Visakhapatnam, August 5, 2013: Come Saturday you would be able to watch a maestro set the stage on fire with his feet drumming up a beat on the floor as he uses his feet extensively in his narrative. The King of Kathak, Pandit Birju Maharaj, who is being felicitated by the Visakha Music and Dance Academy would also be giving a demonstration of Kathak. The city is fortunate that not only would the dance maestro be visiting and giving a demonstration on the occasion of his felicitation but also would return to stage a ballet – Kathak Yatra – along with his disciples on August 15. Aptly called the King of Kathak, Pandit Birju Maharaj is an epitome of a traditional form of narrative that exclusively depends on the quick movement of the feet and economical movement of his hands and head. The jingles on his feet only highlight the extraordinary effort of the 75-year-old guru of Lucknow Gharana during the performances that have mesmerised audience across the globe. It was our good fortune that such an eminent performer had accepted our proposal to felicitate him with a citation, a Swarna Kamalam and Rs 1 lakh, founder president of VMDA C.S.N. Raju told mediapersons here on Sunday. The week-long festival of dance and music would be inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah on Saturday at 5:30 pm. After the felicitation Pandit Birju Maharaj would give a demonstration of Kathak, to be followed by a Kuchipudi ballet ‘Prakriti Rakshati Rakshitaha’ by Deepika Reddy. On Sunday there would be a Carnatic concert by Unnikrishnan and on Monday by TM Krishna. City-based Ramavarapu Madhuri Devi would give a veena recital on Tuesday. On Wednesday Vidushi Kalavati Avadhoot of Bengaluru would give a Carnatic concert.

Source: The Hindu, DT. August 6, 2013.