The maestro who passed away on January 17 brought a chiselled form of kathak to the modern proscenium transcending all ‘gharanas’. Moreover, his grasp of the essence of his dance vocabulary enabled him to communicate across the north-south divide in India and globally.
Birju Maharaj sang well all his life, as if proving how innate musicality must embody a dancer’s spirit. Just as his vocals were refreshingly soothing, the effervescent maestro’s hands swa
True to the artiste's creed that all juniors complete their performance before the turn of the 'ustad', Guru Munna Shukla passed away five days before his guru, Pandit Birju Maharaj, bid the world goodbye.
Birju Maharaj lived as he died. He grew up with the ghungroo, tabla and harmonium striking rhythms of harmony and as took his last breath in the early hours of Monday his home was quite fittingly alive with the sound of music this time old songs he so loved.