Lucknow Gharana (Kathak)

लखनऊ घराना (कथक)

Kathak of the Awadh court, danced to thumri and told through gesture

Dance Gharana Lucknow Late 19th century

Founded By

Bindadin Maharaj, Kalka Prasad

The Lucknow gharana is a school of Kathak dance that took its court form in Lucknow in the mid-19th century, under the patronage of Wajid Ali Shah, nawab of Awadh. It is also called the Kalka-Bindadin gharana, after the brothers Bindadin Maharaj and Kalka Prasad. The school is known for bhav, feeling shown through gesture, and for dancing to thumri.

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Origins & History

Family tradition, as Birju Maharaj's institution Kalashram publishes it, traces the line to Ishwari Prasad, a Brahmin of Handia near Allahabad, whom Krishna told in a dream to re-establish Kathak. Birju Maharaj told Katarzyna Skiba that his ancestors came from Kichikila village near Allahabad. The family account runs from Ishwari through his son Adguji and grandson Prakash to Prakash's sons Durga Prasad, Thakur Prasad and Maan Prasad.

Wajid Ali Shah danced, as he wrote himself, and coined the word rahas for staged Krishna-Radha performances at his court. Thakur Prasad is named as his dance teacher, although the king's own writings name neither his master nor kathak. The family account makes Durga Prasad the father of Bindadin and Kalka Prasad, while a 2026 biography of the nawab by Kaukub Quder and Sajjad Ali Meerza calls them sons of Thakur Prasad. Margaret Walker, as Skiba reports, found that the nawab's court dancers went by the name Bhagats, with no mention of kathaks or of these ancestors. The British deposed Wajid Ali Shah in 1856 and exiled him to Metiabruz in Calcutta.

City names for Kathak styles came later. Sunil Kothari dates the decision to classify them by region to a meeting around 1895, after which this family's style was called the Lucknow gharana.

"primarily elaborate lyrical compositions (thumri and ghazal), improvising on their content"

— Katarzyna Skiba

Cultural Geography of Kathak Dance: Streams of Tradition and Global Flows, Cracow Indological Studies 18 (2016), p. 66

Chronologie historique

1856

Wajid Ali Shah is deposed

The British depose Wajid Ali Shah, under whom the Lucknow style took its court form, and exile him to Metiabruz in Calcutta, where he lives until 1887.
c. 1895

Styles named by region

Sunil Kothari dates to a meeting around 1895 the decision to classify Kathak styles by region. The Kalka-Bindadin family's style becomes the Lucknow gharana.
Mid-1930s

Delhi institutions recruit teachers

Nirmala Joshi's institutions in Delhi begin to recruit hereditary Kathak teachers, and authority over the dance starts to move from Lucknow and Jaipur to the capital.
1938

Birju Maharaj is born

Birju Maharaj is born in Lucknow on 4 February 1938, the son of Achhan Maharaj. After his father's death he trains with his uncles.
1955

Shambhu Maharaj moves to Delhi

At Nirmala Joshi's invitation, Shambhu Maharaj moves to Delhi to teach at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra. He dies in Delhi in 1970.
1972

Kathak Kendra founded in Lucknow

The Uttar Pradesh government's Kathak Kendra opens in Lucknow, with Lachhu Maharaj as founder director, to teach the traditional Lucknow repertoire.
1998

Kalashram founded

Birju Maharaj founds Kalashram in Delhi after his years heading the Kathak Kendra, where he popularised group choreography.
2022

Death of Birju Maharaj

Birju Maharaj dies in Delhi in January 2022, aged 83. Margaret Walker had called him the leading authority of the Lucknow style.

Lineage & Legacy

The guru-shishya tradition passed down through generations

The Lucknow line passed within one family, from father to son and from uncle to nephew. Bindadin Maharaj taught his nephews, the sons of Kalka Prasad: Achhan, Lachhu and Shambhu Maharaj. Achhan's son Birju Maharaj learned first from his father and, after his father's death when the boy was about eight or nine, from both uncles. Skiba reports that Shambhu danced in a sharper style and Lachhu in a softer one, and that Birju Maharaj took more from Lachhu.

Family tradition

Ishwari Prasad

First figure in family tradition

A Brahmin of Handia near Allahabad, whom Krishna told in a dream to re-establish Kathak, in the family account Kalashram publishes. The story is held as family tradition.
Guru-Shishya Tradition

The court generation

Thakur Prasad

19th century

Dance teacher to Wajid Ali Shah

Named as the nawab's dance teacher. The family account makes him uncle of Bindadin and Kalka Prasad; the nawab's 2026 biographers call him their father.

Durga Prasad

19th century

Father of Bindadin and Kalka Prasad in the family account

Son of Prakash and brother of Thakur Prasad in the family genealogy, which gives him three sons: Bindadin, Kalka Prasad and Bhairon Prasad.
Guru-Shishya Tradition

Kalka and Bindadin

Bindadin Maharaj

19th century

Dancer and composer

Credited as co-founder of the Kalka-Bindadin line; the Lucknow Observer gives his dates as 1830 to 1918. Ashish Mohan Khokar credits him with over 150 thumris, and he taught his nephews, Shambhu and Lachhu Maharaj among them.

Kalka Prasad

19th century

Dancer

Younger brother of Bindadin Maharaj and credited as co-founder of the Kalka-Bindadin line. His sons Achhan, Lachhu and Shambhu Maharaj carried it into the 20th century.
Guru-Shishya Tradition

Kalka Prasad's sons

Achhan Maharaj

Dancer and teacher

Son of Kalka Prasad and father and first teacher of Birju Maharaj. Sunil Kothari describes his graceful dancing as the essence of the Lucknow gharana.

Lachhu Maharaj

1901-1978

Dancer and choreographer

Trained for about ten years under his uncle Bindadin. He choreographed for the films Mahal, Mughal-e-Azam and Pakeezah, and was founder director of the Kathak Kendra in Lucknow.

Shambhu Maharaj

Died 1970

Dancer and teacher

Learned from his uncle Bindadin, by his own account. He moved to Delhi in 1955 at Nirmala Joshi's invitation and taught at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra.
Guru-Shishya Tradition

Achhan Maharaj's son

Birju Maharaj

1938-2022

Dancer, teacher and choreographer

Born in Lucknow on 4 February 1938, son of Achhan Maharaj. He headed the Kathak Kendra in Delhi, widened the dance's themes, and founded Kalashram in 1998.

The gharana system is rooted in the guru-shishya (teacher-disciple) tradition, where musical knowledge and style are passed down through direct apprenticeship over three or more generations.

Key exponents

  • Thakur Prasad, 19th century, named as Wajid Ali Shah's dance teacher
  • Durga Prasad, 19th century, father of Bindadin and Kalka Prasad in the family account
  • Bindadin Maharaj, 1830-1918 by the Lucknow Observer's account, co-founder of the Kalka-Bindadin line
  • Kalka Prasad, 19th century, co-founder of the Kalka-Bindadin line
  • Achhan Maharaj, son of Kalka Prasad, father and teacher of Birju Maharaj
  • Lachhu Maharaj, 1901-1978, founder director of the Kathak Kendra in Lucknow
  • Shambhu Maharaj, died 1970, taught in Delhi from 1955
  • Birju Maharaj, 1938-2022, founder of Kalashram

Caractéristiques musicales

Distinctive style, techniques, and aesthetic philosophy

Overall Style

Skiba finds that Lucknow masters give more weight to bhav, feeling shown through gesture and mime, while Jaipur dancers stress speed and footwork. Lucknow dancing is often slower and lighter on footwork display. Writers describe it with the Urdu words nazakat, delicacy, and khubsurati, beauty, qualities tied to the culture of the Lucknow court. The costume follows Mughal court dress, the angarkha over churidar trousers.

Bhav first

Feeling, shown through gesture and mime, carries a Lucknow performance. Khokar writes that Shambhu Maharaj gave utmost importance to bhava, and the CBSE's Class XII Kathak marking scheme names expressive abhinaya.

Dancing the thumri

Dancers elaborate thumri and ghazal and improvise on the meaning of the song. Thumri became a large part of Kathak repertoire under Wajid Ali Shah.

Nazakat

Delicacy and beauty, nazakat and khubsurati, are the qualities writers tie to Lucknow court culture. Kothari calls Lachhu Maharaj's style graceful and delicate.

The angarkha

The costume follows Mughal court dress, drawing on Muslim and Persian garments: the angarkha, a long fitted coat, worn over churidar trousers.

Signature Repertoire

Thumri, with ghazal, is central to the Lucknow repertoire. Purnima Shah traces the practice to 18th- and 19th-century Lucknow, where kathak dancers and courtesans sang thumri for connoisseur audiences and improvised on its text. Bindadin Maharaj composed for the line, and Ashish Mohan Khokar credits him with over 150 thumris. The thumri side of this history is on the Lucknow thumri gharana page. In Lucknow today the Kathak Kendra and Bhatkhande Music University teach this traditional repertoire.

Compare with Similar Gharanas

Understand how Lucknow Gharana (Kathak) differs from other traditions

Select a Gharana to Compare:

Lucknow Gharana (Kathak)
(Current)		 Jaipur Gharana (Kathak)
(Comparing)
Type Dance Dance
Origine Lucknow Jaipur, Rajasthan
Era Late 19th century
Style Skiba finds that Lucknow masters give more weight to bhav, feeling shown through gesture and mime, while Jaipur dancers stress speed and footwork. Lucknow dancing is often slower and lighter on footwork display. Writers describe it with the Urdu words nazakat, delicacy, and khubsurati, beauty, qualities tied to the culture of the Lucknow court. The costume follows Mughal court dress, the angarkha over churidar trousers. Jaipur dancers put their weight on nritta, pure dance, while Lucknow dancers are known for grace and expressive abhinaya. Jaipur dancers are known for strong footwork called tatkar, complex rhythmic patterns, and an emphasis on layakari, the play of rhythm, and on pakhawaj compositions. The repertoire is devotional, drawing on Krishna and on Shiva's tandava.
View Jaipur Gharana (Kathak) Details

Influence & Legacy

In the 1950s hereditary dancers moved to New Delhi, where the Lucknow gharana came to dominate the stage with Birju Maharaj as its leading master. Skiba notes that the Delhi institutions have since drawn the gharanas closer, and many students now train in both the Lucknow and Jaipur styles. Lachhu Maharaj took the style into film. Aneesh Pradhan, a tabla player and historian, links Kathak's popularity in Lucknow to the open, or khula, style of the city's tabla gharana.

Sources

  1. Katarzyna Skiba, Cultural Geography of Kathak Dance: Streams of Tradition and Global Flows, Cracow Indological Studies 18 (2016)
  2. Margaret Walker, Revival and Reinvention in India's Kathak Dance, MUSICultures 37 (2010)
  3. Purnima Shah, Performance of Thumri in Kathak Dance, Asian Theatre Journal 40 (2023)
  4. Ashish Mohan Khokar, Shambhu Maharaj, Sahapedia (n.d.)
  5. Sunil Kothari, Early memories of encounters with Birju Maharaj, Narthaki (2020)
  6. Kaukub Quder and Sajjad Ali Meerza, Wajid Ali Shah: A Cultural and Literary Legacy (2026)

Questions fréquentes

What is the Lucknow gharana of Kathak?

The Lucknow gharana is a school of Kathak that took its court form in Lucknow in the mid-19th century under Wajid Ali Shah. Also called the Kalka-Bindadin gharana, it puts its weight on bhav, feeling shown through gesture, and on dancing to thumri and ghazal. Skiba counts it among Kathak's three main gharanas.

Who founded the Lucknow gharana of Kathak?

The brothers Bindadin Maharaj and Kalka Prasad are credited as co-founders of the Lucknow gharana in its present form, which is why it is also called the Kalka-Bindadin gharana. Family tradition goes further back, to Ishwari Prasad of Handia, whom Krishna is said to have told in a dream to re-establish Kathak.

Which dancers belong to the Lucknow gharana of Kathak today?

The family line ran to Birju Maharaj (1938 to 2022), son of Achhan Maharaj, who led the Lucknow style in Delhi and founded Kalashram there in 1998. In Lucknow itself, Skiba records the Kathak Kendra, founded in 1972, and Bhatkhande Music University teaching the traditional repertoire, thumri and ghazal included.

How does the Lucknow gharana of Kathak differ from the Jaipur gharana?

Lucknow dancers put more weight on bhav, feeling shown through gesture and mime, while Jaipur dancers stress technical precision, speed and footwork. Lucknow dancing is often slower, with thumri and ghazal at its centre. Some Lucknow artists credit Jaipur influence for the growth of complex footwork and spins in their own gharana.

Why is it called the Kalka-Bindadin gharana?

The name honours the brothers Kalka Prasad and Bindadin Maharaj, credited as co-founders of the Lucknow gharana in its present form. Kalka Prasad's three sons, Achhan, Lachhu and Shambhu Maharaj, carried the line into the 20th century, and Bindadin taught his nephews.

What role did Wajid Ali Shah play in Lucknow Kathak?

Wajid Ali Shah, nawab of Awadh until 1856, was the patron under whom the Lucknow style took its refined court form. He danced, as he wrote himself, and coined the word rahas for staged Krishna-Radha performances. Margaret Walker found that his court dancers went by the name Bhagats, and his books do not mention kathaks.

Is the Lucknow Kathak gharana the same as the Lucknow tabla gharana?

No. The Lucknow Kathak gharana is a dance school, and the Lucknow tabla gharana is a drumming school of the same city. The two are linked: Aneesh Pradhan suggests that Kathak's popularity in Lucknow may mark the start of the open, or khula, style of the city's tabla.

Which gharana did Birju Maharaj belong to?

Birju Maharaj belonged to the Lucknow gharana of Kathak. He was the son of Achhan Maharaj and the grandson of Kalka Prasad, and he trained with his father and his uncles Lachhu and Shambhu Maharaj. In 2010 Margaret Walker called him the current authority of the Lucknow style.

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