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Jan 19 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
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)
It is believed that Lord Krishna appeared in Ishwari Prasad’s dream to popularise Kathak and he spent an entire life teaching this exquisite dance form. Seven generations later Brij Mohan or Birju was born of this great lineage (4/n)
Fondly named after Lord Krishna, Brij Mohan aka Birju Maharaji took Kathak to the world stage from Bollywood to international dance shows (5/n)
Like Ishwari Prasad and his renowned descendants Maharaj Bindadin, Maharaj Kalka Prasad, Achhan Maharaj, Shambhu Maharaj or Lachhu Maharaj, Birju Maharaj was true to his roots while taking Kathak to the global stage (6/n)
He was a true kathakar who stressed on abhinaya and fluid gender norms. The Paperclip pays tribute to this larger than life artist and a true son of the soil (7/n)
Acknowledgments:
sahapedia.org/kathak-aesthet…

oldindianphotos.in/2012/04/indian…

mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/dancing-into-t…

birjumaharaj-kalashram.com/pt-birju-mahar…

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