Hema Malini, Saira Banu & 8 others to get Pt. Lacchu Maharaj Award

Noted Hindi film superstars Hema Malini and Saira Banu as well as other prominent personalities from the fields of art and culture, will be honoured with the prestigious Pandit Lacchu Maharaj Award. 

The award will be given on 31 August 2024 at a ceremony in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

The decision was taken at a meeting held at Bhatkhande Sanskriti University, Lucknow, presided over by the university vice-chancellor, Prof. Mandavi Singh. The meeting was also attended by the secretary of Pt. Lachhu Maharaj Bellet Foundation and senior disciple of Pandit Lachhu Maharaj, Kumkum Adarsh.

10 eminent personalities to be awarded the Lacchu Maharaj award 

The Lacchu Maharaj Award, Instituted in memory of the famous kathak exponent Lacchu Maharaj, was not given after 2014. Thus, the Pandit Lacchu Maharaj Ballet Foundation has decided to honour 10 personalities this year. No award has been announced for the year 2020 due to COVID-19. The awardees are:  

About  Lacchu Maharaj 

In the field of art and culture, there are two famous artists who go by the name of Lacchu Maharaj. One was a famous Kathak dancer, and another was a famous tabla player. The Lacchu Maharaj Award has been instituted in honour of the famous Kathak exponent.

Lacchu Maharaj, who was born Baij Nath Prasad in Lucknow in 1907, was a noted classical Kathak dancer and choreographer. He died in 1978.

Lacchu Maharaj received his training from Pandit Bindadin Maharaj, his uncle and the court dancer of the Nawab of Awadh. 

He became famous for choreographing Kathak dance in films like Mahal, Mughal-e-Azam, Chhoti Chhoti Baten, and Pakeezah.

He also choreographed ballets like Gautam Buddha, Chandravali and Bharatiya Kissan. 

Lacchu Maharaj was the founder and director of the Uttar Pradesh government’s Kathak Kendra in Lucknow. 

He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1957.

About Kathak Dance 

The government of India recognises Kathak as one of eight classical dance forms. The other classical dance forms are Bharatnatyam(Tamil Nadu), Kuchipudi (Andhra Pradesh), Odissi (Odisha), Manipuri (Manipur), Sattriya (Assam), Kuchipudi, and Mohiniyattam from Kerala.

Kathak originated in North India and was later enriched by the Mughals. It is the only classical dance form which has been enriched by Muslim culture.  Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Oudh (Awadh), founded the Lucknow gharana of Kathak. The other gharanas of Kathak are Jaipur and Benaras.

The most famous exponent of Katha is Birju Maharaj.