When four-year-old Saumya Pandey witnessed legendary actress Hema Malini perform Bharatnatyam, it kindled a passion in her tiny heart and her love for classical dance began. What ensued is a story of passion, skill, and dedication to art as well as duties. A 2017 batch IAS officer, she is currently posted as the Chief Development Officer in Kanpur Dehat.
BORN DANCER
Noticing her interest in the classical dance form, her mother enrolled her in a Bharatnatyam class in Prayagraj, her hometown, at the age of four, where she learned the dance form for five years.
Ms. Pandey took Bharatnatyam lessons from her Guru Dr. Saroj Dinghra and in the year 2000 passed Junior Secondary Diploma with First Division.
YOUNG ACHIEVER
She became the youngest Bharatnatyam performer at the Allahabad Museum in that short time and won various All-India Competition awards organized by the Ministry of Culture.
After refining her Bharatnatyam and Manipuri, the officer moved on to Kathak. She learned her kathak skills from a pupil of Pandit Birju Maharaj, Urmila Sharma, in Allahabad’s Kathak Kendra.
Ms. Pandey shared in an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds: “I recently finished my fourth year and am currently pursuing my Prabhakar. I’ve been studying classical dance for 20 years, and if I hadn’t been an IAS officer, I would have surely been a professional classical dancer.”
“Classical dance is a beautiful hobby. It enriches your mind and body and is a kind of meditation in itself,” she added.
THERAPEUTIC MOVES
As a 24X7 trained administrative officer, Ms. Pandey is never off duty. So, how does she find time to pursue her passion while fulfilling her responsibilities? Dancing, she claims, is not strenuous. “It’s not something I need to do just for the purpose of doing it, which is why I can prioritise my time in a way that allows me to focus on both things.”
She devotes most of her day to administrative duties and indulges in her passion for dancing in the evening, after office hours, or early in the morning.
“Dancing brings me happiness and joy. It enhances my energy to take on any administrative challenge through the rest of the day,” shared the officer.
Her duty and passion complement each other, she feels.
BASKETBALL ENTHUSIAST
Ms. Pandey is also a keen basketball player. She attended St. Mary’s Convent in Allahabad before transferring to The Army School, which had a large basketball court and an excellent coach.
“I learned basketball in school and was the youngest player there,” recalls Ms. Pandey. She captained her team, which won the Juniors and Seniors Inter-school basketball competitions. She continued to participate in the sport, during her undergraduate years.
“I played and represented my team even at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA). I was a member of the fine arts club because of my passion for dancing and I also played basketball during my training days,” she said.
“I am proud to have represented my team in the Inter-services league which we won,” the officer shared.
SUPER ACHIEVER
Apart from these, she is also NCC B and C certificate topper and of course an academically brilliant student.
Ms. Pandey had secured first position in the North Zone by scoring 98% in both, her class 10 and 12 board exams. She is also Science, Maths, and Electrical Engineering Olympiad winner. She topped in B.Tech from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Prayagraj, with two gold medals.
We will learn more about the officer in the second part of our story on Ms. Saumya Pandey.
