Coming from an extremely poor family, Jayant, with his firm determination and hard work, made his own identity in the field of dance and theater. He is a multi-talented personality who, in his quest for knowledge, has pursued various degrees in different fields.

Dr. Jayant Bhaskar Rao Shevtekar is a  Professor and Head of Department who has retired from the Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad. He is currently the Director at the J.J. School of Performing Arts.

Recalling his childhood, Jayant says that he had been through a lot of struggle and that his family's financial situation was also not good. His father was a school teacher, so all their relatives would come to study at their house, which resulted in an increased number of people living in the family. He was a brilliant child in studies and would actively participate in cultural programmes in his school and college days.

He did his early schooling at a municipal corporation school and passed his tenth at a government school. He did his B.Com. at Shri Saraswati Bhuvan College. He was recruited by the Bank of Maharashtra in 1982. While working, he also completed his LLB, Bachelor's in Journalism, certificate course, diploma, bachelor's and master's degrees in Drama, and bachelor's in Yogashastra. He also holds a PhD in Natyashastra and Nritya Shastra. He is also a Visharad degree holder in Bharatanatyam from the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharv Mahavidyalaya, Mandal.

Sharing his journey, Jayant says he won many medals in Loknritya competitions during his college years, and influenced by an advertisement of an academy run by his guru he joined classes for learning Bharatanatyam. He learned Bharatanatyam under the guidance of his guru. He was the first Bharatanatyam dancer to perform Arangetram in the Marathwada region. Later, he opened his own dance institution, the J. J. School of Performing Arts. In 2005, he left his bank job to become an Assistant Professor at the university. He also played a major role in starting a degree course in Dance and Yogashastra in his college. He retired in 2021 as a professor and is currently running his own dance institutions.

Talking about his mistakes, Jayant says that he wanted to become a lawyer but could not do so. He also tried to enter politics but soon realized that it was not the right career field for him and continued teaching.

Sharing about his achievements, Jayant proudly says that one of the partially deaf and visually impaired students, whom he taught for 12 years, set an example by performing Arangetram for a continuous two and a half hours on live stage. He has acted in more than 60 dramas, and two of them were also telecast on Doordarshan and the Sahyadri channel. He has been invited to serve on juries for several dance shows. He has published 54 research papers. He has also presented his research paper in London and Poland. He was felicitated by the Maharashtra government with the Gunwant Kaamgar Puraskar in 1992. He was conferred the title Nrityaraj in the Kankaleshwar Mahotsav. Garware, a technical textile company, has given him the Jeevan Kala Gaurav Award. He was conferred the Maharashtra Bhushan Award by the Maharashtra Weekly Editors Association. He has also received the Vivekanada Gyan Puraskar and many other awards.

When asked about his role models, Jayant says that he has learned a lot from his parents and gurus. He regards himself as his biggest inspiration, as he has done everything on his own, and poverty has been a great teacher in his life.

Jayant’s life mantra is that true devotion and knowledge can lead us to our goals.