Birju Maharaj on Kathak

“It's sad that the art form is not appreciated in its place of origin, Lucknow, despite being popular across the globe.”

“All is the play of beats and they will always remain the same as ever, you can only add instruments; so fusion is fine if created esthetically. My only concern always has been, is of maintaining the purity of our forms and not creating a fusion that confuses the audience in identifying the original beauty and qualities of our traditional dances.”

“First of all, classical shouldn't be called a dance. We present various expressions on abstract music, which has no meaning and no name. Interestingly, the sound and the expression depict the feeling of love or anger and hence the entire katha can be presented… it means a kind of wind is blowing and through hands, water and other five elements of earth are explained.”

“Dance is the best yoga. Yoga is all about maintaining the concentration and finding a balance, that is exactly what we do while we dance Kathak. It's always about concentrating on 'talas' and 'laya:layas' and catching smallest of beats. After years that I have put behind my art, I have achieved a fine tuned balance that goes much deeper than making me able to handle my art form well.”