M.K. Saroja

🪔 About

Madras Kadiravelu Saroja (April 7, 1931 – June 13, 2022), professionally known as M.K. Saroja, was an acclaimed Indian classical dancer and guru, renowned for her mastery of Bharatanatyam. Born in Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu, she began her intensive training at the age of five under Guru Kattumannarkoil Muthukumara Pillai, whose traditional style emphasized the Sadir attam form. She also received mentorship from dancer Ram Gopal, making her stage debut in 1940. Saroja's career spanned over seven decades, marked by pioneering efforts to globalize Bharatanatyam as one of the first post-independence exponents to teach the form abroad in cities like London, Geneva, and Paris, starting in the 1950s. She performed extensively across Europe, the UK, Germany, Italy, Nepal, and within India. As a child artist in the 1940s, she appeared in Tamil films such as Nalla Thambi, Paithiakaran, and Krishna Bhakt, though she later declined further film roles to prioritize dance. In December 1949, she married Mohan Khokar, a renowned art historian and dance scholar. The couple moved to Baroda (now Vadodara) in 1950, where Khokar established the first Department of Dance at M.S. University. Saroja became the first professional Bharatanatyam instructor there and also learned Kathak from gurus Sundarlal and Kundanlal Gangani. In 1961, they relocated to New Delhi when Khokar was appointed Special Officer for Dance at the Sangeet Natak Akademi. From 1970 to 2000, Saroja taught annually in Paris at the Centre Mandapa. She also taught at Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata. As a guru, she trained over 200 students in Chennai from 1985 to 2015. She retired from professional dancing around 1998-2000 and passed away on June 13, 2022, in Bengaluru at the age of 91. Her contributions to Bharatanatyam were recognized with numerous prestigious awards. Awards & Honours: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1995), Kalaimamani Award (1977), Padma Shri (2011), E. Krishna Iyer Medal (2000), Lifetime Achievement Award from Kartik Fine Arts (2016), Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna Award (2011), Natya Kalanidhi by Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India (ABHAI) (2011).