Maharaj, Birju
Name |
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Birthname | Dukh Haran Maharaj | ||||
born on | 4 February 1938 at 21:00 (= 9:00 PM ) | ||||
Place | Lucknow, India, 26n51, 80e55 | ||||
Timezone | IST h5e30 (is standard time) | ||||
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Astrology data | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Biography
Indian dancer, choreographer, and singer, the leading exponent of the Lucknow Kalka-Bindadin gharana of Kathak dance in India. He is a descendant of the legendary Maharaj family of Kathak dancers, which includes his two uncles, Shambhu Maharaj and Lachhu Maharaj, and his father and guru, Acchan Maharaj. Even though dancing is his first love, he also has an excellent command over Hindustani classical music and is an accomplished vocalist as well. He took Kathak to new heights by choreographing new Kathak dance dramas. He is also the founder of kalashram. He has toured extensively around the globe, given thousands of performances and held hundreds of workshops for kathak students.
After working along with his uncle, Shambhu Maharaj at Bhartiya Kala Kendra, later the Kathak Kendra, New Delhi, he remained head of the latter, for several years, till his retirement in 1998 when he opened his own dance school, Kalashram, also in Delhi.
Source Notes
Ashish Seth quotes a news article: "On February 4, 1938, a boy named Dukh Haran was born into the Maharaj family. Because he was the only male born that night in the hospital, and every other baby delivered was female, his uncle suggested jokingly to his father that he be re-named Brij Mohan (a synonym for Krishna, the only male among the Gopis), which was later fondly shortened to Birju" ("Dancing into Tomorrow" by Rishi Majumder [1]).
Categories
- Vocation : Entertain/Music : Dancer/ Teacher (Dancer, choreographer, teacher)
- Vocation : Entertain/Music : Vocalist/ Pop, Rock, etc.