M. K. Saroja

Madras Kadiravelu Saroja (7 April 1931 – 13 June 2022), was an Indian classical dancer, known for her expertise, as an exponent and as a teacher, in the classical dance form of Bharatanatyam. The Government of India honored her, in 2011, with the Padma Shri, 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 (erstwhile Madras), in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She started learning classical dance when she was five years old, along with her sister, under the tutelage of Muthukumaran Pillai,

Saroja made her debut in 1940 and soon became a known dancer. In 1946, she was offered a movie contract by Gemini Studios, in Chennai which she turned down. Three years later, in December 1949, she married Mohan Khokar, and a co-student at Kalakshetra and followed her husband to Baroda when he was posted there as the Head of Department of Dance, Maharaja Sayajirao University. She currently lives in Chennai.

Legacy "M. K. Saroja's art is that of the devotee. She has absolute 'bhakti' residing in her...", opines Leela Samson, Director of Kalakshetra Shobana Radhakrishna, Rasika Khanna, Arup Ghosh, Lucia Maloney, Milena Salvini and Vidya. The last two dancers still teach 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. Sangeet Natak Akademi Award - 1995 Kalaimamani Award - Tamil Nadu State Eyal Isai Nataka Manram Life Time Achievement Award - E. Krishna Iyer Medal - Sruthi Foundation - 2000