Birju Maharaj at the Kathak workshop in the city. Picture by Biju Boro

He has witnessed 66 springs that nurtured and added to his wisdom. But deep in his heart, he still remains a tender-hearted child — who defies age with a rare tenacity.

Birju Maharaj, or the king of Kathak, graced the city recently to conduct a workshop with his students.

Born into a household of hereditary dancers, Birju Maharaj is the torchbearer of the famous family, Kalka-Bindadin gharana of Lucknow, which has been serving the art of Kathak for seven generations now.

His father, Pandit Achchanan Maharaj, graced the darbar of Maharaj Saheb Rampur as a Kathak exponent. Initially, Birju Maharaj trained under the tutelage of his father. The demise of his father left the family in the midst of a financial crisis. Birju Maharaj was then only nine years old and his family had to struggle a lot to make both ends meet.

“Those were difficult days. After a prolonged struggle, we came to Delhi where I used to conduct Kathak classes at the tender age of 14 years,” he reminisced.

After his father, Birju Maharaj’s talent manifested under the supervision of his uncles, Pandit Shambhu Maharaj and Pandit Lachchu Maharaj.

One of the finest choreographers of our times, Birju Maharaj was associated with the film industry in Mumbai, like his uncle Lachchu Maharaj. He accepted the offer of Satyajit Ray to choreograph the dance sequences in Shatranj Ke Khilari, where he choreographed the thumri in the courtyard of Nawab Wajed Ali Shah.

“Shah himself was fond of Krishna and a patron of Kathak,” he said.

“I did the choreography in films like Gadar, Dil To Pagal Hai and others. But my best experience was Devdas, in which Madhuri behaved like a disciple of mine in the dance sequence for the song Kahe Ched Mohe. It took 12 nights for her to attain perfection,” the exponent recollected.

As an exponent of Kathak, Birju Maharaj travelled extensively to countries like the erstwhile Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), the US, Japan, the UAE, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and others to perform as well as give lecture-demonstrations.

The former head of the Kathak Kendra, Delhi, has founded Kalashram in the capital to popularise the genre.

“The natural charm of the mighty Brahmaputra and rugged hills and the homely experience” drew him to the city several times.

Loads of awards and accolades like Kalidas Samman, Soviet Land Nehru Award, Nritya Choodamani, Andhra Ratna, Adharshila Sikhar Samman and honorary doctorate degree from the Benaras Hindu University were showered on the maestro. But the recipient of the country’s second highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan, does not consider awards or recognition as important as the applause of the audience.

A wizard of electronic gadgets and percussionist, drummer and thumri and bhajan singer — all combined — Birju Maharaj strides the realm of music like a real king.

He can play string instruments like the esraj, sarod, violin and sitar with equal precision. “The beginning and the end of everything is Krishna. Those who understand it are great,” he says.

Birju Maharaj understands this well. The man, who personifies Kathak and desires to remain a child forever, believes everyday is a new beginning to the world of rhythm and music.