A Maestro Idealized

The book in reference is a coffee table, well-illustrated memoir entitled The Master Through My Eyes. It is by Saswati Sen, herself a well-known dancer and prime disciple of Birju Maharaj for as long as thirty years and more. She has spent this time, from her initial baby steps in Kathak with Guru Reba Vidayarthi to full scale training with Birju Maharaj, at the Kathak Kendra, the National Institute of Kathak dance in Delhi. This, the first phase of her professional asssociation which lasted until the Guru’s retirement from the Kendra in 1998, has continued to date into the second phase, the setting up of his private teaching institution, in Delhi, Kalashram.