Congratulations to Sri. V P Dhananjayan and Smt. Shanta Dhananjayan on being conferred the Padma Bhushan award for their yeoman service to Indian Classical Dance. In an interview with Nartaki.com, upon asked as to how they reacted to this award. they replied as follows:
"With utmost humility and pride, we accept the Padma Bhushan on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Republic Day. We sincerely thank the President of India and all people responsible for selecting us for this coveted honour. While we share the joy and pride with all our students and well-wishers around the globe, we would like to dedicate this award to our alma-mater, Kalakshetra. Rukmini Devi, the founder of Kalakshetra and our mentor, was the recipient of this award in 1956 and we are proud to follow in her august footsteps.
Since the award was announced, we have received congratulatory notes and messages from numerous connoisseurs, well-wishers and admirers from around the world. We are really touched by their sincere appreciation, and the love and regards they have in us. We genuinely feel it is their goodwill that has kept us going all this while and thank every one of them from the bottom of our heart for their greetings on this joyous occasion. While we accept this award, we are humbled by the greatness of this art form that we practice and would like to offer it at the altar of our learning - Kalakshetra."