Madras Kadiravelu Saroja (7 April 1931 – 13 June 2022), known as Puliyur Saroja, was an Indian classical dancer, known for her expertise, as an exponent and as a teacher, in the classical dance form of

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...

. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

honored her, in 2011, with the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, the fourth highest civilian award, for her services to the field of art and culture.

Biography

M. K. Saroja was born on 7 April 1931 at

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

(erstwhile Madras), in the Indian state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. She started learning classical dance when she was five years old, along with her sister, under the tutelage of Muthukumaran Pillai, a known classical dance teacher and reportedly, the first dance teacher at Rukmini Devi Arundale's

Kalakshetra Kalakshetra Foundation, formerly simply Kalakshetra, is an arts and cultural academy dedicated to the preservation of traditional values in Indian art and crafts, especially in the field of Bharatanatyam dance and Gandharvaveda music. Based in ...

, who taught many renowned classical dancers such as

Mrinalini Sarabhai Mrinalini Vikram Sarabhai (11 May 1918 – 21 January 2016) was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. She was the founder and director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, ...

and

Kamala Laxman Kamala Laxman was an Indian author of children's books, and the wife of cartoonist R. K. Laxman. Kamala died in 2015 at the age of 90. She is survived by her son Srinivas, a retired journalist, her daughter-in-law Usha and granddaughter Rimanika. ...

. The young Saroja followed the master when he moved to Bangalore to join the ''Bangalore Studio'', in Bangalore. Saroja made her debut in 1940 and soon became a known dancer. In 1946, she was offered a movie contract by

Gemini Studios Gemini Studios was an Indian film studio based in Madras, Tamil Nadu. It was launched when S. S. Vasan, a businessman of many ventures (including the ownership of Ananda Vikatan) bought Motion Picture Producers' Combines from Krishnaswamy Subr ...

, in Chennai which she turned down. Three years later, in December 1949, she married Mohan Khokar, renowned art historian and dance scholar and a co-student at

and followed her husband to

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

when he was posted there as the Head of Department of Dance,

Maharaja Sayajirao University The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, in Gujarat state, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a university in 1949 after the independence of ...

. In Baroda, Saroja learnt

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

from Sundarlal and Kundanlal Gangani, noted Kathak gurus. In 1961, Mohan Khokar was posted as the Special Officer for dance at the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

and the couple moved to New Delhi. There, she resumed teaching and continued with dance performances and had the opportunity to perform at the

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

, in front of the visiting Saudi Arabian ruler. From 1970 onwards, she started visiting the ''Centre Mandapa'' in Paris, for teaching students there which she continued until the year 2000. M. K. Saroja retired from professional dance, after 40 active years, in 2000, following the death of her husband. She had four sons of which the third son, Ashish Mohan Khokar is a known art historian, author and dance critic. She currently lives in Chennai. M. K. Saroja died on 13 June 2022, at the age of 91.

Legacy

The legacy of M. K. Saroja remains the purity she brought into the bharatanatyam and lives through the numerous students she has tutored to fame such as Nargis Katpitia, Pratibha Pandit, Sudha Patel, Laxmi Valrani,

Indrani Rehman Indrani Rahman (19 September 1930, Chennai – 5 February 1999, New York) was an Indian classical dancer of Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali and Odissi dance, Odissi, which she popularised in the west, and later settled in New York in 1976. ...

Yamini Krishnamurthy Mungara Yamini Krishnamurthy (born 20 December 1940) is an Indian dancer of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi styles of dancing. Early life Yamini Krishnamurthy was born in Madanapalli, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. She was brought up in Chidam ...

, Romana Agnel, Shobana Radhakrishna, Rasika Khanna, Arup Ghosh, Lucia Maloney, Milena Salvini and Vidya. The last two dancers still teaches at the ''Centre Mandapa'', Paris. Two documentary films have been made on M. K. Saroja, one by the Department of Theatre, University of Rome and another one by Claude Lamorrise.

Awards and recognitions

- 2011 *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna and Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Puraskar were given at special events organised by Sangeet Natak Akademi in *Kolkata – Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Samman on 25 April 2012 *Chennai – Sangeet Natak Akademi ...

- 2011 *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

- 1995 *

Kalaimamani Award The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of ...

- Tamil Nadu State Eyal Isai Nataka Manram * Natya Kalanidhi - Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India - 2007 * Life Time Achievement Award - * E. Krishna Iyer Medal - Sruthi Foundation - 2000

References

External links

Profile on Narthaki.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saroja, M. K. 1931 births 2022 deaths Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Performers of Indian classical dance Artists from Chennai Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Indian female classical dancers Indian dance teachers Teachers of Indian classical dance Bharatanatyam exponents 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian women artists Dancers from Tamil Nadu Women educators from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian educators Women artists from Tamil Nadu Educators from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian women educators

Biography

Legacy

Awards and recognitions

See also

References

Further reading

External links