Tributes have continued to pour in from personalities across the world for classical dance exponent Pt Birju Maharaj, who died on Monday, 17th January 2022.
Maharaj died and left behind an unparalleled legacy of performing arts, Kathak exponent Pandit Birju Maharaj (1938-2022) died at the age of 83, in Delhi as announced by his grandson, Swaransh Mishra today, 17th of January on social media.
Terming his demise as the end of an era, personalities from entertainment and arts world also paid their tributes to the classical dance virtuoso, who was a recipient of Padma Vibhushan and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, besides other honours.
Danseuse Shovana Narayan, Maharaj’s disciple, says, “Maharaj ji was my guru since 1964. For me, he was the lord of dance and a great guru — a genius, a symbol of grace, creativity, finesse, aesthetics and precision. He gave Kathak new dimensions, taking it to international heights. He has built and made so many lives. He will always live in my memory as in the memories of infinite number of persons.”
Kuchipudi dancer Raja Reddy, who knew Maharaj since the 1970s, shares, “When you saw Birju Maharaj in front of you, and then you saw him on the stage, he was an entirely different person. The stage changed him. What a beautiful dancer of Kathak he was. When I came to know about how suddenly he passed away, I felt so sad. I knew him since the 1970s. When we came to Delhi the first time, he was teaching and performing in the Kathak Kendra. He was the doyen of Kathak dance and belongs to the Lucknow gharana. Like us, he has dedicated his entire life to the Kathak dance. His day to day working was only about Kathak, and he stood tall in front of the world because of his performance and teaching. It’s a great loss to our Bharat.”
