Kiran Bhargava pays tribute to her Guru Pt. Birju Maharaj

Kiran Bhargava, the talented actress who was last seen in a cameo role in Colors’ Rangrasiya, recently took centre stage as dancer after a gap of nearly 20 years. The lady who has been a disciple of Pt. Birju Maharaj from the year 1976 also holds the honour of having done a masters in Kathak with specialization in ‘Abhinaya’. Owing to the lady’s TV commitments, Kiran had taken a long break from dance. And finally Kiran decided to get back to her first love i.e. Kathak. Her performance at the recently held Kathak Festival (2 June), Panchtatva at Bhavan’s College was dedicated to Pt. Birju Maharaj. She danced on a song that was written by the famous Maithili Sharon Gupt. We hear that the performance was applauded by the entire audience. Also, post the performance, there was an emotional moment seen between Maharajji and the disciple. In fact, Pt. Birju Maharaj considers Kiran Bhargava like his daughter, and whenever he has been in town, he makes it a point to visit the Bhargava family. He is also a great lover of Kiran’s cooking delicacies. When contacted, Kiran, who was recently part of Sahara One’s Niyati, said, “I had not stepped on a stage for more than 20 years. I had lost all confidence. But the moment I stepped on the stage and saw Maharaj ji looking at me, I knew that all his blessings were with me. All my lost confidence came back and I danced my heart out. It did not feel that I was away from Kathak for 25 years. His art was still alive within me. The most memorable moment was when my Guruji commented on my performance and said, ‘The flowers that I nurtured, decades ago are still as fresh as new!!!’” Truly awesome and commendable, this!!!