Birju Maharaj

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Padma Vibhushan, Pandit Birju Maharaj, and his disciple Saswati Sen
Padma Vibhushan, Pandit Birju Maharaj, and his disciple Saswati Sen

Pandit Birju Maharaj (born February 4, 1938) is currently the leading exponent of the Lucknow Kalka-Bindadin gharana of Kathak dance in India. Named Brijmohan Nath Mishra, he is a descendant of the legendary Maharaj family of Kathak dancers, including his two uncles, Shambhu Maharaj and Lachhu Maharaj, and his father and guru, Acchan Maharaj. Even though dancing is his first love, he also has an excellent command over Hindustani classical music and is an accomplished vocalist as well. He took Kathak to new heights by choreographing new Kathak dance dramas. He has toured extensively across the globe, given thousands of performances and held hundreds of workshops for kathak students.

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[edit] Life and career

Birju Maharaj was born in the house of noted Kathak exponent, Jagannath Maharaj, popularly known as Achchan Maharaj of Lucknow Gharana, who served as court dancer in Raigarh princely state [1]. Birju, was trained by his uncles, Lachhu Maharaj and Shambhu Maharaj and his father, and he gave his first recital at the age of seven. On 20th May 1947, his father died when he was nine .[2] After a few years of struggle, his family moved to Delhi.

He started teaching the dance form at the young age of thirteen, at the Sangeet Bharti in Delhi. He then taught at the Bharatiya Kala Kendra in Delhi, and at the Kathak Kendra (a unit of the Sangeet Natak Akademi) where he was Head of Faculty, and Director, retiring in 1998 [3] to start his own Kathak and Indian fine arts academy, Kalashram.

He composed the music, and sang, for two dance sequences in the Satyajit Ray film, Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players), and choreographed the song Kaahe Chhed Mohe from the 2002 film version of Devdas.

He has three daughters and two sons, of whom Mamta Maharaj, Deepak Maharaj and Jai Kishan Maharaj are Kathak dancers.

[edit] Awards and honours

Birju Maharaj has won many accolades, including Padma Vibhushan in 1986, Sangeet Natak Akademi award and the Kalidas Samman. He also received honorary Doctorate degrees from the Benaras Hindu University and the Khairagarh University.

He was the recipient of the Lata Mangeshkar Puraskaar in 2002.

[edit] Filmography

Music composition and choreography

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Achchan Maharaj
  2. ^ Buddhiraja, Sunita. Birju Maharaj - Kathak personified. Deccan Herald. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
  3. ^ Bhattacharya, Santwana. Birju Maharaj retires. Indian Express. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.

[edit] External links

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