Padma Vibhushan Pt. Birju Maharaj and Saswati Sen, Kathak Performance

Everything in the universe has rhythm and everything dances  and dance  is the hidden language of the soul . Pandit Birju maharaj has made these words come true.

Pt. Birju Maharaj gave his first performance at the age of seven. He gave Kathak Dance a new dimension by developing his own unique style and popularised this classical dance of North India all over the world and is a familiar face of Indian Kathak dance. He has performed in almost all the countries. He is a wonderful singer with a strong grip over, Thumri, Dadra, Bhajan and Ghazals.

A Well-known exponent of Kathak, recipient  of Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Padma Vibhushan,  Kalidas Samman, Soviet Land Nehru Award, SNA Award, Sangam Kala Award. He belongs to an illustrious family of dance masters of the Lucknow Gharana. His two uncles Shambu and Lacchu Maharaj, and his father Acchan Maharaj were all well-known Kathak dancers. Apart from Kathak, he is also an accomplished vocalist.

He took Kathak to new heights by choreographing new Kathak dance dramas. He is also the founder of Kalashram. Pandit Birju Maharaj is not only a Kathak dancer but also a sensitive poet and captivating orator. He composed many dance dramas like 'Gobardhan Leela', 'Makhan Chori', 'Malti-Madhav', 'Kumar Samvav', 'Phag Bahar' etc. He also composed two classical dance sequences for Satyajit Ray's film 'Shatranj Ke Khiladi'. He has a special flair for playing percussion instruments like Tabla, Pakhawaj, Dholak, Naal and string instruments like Israj, Violin, Swar-Mandal, Sitar etc.

His talent, dedication, innovation, training, repertoire and performances have earned him the status of a living legend in India  and his soulful performances give the audience something that they can treasure and keep for their life time.

Pt. Ritesh & Rajnish Misra, Classical Vocal, 16th to 23rd April

‘Mishra Bandhu’ Ritesh and Rajnish  Misra , are one of the leading upcoming vocalists  in the country today .Duet singing in the Indian Classical Music is considered a very difficult art, for it requires not only individual competence but, great amount of self-control to improvise and harmonize at the same time. The maestros due Ritesh-Rajnish Mishra have put in every thing to achieve such excellence under the guidance of the ever great, Padma Vibhushan  Pt. Rajan Misra (Father) and Pt. Sajan Misra (Uncle) of the Banaras Gharana,

The Artist brothers  have been learning music since their birth with sounds of Tanpura, Sarangi, Tabla and voices of forefathers vibrating in their home and surroundings.  Skilled with rich knowledge of Indian Ragas the duos render Khayal, Tappa, Tarana Bhajans and other classical forms, casting a spell on the audience.

They have performed at most prestigious concerts all over the world in countries like Canada,   United States of America, that included Lincoln Centre In New York , the Royal Albert Hall and the   Queen Elizabeth Hall in  London ,  Germany , Italy , France , Spain , Dubai etc.

On the 15 of April, they performed at the young maestro’s festival in Delhi where they were facilitated by the Chief Minister Mrs Sheila Dixit.

Their work with famous composer Michol Nymen has been released as an album (SANGAM) selling worldwide. They have sung 3rd track “Mahadeva” in the album called ‘Rise’ that has been nominated for the prestigious ‘Grammy Awards’. They have given background score to the audio book by Penguine & ANB publisher.

They are ‘A’ grade vocalists of All India Radio and Television. They have been awarded the prestigious ‘Yuva Ratna Award’ for the year 1999. They have also received the prestigious “Bhavishya Jyoti Award” for the year 2007. They have received the prestigious “ Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Ustad Bismillah Khan Award” for the year 2008. They have recently been conferred with "Sangeet Samriddhi Samman".

They are accompanied by Shubh Maharaj on the tabla and Sumit Mishra on harmonium.