List of Awards and Honours

Medal and Diploma of the French Archives Internationales de la danse—the first Indian to receive it

• Natya  Kala Sikhamani in Madras in 1960 in recognition of her artistic eminence and her unequalled performances of Bharatanatyam
• Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1965
• Gold medal by the Mexican Government for her choreography for the Ballet Folklorico of Mexico in 1968
• Gujarat’s first State Award for Dance for unique contribution to the arts in 1969
• Veera Shrinkala title for her contribution to the Kathakali dance form of Kerala. She is the first and only woman to receive it 
• D.Litt. for eminence in dance and literature by the Rabindra  Bharati, University of Calcutta in 1979
• Vishwa Gurjari award in 1984 for achieving unique international reputation as a contemporary Indian classical dancer and for contribution to Indian classical dance
• Desikottama (D.Litt. Honoris Causa) degree, the highest honour of the Vishva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, in 1987.
• Nominated to the Executive Committee of the International Dance Council, Paris in 1990
• Honor Summus Award by the  Watumull Foundation, Honolulu, Hawaii in 1991 in recognition of her outstanding success as a dancer, for her creative dance-dramas, and for her revival and preservation of Indian  dance, drama and puppetry forms.
• First Hall of Fame Award for life-long service to dance was given to her by Dynasty Culture Club in 1991
• Pandit Omkarnath Thakur Award for valuable contribution in the field of performing arts from Gujarat Government in 1991
• Raseshwar award by the Sur-Singar Samsad, Bombay in 1992
• Padma Bhushan from the President of India in 1992
• Fellow of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi in 1994
• Scroll of Honour from the Vice-President of India in 1995
• Kerala Kalamandalam Fellowship in 1995
• Kalidas Samman by the Madhya Pradesh Government in 1996 for her contribution to classical dance
• Degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa (D.Litt) by the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK in 1997
• Narada Gana Sabha (Chennai) felicitation by guru C V Chandrasekhar in 2005
• Nominated amongst the list of 1000 women worldwide for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005
• V. Gangadharan Smaraka Award in 2006 (instituted by the Kadappakada Sports Club in memory of the late Kerala Assembly Speaker, freedom fighter and journalist V. Gangadharan)
• Mukundaraja Puraskaram in 2006 (instituted by the Mukundaraja Cultural Academy and the Mundathikkodu Gramapanchayat, Trichur, Kerala) 
• Natya Kalanidhi from the Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India, Chennai in 2007, for her service and contribution to the field of Bharata Natyam
• E. Krishna Iyer Medal by Sruti Foundation, Chennai in 2007
• Aditya Birla Kalashikar Puraskar a symbol of a beautiful alliance between Industry and Arts, which forms a harmony with the creative spirit, awarded in 2007
• Ambassador of Peace award instituted by The Universal Peace Federation, headquartered in New York