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M.K. Saroja is a world renowned Bharata Natyam dancer. She is popularly known as Guru M. K. Saroja because she has taught dance to a number of students world-wide. She is a 2012 Padma Vibhushan award winner, the fourth highest civilian honor by Indian government, for her contribution to Bharata Natyam, Indian classical dance form.

Personal Life
Guru M. K. Saroja was born in Madras (now Chennai), in the state of Tamil Nadu, in India, on 7th April 1931. She learned Bharata Natyam under Guru Mthukumaran Pillai. She was married to Mohan Khokar, a prominent dance scholar and historian, until his death in 2002. She has four sons, Hariharan, Nandan, Ashish and Vivek, and currently lives in Palavakkam, Chennai.

Life as a Student
Guru M. K. Saroja was taught dancing by Guru Muthukumaran Pillai, who also taught dance to  Ram Gopal, Mrinalini Sarabhai and Kamala Laxman. She started learning dance at the age of 5.

Teacher and Performer
Guru M. K. Saroja started teaching dance when she was hardly 25. She performed around the world and had students from all over the world.

Winning Awards
Over the last few years, M. K. Saroja has won several awards including the prestigious Padma Vibhushan in 2012.