BENGALURU:
Simran Godhwani Kathak dancer
The first time I met Pandit Birju Maharaj ji was way back in the late ’90s, when I used to travel to Delhi with my guru Shree Murari ji – a direct disciple of Maharaj ji. But I got to interact with Maharaj ji more closely only in 2006, when he came to Bengaluru to perform with Ustad Zakhir Hussain.
This was the time when I was still working in the corporate sector. I went to the concert and later went to the green room to meet Maharaj ji. He asked me why I hadn’t taken up Kathak full time. I told him that I wanted to pursue the art full time but I had a lot of doubts. He told me it required talent, hard work, perseverance, and blessings. I still remember his other words, “When you have all of this, what’s stopping you?” Those words had such a profound effect on me that I left my job and took up Kathak full time.
Cut to 2018... there was a production in Bengaluru called Kathak Yatra, where Maharaj ji was showcasing different aspects of Kathak and I played the role of Radha. I feel blessed to have been performing for him, and to have been a part of his dance ballets. He was a very simple person. He loved rabdi, so whenever he was here, I made it for him. He had a childlike innocence. I never saw him scolding anyone... he had a very different way of pointing out mistakes. If a person wasn’t doing the hand movement right, he would mention it in a lighthearted way so that the person wouldn’t feel bad.
Maharaj ji always remembered people by names and enquired about their families. Another pearl of wisdom he shared with me was, “As my student, do not seek publicity. Just work hard and everything else will come to you.”
(Simran Godhwani is a Kathak dancer and was crowned Mrs India - 2018, First Runner-up, Empress of the Nation)
(As told to Monika Monalisa)