urrounded by Parents ( Dr. Nanki & Gobind Gulabrai Makhijani ) who were medical practitioners, Anila pursued arts, the form of dance and at the age of seven, she knew she always wanted to be a classical dancer.

Anila Sunder, who has a Masters' degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Mumbai, started her career as a lecturer in Psychology at the Jai Hind college in Mumbai. After passing her examination in dancing from the Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad, at the tender age of eleven and winning awards in school and inter-collegiate classical dance competition, it strengthened her belief that she had chosen the right direction in her life.

With her deep love and dedication for the art and her perseverance to attain perfection in her dance form, Anila began scaling new heights of glory within a few years.

In 1971, she was specially invited to join the Youth Exchange Programme to visit Japan and give recitals of her dance in `The Land Of The Rising Sun'.
In 1975, she gave several performances on stage and television in West Africa and London.

In Lagos, she performed for the National Council of Women's Society of Nigeria at the Institute of International Affairs, Indian Ladies Club and for the Indian Association. And in London she performed at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

She also travelled to Accra, Ghana, where she gave a number of perfomances at the Legon University, climaxing her performance at the Indian High Commission in Accra.

Two years later, Anila Sunder was invited to Stockholm, Sweden, to participate in the 'India Week' celebrations. The combined association of Swedes and Indians - Kulturhuset of Stockholm - arranged a special programme of Anila's Kathak recital due to immense public demand. Jumping - or rather dancing - from one place to another was a easy affair for Anila. She gave performances in Oslo, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Luxembourg on her way back to India.
Success begets success - it is so true of Anila Sunder! The following year, in 1977, she was invited to participate in the Festival of Dance & Music in Teheran, Iran. Her fame began to spread far and wide.

Returning to Mumbai, she gained a lot of ground with her exquisite performances under the auspices of various organisations. With graceful grammar and pleasing aesthethics, Anila reflected sincerity to classicism in her Kathak recital.


Her ballets have been performed in over 25 cities in India and in other countries like U.A.E., Hongkong and Philippines, to name a few. In 1999, she was invited by the "Alliance of Sindhi Associations of America " to perform at the 6th International Sindhi Sammelan at Orlando. She also performed at New York for "Long Island Sindhi Association ".

She was invited to perform at the " Sindhu Darshan " festival at Leh, Ladakh
in 1998 & also in 2000, where she performed before the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Home Minister, Shri Lal Krishna Advani along with other dignitaries.

Kathak dancer Anila Sunder and her troupe were invited to perform at the 7th Sindhi Sammelan 2000 held in Chicago recently. Sunder trained and presented the local artistes in her ballets depicting Sindhi festivals and folk dances. She was highly appreciated for encouraging community feeling. The Sammelan was organised by Alliance of Sindhi Associations of Americas, Inc. which attemps to bring together Sindhis of all ages and preserve Sindhi cultural heritage.

She aspires to perform her creations at many other parts of the world. She also trains young enthusiastic dancers to keep this form of art alive.

A gifted danseuse, Anila has been verily born with dancing feet. Her devotion to her art is supreme. " I'm obsessed with dance. In fact, it is a magnificent obsession with me. I wish to bring joy to millions of people with my dance. That's my ambition." ~ Says Anila in conclusion.

That's Anila Sunder for you !



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