Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #BirjuMaharaj
Most recents (4)
The Five Stages of Victim-Blaming. Modelled by Salil Tripathi in my DMs, responding to students of late Kathak guru Briju Maharaj going public on his sexual violence.
Stage 1: Deny
Stage 1: Deny
Stage 2: Disbelieve
Stage 3: Discredit
Harrowing 2 read these stories of #sexualharassment & #sexualabuse of students including #minors in the #Kathak world by renowned gurus & how it’s been an #opensecret all along. A thread 1/n
Thank you to my instructor Naina Green 4 being the voice of courage & integrity. Here’s her IG post re: #birjumaharaj followed by screenshots.
Further down I'll be sharing screenshots of #survivors accounts of abuse. 2/n
instagram.com/p/CY4SyaDpEZS/…
Further down I'll be sharing screenshots of #survivors accounts of abuse. 2/n
instagram.com/p/CY4SyaDpEZS/…
3/n
Brij Mohan Nath Mishra was born on 4 February 1937 in Lucknow into an illustrious family of musicians. Popularly known as #BirjuMaharaj he would go on to become one of the most recognized personalities of Indian classical dance and make his own way as a artiste.
His father was the famed Pt. Jagannath Mishra (d.1947) , popularly known as Achchan Maharaj was the eldest among the three sons of Pt. Kalika Prasad. He was an expert of both Nritta and Bhava. He would serve as court musician of the Raja of Raigdh.
Achchan Maharaj was a disciple of both his father Kalika Prasad (d.1910) as well as his uncle very famous uncle Bindadin Maharaj (1830-1913). Originally from Lucknow, the duo were pioneers of contemporary kathak as court musicians of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh.
Handia, in India’s Uttar Pradesh, is believed to be named after Mahabharata’s Hidimba. It is also famous because it is the #Kathak town of India. Kichkila, a village in the Handia tehsil, has been the home of Kathak dancers for many generations (1/n)
Pandit #BirjuMaharaj Ji who died on 17th Jan, 2022, was a son of this village. Maharaj Ishwari Prasad & his brothers took Kathak to Lucknow. There, Ishwari Ji trained his sons in the Natvari Style who in turn took the dance form to the courts of Lucknow (2/n)
Under the patronage of the Nawabs, this dance form which was once exclusive to temples and religious gatherings became popular to the masses, earning the identity of ‘Kathak style of Lucknow.' (3/n)
