Pandit Birju Maharaj (born Brijmohan Nath Mishra; 4 February 1938 – 16 January 2022) was an Indian dancer, composer, singer, child molester and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

dance in India. He was a descendant of the Maharaj family of

dancers, which includes his two uncles,

Shambhu Maharaj Pandit Shambhu Maharaj (1910 – 4 November 1970) was a Guru of the Lucknow ''Gharana'' (school) of the Indian classical dance form, Kathak. Early life and training Shambhu Maharaj was born in Lucknow as Shambhunath Mishra. He was the younges ...

and

Lachhu Maharaj Pandit Bajinath Prasad also known as Pandit Lachhu Maharaj (1901–1978) was an Indian classical dancer and choreographer of Kathak dance. He came from a family of illustrious Kathak exponents in Lucknow, and also worked as film choreographer, ...

, and his father and guru, Acchan Maharaj. He also practised

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

and was a vocalist. After working along with his uncle,

at Bhartiya Kala Kendra, later the

Kathak Kendra Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

, 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. Birju Maharaj was a recipient of the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service" ...

, India's second highest civilian honor, in 1986.

Early life

Maharaj was born Brijmohan Nath Mishra, on 4 February 1937 into a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family at Handia of

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

district. His father was the Kathak exponent, Jagannath Maharaj, popularly known as Acchan Maharaj of

Lucknow gharana The Lucknow Gharānā, also known as "Purab Gharâna" for tabla, is a discipleship tradition (" gharana") with a tabla legacy and Kathak legacy. These two traditions are known for being one of the six major gharanas of tabla and three gharanas of ...

and the Kalka-Bindadin family in Lucknow. His father served as the court dancer in

Raigarh Raigarh is a city in Eastern Chhattisgarh. History The tradition preserved by the ruling family of the erstwhile state of Raigarh maintains that the Raj Gond family migrated to this region from Bairagarh/Wariagarh of Chanda district of Mahara ...

princely state. Maharaj started dancing early at the age of four, and was trained by his uncles,

and

and his father. He started his performances first at his father's concerts before performing solo at the age of seven in West Bengal. His father died when Maharaj was nine.

Career

Maharaj started teaching the dance form at the age of thirteen, at the Sangeet Bharti in

. He then taught at the Bharatiya Kala Kendra in Delhi, and at the

(a unit of the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

) where he was Head of Faculty, and director, retiring in 1998 after which he opened his own dance school, ''Kalashram'', also in Delhi. In addition to performing the

dance form, he also brought along knowledge of

and

percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

s. He was noted to have been able to sing the ''

thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dra ...

'' while dancing to it, and also playing instruments like the ''

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

'' and the ''

dholak The ''dholak'' is a two-headed hand drum, a folk percussion instrument. The instrument is about 45 cm in length and 27 cm in breadth and is widely used in ''qawwali'', '' kirtan'', '' lavani'' and '' bhangra''. The drum has two differ ...

''. 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. His ''ginti ki tihaais'' () were noted to have been studied by Kathak students. He collaborated with other artists including the tabla player

Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of: * Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India * Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor * Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player * ...

, and singers

Rajan and Sajan Mishra Rajan and Sajan Mishra ( hi, राजन और साजन मिश्रा) are brothers, singers of the khyal style of Indian classical music. They were awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2007, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, jointly in 1998, the ...

. Some of his students included Priti Singh, Saswati Sen,

Aditi Mangaldas Aditi Mangaldas (born 1960) is a Kathak dancer and choreographer, who is known for her works with the traditional and contemporary repertoire of Kathak. Hailed as one of the leading dancers in both the classical and contemporary idiom, Mangaldas ...

, and Nisha Mahajan. Maharaj also choreographed and composed music for many Indian movies. Some of the performances that he choreographed included for Saswati Sen in

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...

's ''

Shatranj ke Khiladi "Shatranj Ke Khilari" (''The Chess Player''s) is a 1924 Hindi short-story written by Munshi Premchand. Premchand also made the Urdu version titled "Shatranj ki bazi". Synopsis The story depicts decadent royalty of Central North India. It is set ...

'' (1977),

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (née Dixit; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. A leading actress of Indian cinema, she has appeared in over 70 films. Noted by critics for her beauty, dancing skills, and characters, ...

in ''

Dil To Pagal Hai ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (; ), is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Yash Chopra. The film follows the love lives of the members of a musical troupe, in which two dancers played by Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor get ent ...

'' (1997) and ''Devdas'' (2002),

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

in ''

Vishwaroopam ''Vishwaroopam'' (titled ''Vishwaroop'' in Hindi; ) is a 2013 Indian action spy film directed and produced by Kamal Haasan, who also enacts the lead role, and is written by Kamal Hassan, Chakri Toleti and Atul Tiwari. The film has Rahul Bose ...

'' (2012),

Deepika Padukone Deepika Padukone ( or ; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in India, and her accolades include three Filmfare Awards. She features in listings of the nation's most pop ...

in ''

Bajirao Mastani ''Bajirao Mastani'' is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language epic historical romance film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who co-produced it with Eros International and composed its soundtrack. The film stars Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priy ...

'' (2015) and

Alia Bhatt Alia Bhatt (; born 15 March 1993) is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. She has received several accolades including four Filmfare Awards. One of India's highest-paid actresses, she has appeared in ''F ...

in ''

Kalank ''Kalank'' (; ) is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language period romantic drama film directed by Abhishek Varman and produced by Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta under Dharma Productions and Sajid Nadiadwala under Nadiadwala Grandson Ent ...

'' (2019). His choreography for Kamal Hassan in ''Vishwaroopam'' won him the

National Film Award for Best Choreography The National Film Award for Best Choreography is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awards pr ...

in 2012, while his choreography for Deepika Padukone in ''Bajirao Mastani'' won him a

Filmfare Award for Best Choreography The Filmfare Best Choreography Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. Although the awards started in 1954, the best choreography category did not start until 1989. Saroj Khan with 8 win ...

in 2016. Maharaj was one of the youngest artists to receive the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

, when he received the award at the age of 28. He also received the

, India's second highest civilian award, in 1986.

Personal life

Maharaj was married and had five children (2 sons and 3 daughters). In later life, Maharaj had

kidney disease Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Inflammation can ...

and

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

, and received dialysis. He died from a heart attack at his residence in Delhi, on 16 January 2022, less than a month before his 84th birthday.

Controversy

After his death, several Kathak performers accused Maharaj of sexual abuse. Some of the accusers were minors at the time of the alleged abuse.

Awards and honours

* 1964 -

* 1986 -

* 1986 - Nritya Choodamani Award by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha * 1987 -

Kalidas Samman The Kalidas Samman ( hi, कालिदास सम्मान) is an arts award presented annually by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in India. The award is named after Kālidāsa, a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer of ancient India. The ...

* 2002 -

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...

Puraskar *

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from

Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya Indira Kala Sangit Vishwavidyalaya (IKSV), also Indira Kala Sangeet University, is a public university located in Khairagarh, Rajnandgaon district, Chhattisgarh, India. History In 1956, Maharaja Birendra Bahadur Singh and maharani Padmavati Dev ...

* Honorary doctorate from

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...

* Sangam Kala Award * Bharat Muni Sammaan * Andhra Ratna * Nritya Vilas Award * Adharshila Shikhar Samman * Soviet Land

Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

Award * National Nritya Shiromani Award * Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award

Film

* 2012 -

for ''Unnai Kaanaathu'' (

) * 2016 -

for ''Mohe Rang Do Laal'' (

)

References

External links

Pandit Birju Maharaj
(Official Website) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maharaj, Birju 1938 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian educators Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts Kathak exponents Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Indian choreographers Indian film choreographers Artists from Lucknow Teachers of Indian classical dance Performers of Indian classical dance Indian classical choreographers Dancers from Uttar Pradesh Educators from Uttar Pradesh Filmfare Awards winners Best Choreography National Film Award winners

Early life

Career

Personal life

Controversy

Awards and honours

Film

See also

References

External links