shishu Mandir and Tagore Kala Mandir in Bhind itself. She did her master's and Ph.D. in Kathak from Indra Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya in Chhattisgarh.

Recalling her childhood, Dr. Anjana says that it was spent in the Bhind district of MP. She considers herself fortunate enough to have been born in a family where music, dance, and spirituality were always stressed upon, and it played a big role in shaping her personality, growing up. She began learning Kathak at the age of five. Dr. Anjana says she would love dance and music so much that she would never miss any of her dance and music classes even when it poured.

However, Dr. Anjana says that her dance career came to a halt when her father was transferred to Gwalior. Meanwhile, she kept learning music though. After completing high school, she expressed her desire to her father that she wanted to continue learning Kathak dance and make her career in it. In 2002, she took admission to the National Institute of Kathak Dance in New Delhi. She learned Kathak under the able guidance of her guru for six years at the institute. She was a topper at the institute and received a gold medal from Pt. Birju Maharaj, upon completing her diploma, Dr. Anjana says.

To the current generation of aspiring Kathak dancers, Dr. Anjana advises them to also earn a formal degree in Kathak from a recognized university along with learning the dance under a guru. She says it will help them land a government job at the university level. Besides, she tells them that the pursuit of art is endless, and she advises them to remain patient in realizing their dreams.

Dr. Anjana thinks that spirituality plays an indispensable role in ones life and in making ones dreams come true. She says that at the college she teaches at, apart from teaching about Kathak, she also teaches her students about spiritualism to make them disciplined.

Talking about her challenges, Dr. Anjana says that struggles are a part of every successful person’s life. She says that staying in Delhi at a young age to receive her education in Kathak was challenging for her but it only made her stronger.

Dr. Anjana advises people to believe in the process and enjoy doing what they do to become successful in that.

To the youth, Dr. Anjana advises them to always respect their teachers and parents.

In her spare time, Dr. Anjana likes to listen to mantras and religious hymns to relieve her stress. She tells people to do yoga, spend time in nature, and listen to music to keep depression at bay.