Birju Maharaj | |
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 Maharaj performing inPune, April 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Brijmohan Nath Mishra (1938-02-04)4 February 1938 |
| Died | 17 January 2022(2022-01-17) (aged 83) Delhi, India |
| Genres | Indian classical |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1951–2016 |
| Website | Webpage |
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Birju Maharaj (bornBrijmohan Nath Mishra; 4 February 1938 – 17 January 2022) was an Indian dancer, composer, singer, and exponent of theLucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana ofKathak dance in India. He was a descendant of the Maharaj family ofKathak dancers, which includes his two uncles,Shambhu Maharaj andLachhu Maharaj, and his father and guru, Acchan Maharaj. He also practisedHindustani classical music and was a vocalist.[1] After working along with his uncle,Shambhu Maharaj at Bhartiya Kala Kendra, later theKathak 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 thePadma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour, in 1986.
Maharaj was born Brijmohan Nath Mishra, on 4 February 1938[3] into aHinduBrahmin[4][5] family atHandia ofAllahabad district. His father was the Kathak exponent, Jagannath Maharaj, popularly known as Acchan Maharaj ofLucknow gharana and the Kalka-Bindadin family in Lucknow.[6][7] His father served as the court dancer inRaigarh princely state.[6] Maharaj started dancing early at the age of four, and was trained by his uncles,Lachhu Maharaj andShambhu 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]
Maharaj started teaching the dance form at the age of thirteen, at the Sangeet Bharti in New Delhi. He then taught at theBharatiya Kala Kendra in Delhi, and at theKathak Kendra (a unit of theSangeet 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 theKathak dance form, he also brought along knowledge ofHindustani classical music and percussion instruments. He was noted to have been able to sing thethumri while dancing to it, and also playing instruments like thetabla and thedholak. 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] Hisginti 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 playerZakir Hussain, and singersRajan and Sajan Mishra.[7] Some of his students included Priti Singh,Saswati Sen,Aditi Mangaldas, andNisha Mahajan.[7]
Maharaj also choreographed and composed music for many Indian movies. Some of the performances that he choreographed included for Saswati Sen inSatyajit Ray'sShatranj ke Khiladi (1977),Madhuri Dixit inDil To Pagal Hai (1997),Devdas (2002) andDedh Ishqiya (2014),Kamal Haasan inVishwaroopam (2012),Deepika Padukone inBajirao Mastani (2015) andAlia Bhatt inKalank (2019).[7][10] His choreography forKamal Hassan inVishwaroopam won him theNational Film Award for Best Choreography in 2012,[11] while his choreography for Deepika Padukone inBajirao Mastani won him aFilmfare Award for Best Choreography in 2016.[12]
Maharaj was one of the youngest artists to receive theSangeet Natak Akademi Award, when he received the award at the age of 28. He also received thePadma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, in 1986.[7][13]
Maharaj was married and had five children[13] (2 sons and 3 daughters). In later life, Maharaj hadkidney disease anddiabetes, and receiveddialysis.[14] He died from a heart attack at his residence in Delhi, on 16 January 2022, at age 83.[15]
In the immediate aftermath of Birju Maharaj's passing away, multiple victims came forward on social media to share stories of being sexually harassed by him from body shaming to asking for sex as a bribe.[22][23] This led some to re-examine the power imbalances in theGuru-shishya tradition of Indian classical arts.[24][25]
The earlier recipients are Thankamani Kutty, Pandit Birju Maharaj,
The earlier recipients are Thankamani Kutty (Bharatanatyam), Pandit Birju Maharaj (kathak),
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