User:Kalakar/girdhari maharaj

girdhari maharaj is Guru Girdhari Maharaj is a great master of the kathak dance form and music of jaipur gharana, a style where rhythmic vigor and rigor in virtuosity come together with freedom and verve. His knowledge comes from his illustrious ancestors whose names figure in the temples of Rajasthan for over 8 centuries, who handed down the tradition from father to son…..these kathak families delighted audiences from one village to the other, and also captivated the sovereigns in Hindu and mugal royal courts. He received initial training at home from father Pt. Laxmi narayan maharaj and uncle Pt. Kanhiyalal. Further refined the art under Gurushishya parampara of Pt. Brahmanad Goswami. He served as Varishta Nritya guru at Rajasthan Sangeet Sansthan jaipur for 16 years, Jaipur Kathak Kendra for 3 years and still giving his services for the premiere institute of Maharani’s college, jaipur. And along with it,running his own premiere institute Pandit laxmi narayan nrityashram from last 15 years. Recognition/ major participation and awards: Recognition: as varishth kathak guru by ministry of human resources and cultural department, Govt. of india and Rajasthan sangeet Natak academy, Govt. of rajasthan.

Major participation: 1988- participated in bharat mahotsav, Japan. 1992-international dance festival, japan. 1992-Represented classical dance kathak in Nepal. 1993-performed in france for 45 days under bharat darshan programme. In 1993, Ariane mnouchkine of Theatre du soleil met him in jaipur, and invited him to take part in her show called ‘ india, from father to son and from mother to daughter’;Accompanied by his three talented sons he depicted the rigor and joy with which traditional arts are taught in India. In ARTA ( Association for Research on the traditions of actors) in paris, guru Girdhari maharaj, organized and taught in an intensive training session of kathak dance lasting 6 weeks followed by a similar training session in Dusseldorf. This was accompanied by performances in theatre de la Tempete; centr de mandapa and the India House 1994- conducted kathak workshop for theatre artisis in france and germany for 60 days. Directed many dance dramas based on kathak of jaipur gharana. Some of them are: sampurna ramayan,geet govind, gativirodh, ritu darpan, damyanti swayamvar, urvashi, vande mataram, chandalika, 1997- choreographed ‘vande matram’ for kathak samaroh, jaipur. 2005, 2006, 2007- choreographed dance dramas consecutively for 3 years for kathak samaroh organized by jaipur kathak Kendra. 2005- choreographed dance drama’  Jalsaghar, revisiting the nautch,’ along with Rajeev Sethi and performed at the  home of, the former petroleum minister Mani Shankar Ayyar 2007- choreography for Mussee Guimet, paris, france. 2008- Dance drama in Luxembourg for kulturelfabric 2008- Worked for Rajeev sethi for his dance drama ‘ Agra bazaar revisited’ for an American delegation. 2009-Had been invited for Kathak workshop in ARTA (France) for 15 days. His dance choreography is a part of Bertolucci’s ‘little buddha’as well as of a television series called ‘The far pavilions’

Awards 1988-Rajasthan shree award. 1988-Received appreciation award by information and broadcasting minister. 1989-Jaipur mani award by Leading newspaper Rajsthan patrika during Jaipur mohotsav. 1989-Vishishta vyakti samman by pallavi sansthan. 1993-Bargad award by chief of  Congress party Soniya Gandhi. 1997-Nritya samrat award by Jodhpur kathak Kendra. 2000-Honoured by Sanskar Bharti.for his valuable services. 2001-Kala Ratnakara award by H.H Maharaja Bhawani singh ji of Jaipur.. 2001-Maharaja Ishwari singh award by H.H maharaj bhawani singh. 2002-Excellency Award, rajasthan sangeet natak academy by Chief Minister of rajasthan shri Ashok Gehlot. 2005-Manad sadasyata award by pink city press club, jaipur. 2005-Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Award. 2006- Wakadkar Samman by Sanskar Bharti at its silver jublie ceremony. in Lucknow. 2009- ‘Appreciation of achievement’ award b P.T. T.N mishra charitable trust.

Pandit Girdhari Maharaj believes in Guru Shishya Parampara. Laxmi narayan nrityashram, a premiere dance institution, was established in 1995.Being the brain child of pandit girdhari maharaj, this institution was coceptualised for the sole motive of popularization of kathak.Today, almost a decade of its inception , shri laxmi narayan nrityasharm has become the hub of kathak in the state capital, with many branches and students spread all over the world. It boasts of a large number of student fellowships. About 300 students of Indian and foreign origin have been and are being trained at this institute. Many of them have carved a niche for themselves in the field of dance. More than 75 students have been awarded scolarships and fellowships in order to pursue specialised study in the field and are empanelled artists of ICCR. The institute is presently having a galaxy of talented teachers all of whom are disciples of guruji and were trained by him here. Presently working for the project Triwat Voyage under which couple of students come from around the globe to stay with his family and learn Indian culture along with kathak under guru Shishya Parampara. He is a singer and a poet, as well as a tabla player specialized in dance rhythmic and compositions. With multiple talents he excels as a choreographer and has regularly composed both the music and dance for ballets in the kathak style for his best students and for his own sons. A characteristic of the genius of his teaching is absolute rigor in giving the basic structures and foundation of traditional dance principles, and at the same time leaving the students to be free to improvise according to their intimate individuality. He even adapts his teaching to the temperament of his students, choosing the compositions and rhythmic ideal for the intrinsic development of each of them. He is famous for his bhava or poetic expression – of feelings such as fear or compassion –through facial mime and hand gestures with such importance given to eye movements. He is highly respected and appreciated as a guru I the true oriental sense of the term, as one who has real mastery of his art which he strives to serve with sincerity and generosity. As such he is an exemplary personality in dance today.

source; pratap singh chaudhary" rajasthan sangeet aur sangeetkar"