As a result of her family’s emphasis on art, culture, and education, Shovana began pursuing her career in classical dance at the age of three. She is currently renowned as a prominent Kathak Dancer, who is praised in India and abroad for her sixty-eight years stage stint.

Shovana Narayan is a Kathak Dancer. She also shares her father’s profession as a Civil Servant, since 1976. Since then, she has been working parallely in both her professions.

Shovana has her original roots in Bihar but she was born and brought up in Kolkata. She learnt Kathak at Loreto House, Kolkata. She then progressed in dance under the guidance of her mentor Kundan Lal Sisodia in Mumbai. Further, she took her education from Fort Convent School, Mumbai, and Martyr Convent School, Delhi. She started getting professional recognition in Kathak from 1969. She adds, when she made her debut in the Civil Services, she was already a well-known young Kathak Dancer.

Talking about her academic qualifications, Shovana says she did her B.Sc and M.Sc in Physics. Later on, she also did M.Phil twice, first in Defense and Strategic Studies and second in Social Sciences and Public Administration.

Recalling her childhood, Shovana says that she had a fun-filled childhood. She was quite active in everything and was full of energy. Then, in order to channel her energy into something productive, her mother pushed her into dancing just at the age of two-and-a-half years. She had her first stage performance at the age of four. She says that special attention was given to every child in her house to have knowledge of all disciplines. Along with her studies, she used to memorize the chapters of the Bhagawad Geeta easily. She says that she grew up with a sense of Patriotism and reading Hindi Literature, Sanskrit Literature, Philosophy, etc at her home.

When asked about her role models, Shovana says that although she doesn’t consider anyone as her role model, her mother has had a huge impact on her life and serves as her biggest source of inspiration because she believes that whatever she is today, it is because of her mother.

Describing her struggles, Shovana says that she was one of the first females to successfully manage two parallel careers. Besides, his father died in a train accident in the seventies. In such a situation, she went out alone to find her father’s dead body, got the post-mortem done, brought it to Delhi, and cremated it.

Enumerating her accomplishments, Shovana says that overcoming her stage fright was her biggest accomplishment. Apart from this, it was a big achievement for her to handle the entire stage on her own without the help of any guru. Besides, in her sixty-eight years of stage performances, she has won many National and International awards and titles including the ‘Padma Shri’, an award by the Sangeet Natak Academy, Bihar State Award, Delhi State Award, etc.

Speaking about her pastime activities, Shovana says that knowledge is her relaxation. She loves to read whenever she gets a chance. Besides, she enjoys classical music and visiting exhibitions as she has an interest in architecture, paintings, and sculptures.

Shovana advises us all to do our work sensitively and with kindness and to leave the rest to God. She also warns everyone that they will face challenges in life, but they should be prepared to deal with them smoothly.

Shovana advises the youth to follow their dreams with all their might so that no one can stop them from being successful. She also tells them to avoid taking any shortcuts. She suggests everyone bring depth, sensitivity, and humanity to their personality and live their life like an incense stick, which spreads the fragrance of happiness in the lives of others as well.