Indian dancer, singer, and composer (1938?2022)
Musical artist
Pandit Birju Maharaj
(born
Brijmohan Nath Mishra
; 4 February 1938 ? 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, until 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.
Early life
[
edit
]
Maharaj was born Brijmohan Nath Mishra, on 4 February 1938
[3]
into a
Hindu
Brahmin
[4]
[5]
family at
Handia
of
Allahabad
district. His father was the Kathak exponent, Jagannath Maharaj, popularly known as Acchan Maharaj of
Lucknow gharana
and the Kalka-Bindadin family in Lucknow.
[6]
[7]
His father served as the court dancer in
Raigarh
princely state.
[6]
Maharaj started dancing early at the age of four, and was trained by his uncles,
Lachhu Maharaj
and
Shambhu Maharaj
and his father. He started his performances first at his father's concerts before performing solo at the age of seven in West Bengal.
[7]
[8]
His father died when Maharaj was nine.
[7]
Career
[
edit
]
Maharaj started teaching the dance form at the age of thirteen, at the Sangeet Bharti in
New 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
[9]
after which he opened his own dance school,
Kalashram
, also in Delhi.
[7]
In addition to performing the
Kathak
dance form, he also brought along knowledge of
Hindustani classical music
and
percussion instruments
. He was noted to have been able to sing the
thumri
while dancing to it, and also playing instruments like the
tabla
and the
dholak
. His Kathak performances in addition to mythological stories had contemporary elements including stories from daily life and social issues being communicated by way of the dance.
[7]
His
ginti ki tihaais
(
transl.
a charged and percussive phrase, repeated thrice to end with explosive effect
) were noted to have been studied by Kathak students. He collaborated with other artists including the tabla player
Zakir Hussain
, and singers
Rajan and Sajan Mishra
.
[7]
Some of his students included Priti Singh,
Saswati Sen
,
Aditi Mangaldas
, and
Nisha Mahajan
.
[7]
Maharaj also choreographed and composed music for many Indian movies. Some of the performances that he choreographed included for Saswati Sen in
Satyajit Ray
's
Shatranj ke Khiladi
(1977),
Madhuri Dixit
in
Dil To Pagal Hai
(1997),
Devdas
(2002) and
Dedh Ishqiya
(2014)
,
Kamal Haasan
in
Vishwaroopam
(2012),
Deepika Padukone
in
Bajirao Mastani
(2015) and
Alia Bhatt
in
Kalank
(2019).
[7]
[10]
His choreography for
Kamal Hassan
in
Vishwaroopam
won him the
National Film Award for Best Choreography
in 2012,
[11]
while his choreography for Deepika Padukone in
Bajirao Mastani
won him a
Filmfare Award for Best Choreography
in 2016.
[12]
Maharaj was one of the youngest artists to receive the
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
, when he received the award at the age of 28. He also received the
Padma Vibhushan
, India's second highest civilian award, in 1986.
[7]
[13]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Maharaj was married and had five children
[13]
(2 sons and 3 daughters). In later life, Maharaj had
kidney disease
and
diabetes
, and received
dialysis
.
[14]
He died from a heart attack at his residence in Delhi, on 16 January 2022, at age 83.
[15]
Controversy
[
edit
]
After his death, several Kathak performers accused Maharaj of sexual abuse. Some of the accusers were minors at the time of the alleged abuse.
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
Awards and honours
[
edit
]
Film
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Kaui, Banotsarg-Boghaz (2002). Subodh Kapoor (ed.).
The Indian encyclopaedia: biographical, historical, religious, administrative, ethnological, commercial and scientific. Volume 3
. Genesis Publishing. p. 198.
ISBN
81-7755-257-0
.
- ^
Massey, p. 29
- ^
"How Pandit Birju Maharaj always stayed alive to sights, sounds, and sentiments of the present"
.
Firstpost
. 18 January 2022
. Retrieved
19 January
2022
.
- ^
"Dancing her way through life & grooming others too"
. 29 April 2006.
- ^
"Pt. Birju Maharaj"
. Archived from
the original
on 3 September 2014
. Retrieved
17 January
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"All Time Great Classical Dancers - Achchan Maharaj"
.
maestroesclassicaldancers.weebly.com
. Retrieved
19 January
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
"Pt Birju Maharaj, storyteller who blurred gender norms to become one of the foremost masters of Kathak, passes away at 83"
.
The Indian Express
. 18 January 2022
. Retrieved
19 January
2022
.
- ^
Buddhiraja, Sunita.
"Birju Maharaj ? Kathak personified"
.
Deccan Herald
. Archived from
the original
on 10 December 2004
. Retrieved
25 March
2007
.
- ^
Bhattacharya, Santwana.
"Birju Maharaj retires"
. Indian Express. Archived from
the original
on 1 April 2007
. Retrieved
25 March
2007
.
- ^
"What Birju Maharaj said about directing 'favourite' Madhuri Dixit, Kamal Haasan"
.
The Indian Express
. 17 January 2022
. Retrieved
18 February
2023
.
- ^
a
b
"60th National Film Awards Announced"
(PDF)
(Press release). Press Information Bureau (PIB), India
. Retrieved
18 March
2013
.
- ^
a
b
"Birju Maharaj Awards: List of awards and nominations received by Birju Maharaj | Times of India Entertainment"
.
The Times of India
. Retrieved
19 January
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Pandit Birju Maharaj passes away: A pictorial tribute to the legendary Kathak maestro"
.
The Indian Express
. 17 January 2022
. Retrieved
19 January
2022
.
- ^
PTI (17 January 2022).
"Birju Maharaj, legendary Kathak dancer, dies at 84"
.
The Hindu
.
ISSN
0971-751X
. Retrieved
17 January
2022
.
- ^
"Pandit Birju Maharaj, Legendary Kathak Dancer, Dies At 84"
.
NDTV.com
. Retrieved
18 January
2022
.
- ^
Joshi, Prajakta (27 January 2022).
"Indie Journal | Several sexual harassment allegations rock the world of Kathak"
.
IndieJournal
. Retrieved
29 January
2022
.
- ^
"Pandit Birju Maharaj MeToo Allegations Surface On Social Media Post His Death"
.
SheThePeople.TV
. 25 January 2022
. Retrieved
29 January
2022
.
- ^
Srikanth, Kavya (21 January 2022).
"The Doyen of Kathak, Pandit Birju Maharaj"
.
The Juggernaut
. Retrieved
29 January
2022
.
- ^
"Why did #MeToo not reach the Indian classical arts?"
.
mid-day.com
. 30 January 2022
. Retrieved
30 January
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"The Dancer"
.
Official website
. Retrieved
22 July
2019
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"Nritya Choodamani Awardees List"
.
Sri Krishna Gana Sabha
. Archived from
the original
on 20 December 2016
. Retrieved
22 July
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Pandit Birju Maharaj"
.
www.culturalindia.net
. Retrieved
22 July
2019
.
- ^
"Hema Malini selected for Bharat Muni Samman ? Hindustan Times"
.
hindustantimes.com
. 2012. Archived from
the original
on 13 December 2012
. Retrieved
28 December
2012
.
The earlier recipients are Thankamani Kutty, Pandit Birju Maharaj,
- ^
"Hema Malini receives Bharat Muni Samman: Wonder Woman ? Who are you today?"
.
wonderwoman.intoday.in
. 2012. Archived from
the original
on 17 October 2015
. Retrieved
28 December
2012
.
The earlier recipients are Thankamani Kutty (Bharatanatyam), Pandit Birju Maharaj (kathak),
- ^
https://www.oneindia.com/india/newsmakers-achievers-awards-oneindia-special-correspondent-adjudged-best-journalist-2424078.html?story=2
[
bare URL
]
Newsmakers Achievers’ Awards: OneIndia special correspondent adjudged 'best journalist’, Anusha, (May 3, 2017)
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