Pandit Birju Maharaj,
internationally renowned Kathak dancer, was born on 4th February 1937 in an
illustrious family of dance masters of the Lucknow gharana. Birju gave Kathak
Dance a new dimension by developing his own unique style and popularised this
classical dance of North India all over the world.
Birju alias Brij Mohan Nath
Mishra mastered Kathak from his father, Achchan Maharaj and later from his
uncles Shri Lacchu Maharaj and Shri Shambhu Maharaj. He gave his first
performance at the young age of seven at Lucknow and since then there was no
looking back. Gradually the talents of this genius spread to other areas. Apart
from dancing, he has shown his talents as a superb musician, percussionist,
composer, teacher, director, choreographer and a poet. He composed many dance
dramas like 'Gobardhan Leela', 'Makhan Chori', 'Malti-Madhav', 'Kumar Samvav', 'Phag
Bahar' etc. He also composed two classical dance sequence for Satyajit
Ray's film 'Shatranj Ke Khiladi'. He has a special flair for playing percussion
instruments like Tabla, Pakhawaj, Dholak, Naal and string instruments like Israj,
Violin, Swar-Mandal, Sitar etc. He has performed in thousands of concerts in
India and abroad.
This great guru has imparted his
immense knowledge and produced several renowned artists. He has taught in
Sangeet Bharati, Bharatiya Kala Kendra and headed the teaching faculty Kathak
Kendra in Delhi till he retired in 1998. His two talented sons Shri Jai Kishan
and Deepak Maharaj are following the footsteps of their father. He still
continues to impart training to a lot of budding dancers. Kalashram, the
dance school founded by Birju Maharaj, focuses
on imparting training mainly in the field of Kathak, along with various other
associated disciplines, such as vocal and instrumental music, yoga, painting,
Sanskrit, dramatics, stagecraft etc.
Birju Maharaj has won several
honours and awards like the prestigious national award for the central 'Sangeet
Natak Academy', the Indian Government's highest civilian award 'Padma Vibhushan'
in 1986, 'Kalidas Samman' by the Madhya Pradesh Government, 'Soviet Land Nehru
Award', 'SNA Award', 'Sangam Kala Award' etc. He was also the recipient of two
honorary doctorate degrees and the 'Nehru Fellowship'. His talent, dedication,
innovation, training, repertoire and performances have earned him the status of
a living legend in India.
Birju alias Brij Mohan Nath
Mishra mastered Kathak from his father, Achchan Maharaj and later from his
uncles Shri Lacchu Maharaj and Shri Shambhu Maharaj. He gave his first
performance at the young age of seven at Lucknow and since then there was no
looking back. Gradually the talents of this genius spread to other areas. Apart
from dancing, he has shown his talents as a superb musician, percussionist,
composer, teacher, director, choreographer and a poet. He composed many dance
dramas like 'Gobardhan Leela', 'Makhan Chori', 'Malti-Madhav', 'Kumar Samvav', 'Phag
Bahar' etc. He also composed two classical dance sequence for Satyajit
Ray's film 'Shatranj Ke Khiladi'. He has a special flair for playing percussion
instruments like Tabla, Pakhawaj, Dholak, Naal and string instruments like Israj,
Violin, Swar-Mandal, Sitar etc. He has performed in thousands of concerts in
India and abroad. 
