THE DANCER
Acchan Maharaj performed at musical conferences all over India and by the age of seven, Birju Maharaj had accompanied him to Kanpur, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur, Dehradun, and even far off places like Madhubani, Kolkata and Mumbai sharing the stage with him.
Birju Maharaj’s first major solo performance was at Manmath Nath Ghosh celebrations in Bengal in the presence of stalwarts of music. He received recognition as a young dancer with great potential. He never looked back after that, his career graph rising steadily.
Birju Maharaj’s first major solo performance was at Manmath Nath Ghosh celebrations in Bengal in the presence of stalwarts of music. He received recognition as a young dancer with great potential. He never looked back after that, his career graph rising steadily.
His solo dances became an integral part of any musical conference of repute and no musical conference was complete without a performance by Pt. Birju Maharaj.
Not only in India, he is also known abroad, nearly all over the world.
Even in the early part of his career, he was part of cultural troupes sent abroad by the Government of India to represent India at various festivals. He has extensively toured all over the world i.e. Russia, U.S.A, Japan, U.A.E., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Burma, Sri Lanka, etc. for performances as well as lecture-demonstrations.
He is often called upon to perform at the Rashtrapati Bhavan at special functions and in honour of foreign dignitaries.
A recipient of the country’s second highest civilian award – Padma Vibhushan - Pt. Birju Maharaj is a living legend and an institution himself.
A measure of his genius is the fact that at the young age of 28 years, he received the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, besides several other prestigious awards like – Kalidas Samman, Nritya Choodamani, Andhra Ratna, Nritya Vilas, Adharshila Shikhar Samman, Soviet Land Nehru Award, Shiromani Samman, Rajiv Gandhi Peace Award.
He has been conferred with Honorary Doctorate degrees from Banares Hindu University and Khairagarh University.
Not only in India, he is also known abroad, nearly all over the world.
Even in the early part of his career, he was part of cultural troupes sent abroad by the Government of India to represent India at various festivals. He has extensively toured all over the world i.e. Russia, U.S.A, Japan, U.A.E., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Burma, Sri Lanka, etc. for performances as well as lecture-demonstrations.
He is often called upon to perform at the Rashtrapati Bhavan at special functions and in honour of foreign dignitaries.
A recipient of the country’s second highest civilian award – Padma Vibhushan - Pt. Birju Maharaj is a living legend and an institution himself.
A measure of his genius is the fact that at the young age of 28 years, he received the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, besides several other prestigious awards like – Kalidas Samman, Nritya Choodamani, Andhra Ratna, Nritya Vilas, Adharshila Shikhar Samman, Soviet Land Nehru Award, Shiromani Samman, Rajiv Gandhi Peace Award.
He has been conferred with Honorary Doctorate degrees from Banares Hindu University and Khairagarh University.