Legendary Kathak exponent, Pandit Birju Maharaj, 83, passed away late Sunday night.
While confirming this sad news to Bornofweb.com, Swaransh Mishra, grandson of Maharaj ji, shared, “Maharaj ji was sitting with his granddaughters. In fact, he was playing sarod around 12 midnight. Shortly after, he began to feel restless. He was immediately rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead on arrival by the doctors.”
It is learnt that Pt Birju Maharaj ji was suffering from kidney-related issues for last two years.
“But it was a natural death. It was not related to COVID-19,” he added. “I join millions today to pray for him. For me, he was the king of kathak. He had superpowers to spell magic on stage. I look up to him as a guru, dancer,” Swaransh said. He also shared that he had spoken to Maharaj ji a night ago and that he was absolutely fine. “Earlier when his health had deteriorated, he used to call me in night and chat. We had great fondness for each other,” he said.
Pt. Birju Maharaj is a globally-acclaimed artiste and has been honoured with prestigious national and international awards. The government of India has felicitated him with Padma Vibhushan, nation’s second-highest civilian honour.
BornofWeb.com also featured Maharaj ji a few years back in a special interview series, Leaders of India. He was interviewed by well-known art critic Dr Alka Raghuvanshi, who also passed away last year. You can read the interview below, or watch some part of the conversation in the video.
ALSO READ: Art critic Dr Alka Raghuvanshi in conversation with Pt Birju Maharaj
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