 Kanan was born in Lucknow on 27 December 1930 to Rabindralal Roy, a musicologist and a disciple of Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande.In her early years she trained in the musical genres of dhrupad, dhamar and khyal for a number of years under her father.She also got training in Rabindrasangeet from Santidev Ghosh and Suchitra Mitra.