Bellary-born dancer Saroja Vaidyanathan was initially trained in Bharatnatyam at Saraswati Gana Nilayam in Chennai and later studied Carnatic music under Guru P Sambamoorthy at the Madras University. Saroja ji, as she is called, had a D. Litt in dance from Indira Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh. She was conferred the Padma Shri in 2002 and Padma Bhushan in 2013. Many other honours have come her way.