• Legendary Kathak exponent Birju Maharaj, who took the traditional Indian dance form to the world, died at his home in New Delhi. He was 83.

• Birju Maharaj, one of India’s best known and most loved artistes, was from Lucknow’s Kalka-Bindadin gharana. 

• Birju Maharaj received the Padma Vibhushan in 1986. He won the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1964.

• He was fondly called Pandit-ji or Maharaj-ji by his disciples and legions of followers. 

• Birju Maharaj was the son of the exponent of the Lucknow gharana, Jagannath Maharaj, better known as Acchan Maharaj, whom he lost when he was just nine. His uncles were the renowned Shambhu Maharaj and Lacchu Maharaj. 

• He taught at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Kathak Kendra, both in Delhi, from where he retired as director in 1998.

• He choreographed two dance sequences in Satyajit Ray's ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’. He won the National Award for Best Choreography for Kamal Haasan’s multilingual movie ‘Vishwaroopam’ in 2013.

• He also choreographed songs for the ‘Kaahe Chhed Mohe’ track picturised on Madhuri Dixit in ‘Devdas’ (2002) and ‘Mohe Rang Do Laal’ in Bajirao Mastani.

Kathak

• The word Kathak has been derived from the word ‘katha’ which means a story. Kathakars or story-tellers, are people who narrate stories largely based on episodes from the epics, myths and legends. It probably started as an oral tradition. Mime and gestures were perhaps added later on to make the recitation more effective. 

• The 19th century saw the golden age of Kathak under the patronage of Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Oudh. He established the Lucknow gharana with its strong accent on ‘bhava’, the expression of moods and emotions. The Jaipur gharana, known for its ‘layakari’ or rhythmic virtuosity, and the Benaras gharana are other prominent schools of Kathak dance.

• Today, Kathak has emerged as a distinct dance form. Kathak is the only form of classical dance wedded to Hindustani or the North Indian music.

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