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{{Short description|Indian dancer and choreographer (1937–2023)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox dancer
| image = Dr. Saroja Vaidyanathan.jpg
| caption = Vaidyanathan in 2013
| birth_date = {{birth date|1937|09|19|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bellary]], [[Ceded Districts]], Madras Province, British India
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|09|21|1937|09|19|df=y}}
| death_place = New Delhi, India
| nationality = 
| occupation = {{hlist|Dancer|choreographer|writer}}
| awards = {{ubl|[[Padma Shri]] (2002)|[[Padma Bhushan]] (2013)}}
| dances = [[Bharatanatyam]]
}}

'''Saroja Vaidyanathan''' (19 September 1937 – 21 September 2023) was an Indian choreographer, [[guru]], and notable proponent of [[Bharatanatyam]].<ref name="ccrtindia">{{cite web|title=ARTISTE'S PROFILE : Saroja Vaidyanathan|url=http://www.ccrtindia.gov.in/SarojaVaidyanathan.htm|publisher=Centre for Cultural Resources and Training|access-date=28 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415005909/http://www.ccrtindia.gov.in/SarojaVaidyanathan.htm|archive-date=15 April 2013}}</ref> She was conferred the [[Padma Shri]] in 2002 and the [[Padma Bhushan]] in 2013 by the [[Government of India]].<ref name="deccanherald">{{cite news|title=Padma for Roddam, Dravid|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/307679/dravid-mary-kom-get-padma.html|access-date=28 January 2013|newspaper=Deccan Herald|date=25 January 2013}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Saroja Vaidyanathan (née Dharmarajan) was born in [[Bellary]], [[Karnataka]], on 19 September 1937. Vaidyanathan's parents were both authors; her mother Kanakam Dharmarajan was a writer of [[detective fiction]] in [[Tamil language|Tamil]].<ref name="hindu" />

She received her initial training in Bharatanatyam at the Saraswati Gana Nilayam in [[Chennai]] and later studied under guru Kattumannar Muthukumaran Pillai of [[Thanjavur]]. She also studied [[Carnatic music]] under Professor P. Sambamoorthy at [[Madras University]] and had a [[D.Litt]] in dance from the [[Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya]], [[Khairagarh]].<ref name="sangeetnatak">{{cite web|title=SAROJA VAIDYANATHAN Akademi Award: Bharatanatyam|url=http://sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/sna-awards2008/saroja-vaidyanathan.htm|publisher=Sangeet Natak Akademi|access-date=28 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130416041739/http://sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/sna-awards2008/saroja-vaidyanathan.htm|archive-date=16 April 2013}}</ref>

== 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]] 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 language|Hindi]], and Carnatic vocal music to give them a holistic understanding of Bharatanatyam.<ref name="tamilnation">{{cite web|title=ONE HUNDRED TAMILS OF THE 20TH CENTURY : Saroja Vaidyanathan|url=http://tamilnation.co/hundredtamils/saroja.htm|access-date=28 January 2013}}</ref>

Vaidyanathan was a prolific choreographer and had to her credit ten full-length [[ballets]] and nearly two thousand individual Bharatanatyam pieces.<ref name="tamilnation" /> She undertook a cultural tour of [[South East Asia]] in 2002, accompanying [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]'s visit to the [[ASEAN Summit]] in 2002.<ref name="ccrtindia" /> She had also published her renditions of [[Subramania Bharati]]'s songs and poems and set some of her works to dance.<ref name="ccrtindia" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Adding poetry to dance|url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/07/06/stories/2007070650630200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127142915/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2007/07/06/stories/2007070650630200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 November 2007|access-date=28 January 2013|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=6 July 2007}}</ref>

== 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''.<ref name="ccrtindia" /><ref name="hindu">{{cite news|title=The write mudra|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/02/19/stories/2007021900080100.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216050722/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/02/19/stories/2007021900080100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 February 2013|access-date=28 January 2013|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=19 February 2007}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Saroja was married to Vaidyanathan, an [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]] officer of the [[Bihar]] cadre.<ref name="tamilnation" /> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Char Minar in the City of Qutb!|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2002/12/26/stories/2002122600920300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030702075118/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2002/12/26/stories/2002122600920300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 July 2003|access-date=28 January 2013|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=26 December 2002}}</ref>

Vaidyanathan died from cancer on 21 September 2023, two days after her 86th birthday.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bharatanatyam exponent Saroja Vaidyanathan dies at 86 |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/bharatanatyam-exponent-saroja-vaidyanathan-dies-at-86-546465 |access-date=21 September 2023 |work=The Tribune |date=21 September 2023}}</ref>

== Awards and honours ==
[[File:Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award-08 to Smt. Saroja Vaidyanathan for her contribution to Bharatanatyam.jpg|thumb|[[President of India]] [[Pratibha Patil]] presenting the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award of 2008 to Saroja Vaidyanathan for her contribution to Bharatanatyam]]
Saroja was conferred the Padma Shri in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013.<ref name="deccanherald" /> 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]].<ref name="sangeetnatak" /> She was conferred the title of 'Bharata Kalai Sudar' in 2006.<ref>{{cite news|title=Confluence of styles|url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/08/18/stories/2006081800060300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806122847/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/08/18/stories/2006081800060300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 August 2013|access-date=28 January 2013|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=18 August 2006}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2010–19}}
{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}}
{{Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship|state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

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

Saroja Vaidyanathan - Revision history

SanjayMurugesan2221: Put up