Kathak Exponents & Choreographers Sashwati Sen, Vijayshree Chaudhary of Heeramandi ‘Sakal Ban’ fame along with Senior disciples of Kalashram pay a Heartfelt Tribute to their Guru legendary Kathak Exponent Pandit Birju Maharaj Ji and Tabla Maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain at a tribute function 'Parampara Pravaha'.

Being the senior disciplines of Birju Maharajji, Shashwati Sen and Vijayshree Chaudhary also threw light on their taleem under Maharajji along with talking about amalgamating traditional and Modern Choreography in an exclusive conversation with Indianfilmhistory.com

The program ‘Parampara Pravah’ was presented by ‘Kalashram’, organised by Sashwati Sen, and curated by Neha Banerjee. The Program included performances by Senior Dancers and their troops namely Vijayshree Chaudhary, Shama Bhate, Maharajji’s granddaughter Shinjini and celebrated dancers, who immersed the audiences in a kaleidoscope of Kathak Yagya.

Shashwati Sen talked about the tribute, and said, 'We wanted to do a tribute function devoting to the lotus feet of Maharajji. But, after receiving the devastating news of Zakir Bhai’s untimely demise, we thought to postpone the event. But, again we thought that only art was the way to remember these great masters and so we planned this heartfelt tribute by all the students of Maharajji. We also showed a clip of Zakir Bhai, being honoured with the Pandit Birju Maharaj Award on 24^th February 2024. He was so humbled and happy to be here, while he spoke about Maharajji and played in the program, winning everyone’s heart with his gracious presence, leaving behind fond memories.'

Talking about keeping the tradition alive Vijayshree Chaudhary said, 'This is our tribute to Maharaj ji and Zakir Bhai for their art, though we are very sad about Zakir Bhai’s untimely demise. But, as we say, the show must go on, Sashwati Didi named the show ‘Parampara Pravah’ which means to take the lineage of the great maestros to the next generations. Today, I am also presenting my students to perform at the tribute function.'

Reminiscing about her training under Birju Maharajji Vijayshreeji said, 'I learnt from Maharajji for almost 5 years and till his last years. Even during the pandemic, Maharajji kept teaching his students online. I feel extremely blessed to have his guidance. He was like an ocean of knowledge and I feel I'm still learning from him through his videos and archives, as learning is a never-ending journey.'

Elaborating on her Taleem under Birju Maharaj she said, 'Maharajji not only taught us the Bandishes and the dance form, but he taught us the art itself because only technical Riyaz is not enough, you need to have that love and passion for the art form. He taught us in a very playful way, but at the same time gave us a perspective on how to make our dance appealing, what to do and what not to do. He had so much patience and would correct us on a bandish many times, but he was very particular for us to pick and learn the bandishes, and if we did not learn he would give it to the senior students, so we became very particular to learn it fast.'

The event also included an intrinsic panel of discussion on various facets of Kathak and Choreography, by eminent students of Birju Maharajji. Shashwatiji elaborating on the session said, 'We wanted to address our students about keeping the traditional kathak alive, keeping its purity and gravitas in focus and not experimenting too much with the artform, as per the changing trends. We talked about the legendary musicians Pt. Birju Maharajji, Zakir Bhai, Pt. Ravi Shankarji, never compromised on the purity of classical music or dance, while they experimented and gave a new dimension to the art form by creating new ragas, and talas, but never diluted the form. They choreographed in the films too but never went out of the format of the art or compromised with the standards of performance'

Talking about how Birju Maharajji amalgamated Traditional and Contemporary Choreography Shashwati ji said, “In the panel, we discussed how legends like Lacchu Maharajji and Birju Maharajji choreographed for the films keeping intact the traditional form of Thumri & Dadra choreographing them beautifully according to the Nayikas, the heroines of the film. Maharajji touched upon different facets of Choreography doing some offbeat Choreography like ‘Laya Parikrama’ depicting the Rhythm of the Universe, as everything around us has a rhythm in its movement be it birds, animals, humans, or even the wind. Another interesting piece he did was ‘An autobiography of a piece of an Iron Ore’ which was made into a sword to fight by someone, while someone else made a gong for the temple to worship.”

Shashwatiji elaborates on how Pandit Birju Maharajji choreographed many films like Devdas and Baji Rao Mastani teaching Madhuri Dixit and Deepika Padukone said, “ Madhuri is a disciple of Maharajji and learnt from him in his workshops in the US. She is such a sincere learner and would look at the minutest mudra on the monitor and would ask me to correct it. She is a perfectionist and whatever she has done in ‘Devdas’ and ‘Dedh Ishquiya’, she gave her best. While Deepikaji was never a kathak dancer, she did it with so much dedication. Maharajji always kept the purity of the art.”

Throwing light on doing Choreography for the song ‘Sakal Ban’ for Heeramandi, Vijayshreeji said, “Whatever I did was only due to Maharajji’s blessings and whatever I could learn from him and even Sanjay Leela Bhansali ji called me because I am his disciple. It started when I was teaching Sharmin Segal who’s his niece. I sometimes took the class in his office, so sometimes he would come and sit and watch us, and tell me to look or sit in a certain way. He has a very keen observation and he told Sharmin to learn my stance when I stand to dance.”

What went behind creating the magic on the song ‘Sakal Ban’ an old classic, said 'Firstly, it was the selection of the song ‘Sakal Ban’ by Sanjayji, which was a very befitting Bandish composed by Amir Khusro to represent the spring, which itself has a historical significance. The song was shot in three days and we had a 12-hour shift. All the actors were so dedicated and no one would leave the set including Manisha Koiralaji who being a cancer survivor, worked hard. Sanjayji worked from morning to evening himself and would watch every movement and minutest of details to perfection in the monitor.'

How was the experience in choreographing the leading ladies of Heeramandi namely Aditi Rao, Richa Chaddha, Manisha Koirala and Sanjeeda Sheikh, 'They all have a very good pick up as all are trained dancers. We were called only two days before to the set. I was told that it was a top shot, so we thought of having a lot of ‘Chakras’, which gave a visual delight. Then he asked me to give the entry and movement to Manisha Koiralaji. Sanjayji is very innovative and keeps making changes on the spot. He would ask you to improvise on the spot and then pick up something, which is most befitting.'

Sashwatiji concluded with her ongoing projects, saying “Many productions are happening, along with a Bengali film which I have choreographed based on the life of an artist, which is in its post-production.”