Bhopal: Birju Maharaj will be known as Kathak Maharaj, says Jayant Bhise

Bhopal: Pt Birju Maharaj will now be known as Kathak Maharaj because of his contribution to Kathak dance, said director of Ustad Alauddin Khan Sangeet and Kala Akademi, Jayant Bhise.

This is a real tribute to Maharaj from the Department of Culture of the MP Government, he added.

Bhise was speaking on the cultural contribution of Pt Birju Maharaj under ‘Kalavarta, dialogue on Arts’ on Monday, the second-day of the seven-day 48th Khajuraho Dance Festival.

Pt Birju Maharaj, the great dancer of Kathak, was not only knowledgeable of Kathak but also from singing, playing to many other arts, said Birju Maharaj's daughter and disciple Mamta Maharaj and Shashwati Sen.

They said Maharaj had fabricated himself in such a way that it would not be an exaggeration to call him a holistic cultural man.

Mamta Maharaj said that she learned a lot by watching Babu (children in the house used to call Birju Maharaj by this address). Understanding his body language, movements and footsteps were all learned by watching him. He did a lot of work to make Kathak popular among the new generation, especially children. For this, he made such songs, triads that Kathak, which seemed monotonous, was easily understood by the people. He has a big contribution in popularising Kathak. Painter Laxminarayan Bhavsar also shared some memories related to Birju Maharaj.

Sen said that Maharaj was such a great guru, who opened the eyes of many people and showed the right path. He informed us about not one but many disciplines, and enriched our knowledge. It is really difficult to find a guru like him. It was as if he was proficient in every subject. He used to dance, from sitar, sarangi, violin to tabla and pakhawaj, playing everything as if they were made for him. In singing too, he used to sing everything from classical to ghazal, thumri and dadra like a favourite artist. If he writes poems, it seems that he is a poet, if he paints, then it seems that he is a painter. He was a wonderful man indeed, she said.

Khajuraho Post Office Postal Department released a special cover on Pandit Birju Maharaj under Khajuraho Dance Festival. Secretary, Prayag Philatelic Society Rahul Ganguly released the cover on behalf of the Post Office. A film on Kathak emperor Pandit Birju Maharaj was screened under Chal-Chitra.

The performance of Odissi dancer Sujata Mohapatra, Bharatanatyam-Kathak dancer Nirupama Rajendra from Bangalore and Kuchpudi dancer Jai Ramarao and his troupe from New Delhi were also held.