Legends of India Lifetime Award to Guru M K Saroja
 
May 27, 2008 

On May 22, 2008, Bharatanatyam guru M K Saroja received the Lifetime Achievement Award instituted by Legends of India from the Lt. Governor of Delhi at a serene ceremony in the Ballroom of The Park, Parliament Street. Girija Devi received it for Music. Lalit Mansingh, Former Ambassador to the USA and Foreign Sect., K P S Deo, former Defence Minister and MP, Varsha Das and the organizer Dipayan Mazumdar were present. 

Many artists and art-lovers like singer Shanno Khurana, dancers Raja and Radha Reddy, Jayarama Rao and Vanashree Rao, Ambika Paniker, Pratibha Prahlad etc., were present. Critics Leela Venkatraman, Sunil Kothari, Ranjit Sahaya, and many from the mainstream press were present too. 
 
On the occasion, a biopic on the life and times of Guru Saroja, penned and published by Ashish Mohan Khokar of Ekah Bios was also released and Shanta Serbjeet Singh received the first copy and introduced the book. Next day a copy was presented to the Prime Minister's wife Gursharan Kaur at the Kamani Auditorium, where the 3-day festival began.
 

To do his bit to help initiate a gradual change in people's mindset by promoting India's rich traditional art forms, Dipayan Mazumdar conceptualized and put together Legends of India. Legends of India is now a registered society under 'Societies Registration act XXI', of 1860's with a mandate to not only organize annual festivals and other events but also undertake research and document for posterity the origins and subtle nuances and changes that the Indian art forms have undergone through centuries. From organizing live performances of renowned artists, to providing a forum for the younger talent, Legend of India is a unique institution bringing together living legends and those in the making.