Saroja Vaidyanathan (19 September 1937 – 21 September 2023) was an Indian choreographer,

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

, and notable proponent of

Bharatanatyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism.< ...

. She was conferred the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), 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. In ...

in 2002 and the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

in 2013 by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

Early life and education

Saroja Vaidyanathan (née Dharmarajan) was born in Bellary,

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, on 19 September 1937. Vaidyanathan's parents were both authors; her mother Kanakam Dharmarajan was a writer of

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal investigation, investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

. She received her initial training in Bharatanatyam at the Saraswati Gana Nilayam in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

and later studied under guru Kattumannar Muthukumaran Pillai of

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...

. She also studied

Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

under Professor P. Sambamoorthy at

Madras University The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

and had a D.Litt in dance from the Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh.

Bharatanatyam career

Vaidyanathan gave up dancing after her marriage, following conservative and adverse reactions to her performing in public venues and took instead to teaching children dance at home. Following her husband's transfer to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

in 1972, she established the Ganesa Natyalaya there in 1974. She was monetarily supported by well wishers and sponsors and the building for the Natyalaya was built at the Qutab Institutional Area in 1988. Besides the dance itself, students at the Ganesa Natyalaya are also taught Tamil,

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, and Carnatic vocal music to give them a holistic understanding of Bharatanatyam. Vaidyanathan was a prolific choreographer and had to her credit ten full-length ballets and nearly two thousand individual Bharatanatyam pieces. She undertook a cultural tour of

South East Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

in 2002, accompanying

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 ...

's visit to the ASEAN Summit in 2002. She had also published her renditions of Subramania Bharati's songs and poems and set some of her works to dance.

Books

Saroja Vidyanathan wrote a number of books on Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music including ''The Classical Dances of India'', ''Bharatanatyam – An In-Depth Study'', ''Carnataka Sangeetham'', and ''The Science of Bharatanatyam''.

Personal life

Saroja was married to Vaidyanathan, an IAS officer of the

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

cadre. The couple had a son, Kamesh and their daughter-in-law Rama Vaidyanathan is a well-known Bharatanatyam artist of international fame. Saroja's grand-daughter, Dakshina Vaidyanathan Baghel, is also a sought-after Indian classical dancer. Vaidyanathan died from cancer on 21 September 2023, two days after her 86th birthday.

Awards and honours

Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award-08 to Smt

Saroja was conferred the Padma Shri in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013. She is also the recipient of the Sahitya Kala Parishad Samman of the Government of Delhi, the Kalaimamani title bestowed by the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram and the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

. She was conferred the title of 'Bharata Kalai Sudar' in 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaidyanathan, Saroja 1937 births 2023 deaths Bharatanatyam exponents Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Indian classical choreographers Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Dancers from Andhra Pradesh Indian female classical dancers Indian women choreographers People from Ballari 20th-century Indian dancers Women artists from Karnataka Teachers of Indian classical dance Women educators from Karnataka Indian dance teachers 20th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian women educators 20th-century Indian women artists Educators from Karnataka Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Deaths from cancer in India