Educational Galaxy

Personalities — EG's own notes, in simple words

Book: Kriti (CBSE, Class 7)  |  Chapter 13  |  Medium: English

Section: Dance

Diagram (labels are printed on the image): A child studying portraits of artists in a gallery. A general teaching picture; it is not a picture from the book.

A young artist in daily practice at home. A general picture about discipline; no book picture is copied here.

What the chapter is about

This chapter is about personalities: the people behind the art forms. A dance tradition does not live in books alone — it lives in the bodies, teaching and performances of its artists, passed from teacher to student. This chapter introduces two such artists in detail: Shambhu Maharaj of the Lucknow Gharana of Kathak, and Kedar Nath Sahu, a leading exponent of Seraikella Chhau. The chapter also asks you to research one more personality yourself and present it as a class project.

Shambhu Maharaj was a scion of the Lucknow Gharana of Kathak, born into a family of traditional dancers. His family had served at the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh. His father was Kalka Prasad and his uncle was Binda Deen, who consolidated the Lucknow Gharana. Shambhu Maharaj trained under Binda Deen. After independence he established the Lucknow Gharana repertoire along with his elder brother Acchan Maharaj. He made his debut at Lucknow in 1926 at the All India Music Conference, and performed as a soloist and also with his brothers Acchan and Lacchu Maharaj. In 1955 he moved to Delhi and taught at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra. He was famous for abhinaya and bhav batana — showing feeling through expression — and for the court style of sitting and enacting a piece. He taught his nephew Birju Maharaj and many other famous dancers. His sons Ram Mohan and Kishan Mohan also became accomplished dancers and gurus. He received the Padma Shri in 1958 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1967.

Kedar Nath Sahu was a leading exponent of Seraikella Chhau. He came from a traditional family of the Kanasari caste, whose occupation was making household utensils. He learnt Chhau from his father and grandfather, in the Guru-Shishya Parampara — the teacher-student tradition in which knowledge is passed on orally, from one generation to the next. He performed in the troupe of Kumar Bijoy Pratap Singh Deo and later formed his own troupe, taking his disciples along with him. Among his students were Shashadhar Acharya, Gopal Prasad Dubey and Sharon Lowen. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1981 and the Padma Shri in 2005, and won acclaim in India and across the world. The chapter shows Seraikella Chhau masks, which are a special feature of this form.

The two lives teach the same lesson from two directions. Shambhu Maharaj carried a court tradition into the modern stage and the classroom; Kedar Nath Sahu carried a community mask-dance tradition from family learning to the world stage. Both show why the Guru-Shishya Parampara matters: without teachers who pass on the art directly, and students who practise it, a tradition fades. The chapter’s activity asks you to do your own research — pick one personality from the list given (Balasaraswati, Pandit Hazarilal, Keermane Shivaram Hedge or Gulabo Sapera), find out about their life and work, and present it as a class project. The chapter does not print their life stories, so your project must come from your own research, not from this page.

What you should learn

• Tell the life and work of Shambhu Maharaj: family, teachers, debut, Delhi teaching, awards.
• Tell the life and work of Kedar Nath Sahu: family background, Guru-Shishya Parampara, troupe, students, awards.
• Explain Guru-Shishya Parampara and why oral, teacher-to-student transmission matters.
• Name the four personalities given for your own research project, and plan how to research one.
• Explain what a class project on a dance personality should include.

Try it — Activity 13.1: research one personality

1. Choose one name from the chapter’s list: Balasaraswati, Pandit Hazarilal, Keermane Shivaram Hedge or Gulabo Sapera.
2. Research their life and work: where and when they lived, which art form, who their teachers were, what they are remembered for, and any honours they received.
3. Note your sources for every fact, so your project can be checked.
4. Present your findings as a class project — a talk, a poster, a journal entry or a short presentation, as your teacher decides.

Try it — compare the two masters

1. Make two columns, one for Shambhu Maharaj and one for Kedar Nath Sahu.
2. Fill in: art form, family background, main teacher, where they taught or performed, famous students, and awards with years.
3. Write one line at the bottom: what do both lives have in common?

Chart / Table: The two personalities at a glance

	Shambhu Maharaj	Kedar Nath Sahu
Art form	Kathak — Lucknow Gharana	Seraikella Chhau
Teachers / learning	Trained under his uncle Binda Deen	Learnt from father and grandfather; Guru-Shishya Parampara
Key career step	Debut Lucknow 1926 (All India Music Conference); moved to Delhi 1955, taught at Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra	Performed in Kumar Bijoy Pratap Singh Deo’s troupe, then formed his own troupe with disciples
Famous students	Nephew Birju Maharaj and many famous dancers; sons Ram Mohan and Kishan Mohan	Shashadhar Acharya, Gopal Prasad Dubey, Sharon Lowen
Awards	Padma Shri 1958; Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 1967	Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 1981; Padma Shri 2005

Practice set — try it yourself

1. Name the gharana Shambhu Maharaj belonged to, and the person who consolidated it.
   Hint: Hint: the gharana is named after a city; the consolidator was his uncle and teacher.
2. In which year did Shambhu Maharaj make his debut, and where?
   Hint: Hint: Lucknow, at a national music conference, in the 1920s.
3. What is Guru-Shishya Parampara, and how did Kedar Nath Sahu learn Chhau?
   Hint: Hint: think oral transmission, and who his first teachers were.
4. Name two students of Kedar Nath Sahu.
   Hint: Hint: one name begins with Sh, one with G, one is a foreign student.
5. List the four personalities the chapter gives you to research for Activity 13.1.
   Hint: Hint: two are women dancers, one is a Kathak name, one a Yakshagana name — but just list the four names.

Questions with Answers

1. Who was Shambhu Maharaj, and what was he famous for?
   Shambhu Maharaj was a scion of the Lucknow Gharana of Kathak, from a family of traditional dancers at the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh. He trained under his uncle Binda Deen, established the Lucknow repertoire with his elder brother Acchan Maharaj after independence, and was famous for abhinaya and bhav batana, and for the court style of sitting and enacting a piece.
2. Trace Shambhu Maharaj’s career in four steps.
   First, debut at Lucknow in 1926 at the All India Music Conference. Second, performances as a soloist and with his brothers Acchan and Lacchu Maharaj. Third, moving to Delhi in 1955 and teaching at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra. Fourth, teaching his nephew Birju Maharaj and many famous dancers; his sons Ram Mohan and Kishan Mohan also became accomplished dancers and gurus. His honours: Padma Shri 1958 and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 1967.
3. Who was Kedar Nath Sahu, and how did he learn Chhau?
   Kedar Nath Sahu was a leading exponent of Seraikella Chhau. He came from a traditional Kanasari family whose occupation was making household utensils, and he learnt Chhau from his father and grandfather through the Guru-Shishya Parampara — oral, teacher-to-student transmission.
4. How did Kedar Nath Sahu’s career develop, and what honours did he receive?
   He performed in the troupe of Kumar Bijoy Pratap Singh Deo and later formed his own troupe, taking his disciples with him. His students included Shashadhar Acharya, Gopal Prasad Dubey and Sharon Lowen. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1981 and the Padma Shri in 2005, and won acclaim in India and across the world.
5. What does Activity 13.1 ask you to do?
   Research and write about one personality from the chapter’s list — Balasaraswati, Pandit Hazarilal, Keermane Shivaram Hedge or Gulabo Sapera — and present it as a class project. The chapter names them but does not give their life stories, so the facts must come from your own research, with sources noted.

Extension Questions — for deeper understanding

1. Why does the chapter call Shambhu Maharaj a “scion” of the Lucknow Gharana? What does that word tell you about how gharanas work?
   A scion is a descendant or heir of a family. The word fits because Kathak in the Lucknow Gharana passed within a family: father Kalka Prasad, uncle Binda Deen who consolidated the style, Shambhu Maharaj who carried it forward, and then his sons and nephew. A gharana is thus both a style and a lineage.
2. Compare how the two masters learnt: Shambhu Maharaj under Binda Deen, Kedar Nath Sahu from father and grandfather. What is common?
   Both learnt directly, personally and over years from a senior practitioner — not from a textbook. That direct, oral, lived transmission is exactly the Guru-Shishya Parampara, whether the teacher is an uncle-guru in a court lineage or a father and grandfather in a community tradition.
3. Why might a tradition die if there are no students willing to learn it?
   Because in the Guru-Shishya Parampara the knowledge lives in people’s bodies and memories. If no student learns it, there is nobody left to perform or teach it — the chain breaks. This is why both masters’ teaching work mattered as much as their performing.
4. Shambhu Maharaj moved to Delhi in 1955 and taught at an institution. Why is institutional teaching a new chapter for a court tradition?
   Court traditions were once tied to a royal court. Moving to Delhi and teaching at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra carried the Lucknow Gharana to a public, institutional setting after independence — so it could reach students beyond the old court circle.
5. What should a good class project on a dance personality contain?
   The artist’s life dates and place, art form and lineage, teachers, what they are known for, honours, and the sources of each fact — plus your own presentation (talk, poster or journal). A project that only copies a paragraph, or invents facts, is not research.
6. The chapter shows Seraikella Chhau masks. Why are masks important enough to picture in a chapter about personalities?
   Because in Seraikella Chhau the mask is part of the artist’s identity on stage — the performer becomes the character through it. Picturing the masks reminds you that Kedar Nath Sahu’s art was not only movement but also this visual, crafted tradition.

How to use this page: Read the summary, say the Key Terms in your own words, then try the practice set without looking. Check your answers against Questions with Answers, and ask your teacher or parent to check your work.