When three-generations of Kathak’s Lucknow Gharana performed together at Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya on Friday, it was as if the legacy of the gurus came to life on stage.
Pandit Shambhu Maharaj’s son Pandit Rammohan Maharaj; his nephews and Pandit Birju Maharaj’s sons, Pandit Jaikishan Maharaj and Pandit Deepak Maharaj; and Pandit Jaikishan Maharaj’s son, Tribhuvan Maharaj were in the city for BSV’s centenary year celebrations. They shared their plans for enriching the art form while also sharing the legacy of Kathak.
Tribhuvan Maharaj, explained that today the Kathak of the Lucknow Gharana is no longer limited to Lucknow as people from many countries are now learning Kathak. “At present, more than 200 foreign students are learning Kathak from us online. I am trying to connect the new generation to the tradition I inherited from my ancestors by blending it with modernity in such a way that Kathak feels fresh while its classical essence remains intact,” he said.
He said that he has tried preserving the heritage through rigorous practise from childhood, and later connected it with technology. “Going hand in hand with today’s requirements, I teach Kathak using examples so that it can spread worldwide. I have worked extensively on Kathak music. Earlier, sarod, sitar, tabla, and harmonium were sufficient for accompaniment. Today, I use special effects along with instruments from around the world — such as South African drums and European string instruments. However, even while using these, I ensure that classical purity is heard, not Western music,” said Tribhuvan Maharaj.
Pandit Rammohan Maharaj, explained that Kathak came from Handiya village near Allahabad, where there was a tradition of narrating the stories of Ram and Krishna through expressions and gestures. “Due to famine, artistes were displaced and came to Lucknow, where they received patronage from the Nawabs. Later, Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula gave these artistes a place in his court. Nawab Wajid Ali Shah gave Kathak a new colour; he himself learned Kathak from my great-grandfather, Thakur Prasad. After that, my grandfather Kalika Prasad and Bindadin Maharaj, along with the Nawab, infused Lucknow’s delicacy and refinement into Kathak and established the Lucknow Gharana,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Pandit Rammohan Maharaj, explained that Kathak came from Handiya village near Allahabad, where there was a tradition of narrating the stories of Ram and Krishna through expressions and gestures. “Due to famine, artistes were displaced and came to Lucknow, where they received patronage from the Nawabs. Later, Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula gave these artistes a place in his court. Nawab Wajid Ali Shah gave Kathak a new colour; he himself learned Kathak from my great-grandfather, Thakur Prasad. After that, my grandfather Kalika Prasad and Bindadin Maharaj, along with the Nawab, infused Lucknow’s delicacy and refinement into Kathak and established the Lucknow Gharana,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Rammohan Maharaj also said that Kathak reached new heights when his uncle Pandit Lachhu Maharaj introduced the element of acting and added graceful expression, taking Kathak to the film world with movies like Mughal-e-Azam and Pakeezah.
Pandit Jaikishan Maharaj, said that while preserving the Lucknow Gharana’s Kathak tradition, his father, Pt Birju Maharaj, gave Kathak a new dimension that earned it global recognition. From a very young age, he began performing abroad. After Pandit Lachhu Maharaj, he brought Kathak back into the Hindi film industry.
“The rhythmic mastery and body technique of his father Pandit Achhan Maharaj, the lasya and acting elements of his uncle Lachhu Maharaj, and the heroic style of his uncle Pandit Shambhu Maharaj, Pandit Birju Maharaj blended the three styles, he created a form on which the whole world dances today. He was a complete artist in himself with a quality that he knew singing, instrumental music, wrote poetry, and even painting,” said Jaikishan Maharaj.
Together, they said that for them maintaining classical purity is essential. During the pandemic, when digitalisation increased, many people connected with them, and the trend of online learning grew rapidly. Since then, people from India and abroad continue to join, all with the same demand — they want to learn the Kathak of the Lucknow Gharana.