Doyen of India’s culture, he left a mark across the world

NEW DELHI: Legendary dancer Birju Maharaj, who popularised the classical Kathak dance form around the world and became its most celebrated exponent by expanding its footprint from international festivals to Bollywood blockbusters, died in New Delhi on Monday. He was 83.

Born Brijmohan Nath Mishra in 1938 in Lucknow, Maharaj won a bouquet of national and global accolades, including the Padma Vibhushan in 1986, and became synonymous with Kathak in a career spanning nearly six decades. He is survived by five children, three daughters and two sons, and five grandchildren.

Maharaj-ji, as he was popularly known, died early on Monday in his New Delhi home, surrounded by his family and disciples, his daughter Ragini Maharaj said. “He had his dinner and we were playing antakshari because he loved old music. He was lying down… and suddenly, his breathing became uneven. We think it was a cardiac arrest as he was also a heart patient,” said Ragini, also a Kathak dancer.

“This happened between 12.15 am and 12.30 am. We rushed to the hospital, but unfortunately, we could not save him,” she said. Maharaj died just two weeks shy of his 84th birthday.

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the country in paying tributes to one of its most famous sons. “Deeply saddened

Pandit Birju Maharaj performs at an event in Bengaluru.

by the demise of Pandit Birju Maharaj ji, who gave Indian dance a special recognition world over,” Modi said.

“The demise of legendary Pandit Birju Maharaj marks the end of an era. It leaves a deep void in the Indian music and cultural space,” Kovind tweeted.

Maharaj was born in a Hindu Brahmin family with a long line of iconic artists who comprised the Kalka-bindadin gharana. His grandfather, Bindadin Maharaj, wrote and composed around 5,000 thumris and bhajans, many of which Maharaj later re-documented.

He trained under his father and guru Acchan Maharaj and gave his first public performance at the age of seven. In a form where artistes use dance and expressions to tell a story, the young Maharaj drew quick praise for his animated expressions and lightfooted movements. In later interviews, he repeatedly mentioned how the early years in his ancestral home moulded his craft. “It was like a sea of rhythm and beat, and for seven generations that was the only topic of discussion back home.”