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| Pt. Birju Maharaj, My Pencil sketch |
Pandit Birju Maharaj (born Brijmohan Nath Mishra; 4 February 1937 – 17 January 2022) was an Indian dancer, composer, singer and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance in India. He was a descendant of the Maharaj family of Kathak dancers, which includes his two uncles, Shambhu Maharaj and Lachhu Maharaj, and his father and guru, Acchan Maharaj. He also practised Hindustani classical music and was a vocalist.[1] After working along with his uncle, Shambhu Maharaj at Bhartiya Kala Kendra, later the Kathak Kendra, New Delhi, he remained head of the latter, for several years, till his retirement in 1998 when he opened his own dance school, Kalashram, also in Delhi.[2]
Birju Maharaj was a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honor, in 1986. (courtesy : Wikipedia) “Maharaj ji could play a woman better than a woman, without being effeminate. As Krishna, he was delicate yet manly,” says Kathak exponent and Birju’s student Shovana Narayan about his exceptional ability to present shringar ras (representation of romance and eroticism in the arts). It was not just a bequest of tradition and lineage but also a work of his formidable mind that took from tradition and transformed it. (courtesy : Indian Express) |
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