Press Coverage: 2008
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Publication: The Aisan Age Date: May 25 2008, Headlines: Classical Dancer saroja honoured
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Publication: The Times of India Date: May,23 2008, Headlines: Legends of india …………………
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Publication: Delhi Diary Date: May,23-29 2008, Headlines: Legends of india …………………
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Publication: Time Out Date: May,16-29 2008, Headlines: Legends of india …………………
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Publication: The Statesman Date: April 12 2008, Headlines: Classical Revival
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Publication: Vartman Bebgali Date: April 14 2008, Headlines:
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'Modern dances only exercise of body' Saroja Devi, a renowned danseuse, feels modern Indian dances lack devotion and are mere 'exercises of the body, but not of the mind'.
DELHI Updated: May 24, 2008 13:28 IST
Madhusree Chatterjee IANS Saroja Devi, considered a living legend of Bharatanatyam dance, feels modern Indian dances lack devotion and are mere “exercises of the body, but not of the mind”.
The 77-year-old danseuse, who has been honoured with the Legends of India lifetime achievement award, is a purist at heart and does not like innovations being made in classical forms.
"I am culture lover at heart, devotee who believes in doing everything right. God resides inside all pure classical art and dance forms," she said.
The Bharatanatyam guru was honoured with the award along with noted Hindustani classical singer Girija Devi here Thursday evening. The award has been instituted by Delhi-based non-profit organisation Legends of India, which honours achievers in Indian classical arts every year.
A biopic on Saroja Devi's years as a dancer since the age of seven to 70, compiled by her son Ashish Khokar, was also released on the occasion. The book is a pictorial account of the dancer's life.
The two legends were given Rs.25,000 in cash, a citation and a plaque.
“Modern dances are superficial. They are not good because there is no devotion in them. The modern dances are like maya, an illusion that are good exercises of the body, but not of the mind,” Saroja Devi told IANS.
Saroja as a child was a stranger to dance till Vidwan Kattumanar Koil of Chidambaram came to her residence in Chennai to teach her and her sister Kumari Selvamani Bharatanatyam in the late 1930s.
For the past seven decades, Saroja Devi has created several milestones with her art. At 16, She was one of the top 10 Bharatnatyam dancers in Madras (present day Chennai) with peers like Vyjayanthimala.
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She also acted in three promiment Tamil mythological films - “Nala-Tambi”, “Paithyakaran” and “Krishna Bhakti”. The danseuse turned down a seven-contract offer by the Gemini Studios, as she married eminent dancer Mohan Khokar, student of Uday Shankar.
Saroja's decades as a star Bharatnatyam dancer were distinguished. From being a performer to a teacher at the M.S. University in Baroda, where her husband set up the department of dance, she later moved to Delhi. Saroja's students include Yamini Krishnamurthy and Indrani Rahman.
“Bharatanatyam is the root of all dance forms. It is an invocation of (Lord) Shiva ... a divine dance. I feel spiritual every time I dance and that is the feeling that has kept me going all these years,” the dancer said.
She denies claims that classical Indian dances are losing their popularity. “India is definitely not moving away from tradition. Classical Indian dances and music are popular all over the world. My students come from as far as London, Paris and the US. But they need more encouragement in the country,” she said.
Saroja's plea for more vigorous promotion of the Indian classical arts is echoed by Kuchipudi dance exponent Raja Reddy. “The newspapers are full of Bollywood and popular culture these days. No one speaks of classical arts though they have been flourishing since ages. But our classical Indian arts are so popular abroad,” Reddy said.
“Gurus like Saroja Devi have been working tirelessly to propagate classical Indian dance, but it needs official backing. We want the government to introduce Indian classical dance and music in school as part of the curriculum,” said the dancer, who is setting up a new classical dance school, along with wives Radha and Kaushalya in Saket in south Delhi.
The Legends of India, as part of its initiative to promote classical Indian arts, sets up cultural hubs in India and abroad, conducts research and documents classical art forms. It plans to reach out to one million people across 10 states with a retinue of 37 stage performers, 50 artists (proponents of visual arts) and 70 musicians with 50 classical culture shows throughout the year.
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http://www.merinews.com/article/girija-devi-honoured-with-lifetime-achievement-award/135126.shtml Girija Devi honoured with lifetime achievement award Queen of Thumri, Girija Devi and Bharatnatyam dancer, MK Saroja were honoured by Legends of Society, in New Delhi. The legends expressed disappointment on the degrading status of Indian art and the rising impatience for success amongst youngsters.
LEGENDS OF India society has more than one reason to celebrate this year. It is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary with a year long festival to enthrall art lovers across the country.
The key attraction of the festival is the ‘Lifetime achievement award 2008’, which was bestowed upon two eminent exponents of Indian classical art viz queen of Thumri, Girija Devi and well-known Bharatnatyamdancer, MK Saroja. The two legends accepted the award humbly from Delhi’s Lt governor Tejender Khanna at a small function at the Hotel Park in Delhi, on May 22, 2008. This prestigious award has already been bestowed to well-known personalities like Pt Birju Maharaj, Yamini Krishnamurthy and Zohra Sehgal.
The award comprised of a gold plaque and a cash award of Rs 25,000. “I am happy that Legends of India has organised this to honour us,” said the last living queen of Thumri Girija Devi while receiving the award. The environment roared with applause as she spoke to give vote of thanks. The award function was supported by a book release ceremony. Book was released by Uma Khanna, wife of Tejender Khanna, which was written by Ashish Khokar, as a tribute to her mother MK Saroja. Art lovers were amazed by the broadcast of a short documentary depicting the dance style of Saroja. Film presented her performance, unveiling her marvelous expressions at state of fear, wonder, love, anger, comic, compassion to name a few. No doubt, the award came into these legends’ kitty due to their relentless efforts in fostering traditional art forms of Indian music and dance, which is unfortunately, laying at the verge of extinction. Feeling sorry to dying Indian art, MK Saroja said, “I blame parents if their offspring dress up and dance awkwardly. It is the responsibility of parents to imbue children with the knowledge of our real art. I really turn down this modern la la la dance.” And when asked the reason to dislike modern Western dance, she immediately proclaimed, “It lacks spirituality.” Padma Bhushan awardee Girija Devi is equally unhappy with lack of encouragement given to our rich culture. She said, “People are distributing lakhs in these so called reality shows like ‘Chote Ustaad’ and ‘Boogie Woogie’. But, even after serving for near about 60 years, we are still looking up to get our due respect and recognition. Young people want early fame but we didn’t die out of hunger.” Despite this, these legends did not forget to praise their art. Saroja said, “I feel happy when I dance. I feel god inside me. It is full of spirituality.” The festival was followed by the mega performances of eminent artists like Astaad Deboo, Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pt Rajan and Sajan Mishra with Ritesh and Rajnish Mishra and popular Pakistani singer Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan at Kamani auditorium in Delhi, during the next three days. This will be followed by a 'Fine arts festival' at the ICCR gallery in June 2008.
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https://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/musicindia/modern-dances-only-exercise-of-body-saroja-devi_2580.html Modern dances only exercise of body: Saroja Devi
New Delhi, May 24: Saroja Devi, considered a living legend of Bharatanatyam dance, feels modern Indian dances lack devotion and are mere "exercises of the body, but not of the mind".
The 77-year-old danseuse, who has been honoured with the Legends of India lifetime achievement award, is a purist at heart and does not like innovations being made in classical forms.
`I am culture lover at heart, devotee who believes in doing everything right. God resides inside all pure classical art and dance forms,` she said.
The Bharatanatyam guru was honoured with the award along with noted Hindustani classical singer Girija Devi here Thursday evening. The award has been instituted by Delhi-based non-profit organisation Legends of India, which honours achievers in Indian classical arts every year.
A biopic on Saroja Devi`s years as a dancer since the age of seven to 70, compiled by her son Ashish Khokar, was also released on the occasion. The book is a pictorial account of the dancer`s life.
The two legends were given Rs.25,000 in cash, a citation and a plaque.
"Modern dances are superficial. They are not good because there is no devotion in them. The modern dances are like maya, an illusion that are good exercises of the body, but not of the mind," Saroja Devi told reporters.
Saroja as a child was a stranger to dance till Vidwan Kattumanar Koil of Chidambaram came to her residence in Chennai to teach her and her sister Kumari Selvamani Bharatanatyam in the late 1930s.
For the past seven decades, Saroja Devi has created several milestones with her art. At 16, She was one of the top 10 Bharatnatyam dancers in Madras (present day Chennai) with peers like Vyjayanthimala.
______Legends of India: J-1824 LGF Chittaranjan park, New Delhi -110019 Ph: 011-41604340