Indian dancer Birju Maharaj was a master of the Kalka-Bindadin gharana of Kathak dance, a leading exponent of the dance form. Born in the house of a prominent Kathak dancer, Jagannath Maharaj, the young Briju Maharaj was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps and make a name for himself as one of the foremost dancers in the genre, in India. Brilliant from a young age, he began reciting complex tihais and tukras as a toddler. Recognizing his son’s potential, his father began training him. Birju Maharaj proved to be an enthusiastic learner who decided early on to dedicate his life to the development of the Kathak dance form. The untimely death of his father came as a massive blow to the boy. However, he continued to receive training from his equally talented uncles and began teaching dance at the Sangeet Bharti in New Delhi when he was just 13. He soon gained a reputation as a notable dance teacher and eventually became the Head of Faculty and director at the Kathak Kendra (a unit of the Sangeet Natak Akademi) from where he retired, in 1998. Following his retirement he opened his own dance school, Kalashram. He also choreographed Kathak dance sequences in some Bollywood movies.