Journalism of Courage
By Asmita Pant
Followers and disciples of Pandit Birju Maharaj are still in shock after the demise of the legendary Kathak dancer and are yet to come to terms with his death. A day after the maestro passed away, a couple of them spoke to The Indian Express and shared what Pandit ji meant to them.
Pandit Nandkishore Kapote, a senior disciple of Pandit Birju Maharaj, said, “I had a chance to talk to him two hours before his demise. I had no clue something like this would happen.”
On Monday, Maharaj passed away after suffering a heart attack at the age of 83. He was reportedly suffering from a kidney ailment and was undergoing dialysis. “He was everything to me. My mother, my father. He was like a god to me,” said Kapote.
Maharaj, who had visited Pune, had several disciples in the city. Kapote, for instance, was training under Maharaj’s nephew late Pandit Munna Shukla in Pune when he met the former for the first time.
“I was still in school. I was selected to welcome Maharaj ji and presented him with flowers and garland. I was in awe when I saw him dance and was determined to learn from him,” he said. After finishing school, Kapote bagged the National Scholarship offered by the Government of India. He travelled to Delhi in 1978 to learn from Maharaj and, soon, became quite close to his guru.
Shilpa Datar, the founder of Shilpa Nrityalaya, recalled the time she had a chance to meet the legend in person. “Shama Bhate ji invited Maharaj ji for the first time in Maharashtra for a workshop. That must have been around 20 years ago. That was the first time I met him. I remember when I watched him for those three days, it was like dance was ingrained in him. It wasn’t just his hands or legs or facial expressions, every single nerve in his body would dance,” she said.
Maharaj was also an excellent instrumentalist and vocalist as well as an engrossing storyteller who drew inspiration from his own life. “Of the six kalas – Sangeet, Nritya, Natya, Chitra, Shilpa, Sahitya – there isn’t a single kala in which he wasn’t good,” said Datar.
Astha Karlekar belongs to the same gharana as Maharaj and his passing away is painful for her. A follower of his uncle Luchhu Maharaj ji’s style, Karlekar never had a chance to meet him but because of her guru, she had the opportunity to speak to him several times. “He was a person who belonged to almost all the gharanas. Everybody used to respect him for his style, for his dedication, for his art,” she said.
Karlekar said that “an artist never dies”. “Though Maharaj has left his body, he continues to live with his art in the form of his students and disciples,” she says.
Maharaj was a prominent teacher who had his own dance school Kalashram. Talking about his teaching, Datar said, “He taught as beautifully as he danced.” Kapote agreed and said, “He was an amazing teacher. He trained even the inept of students into fine dancers.”
Kapote plans to organise a major festival to honour Maharaj with the legend’s disciples from around the world as attendees. “I’m also planning to present an annual award in his name, the Pandit Birju Maharaj Award,” he said.
