The Kathak maestro on the ten finest dancers he has known.

Dance has been part of our family for seven generations. The village where we lived was referred to as Kathako Ke Gaon. Two villages even had 'Kathak' incorporated in their name like Kauja Kathakali, Mauja Kathako Ka Purva.

To select the ten top dancers of India is a difficult task. One needs to think about it because it does not just include the ten best dancers of Kathak, but artistes from other dance forms as well. This makes the task even more difficult.

1. Balasaraswati: Hers is the first name that comes to mind. A great exponent of Bharatanatyam, she had natural expression.

2. Kelucharan Mahapatra, The Odissi genius. His expressions are good and natural. His Bhangima is perhaps the best and his depiction of female characters superb.

3. Yamini Krishnamurthy: Technically, she is perhaps the best Bharatanatyam dancer at the moment in India. Her movement of the body is remarkable. Her Ang Sanchalan is very good.

4. Achhan Maharaj, Kathak: My father was a great dancer. He was known as Leh-Ke-Badshah. His wrist movements were wonderful.

5. Lachhu Maharaj: My uncle worked in Indian cinema for 40 years and directed dances in films like Mughal-e-Azam, Pakeezah, Teesri Kasam. He began his career at the New Theatres in Calcutta, but despite a hectic schedule managed to find time to train his disciples in Kathak at home. His expression of being in thought was superb.

6. Shambuji Maharaj: An open hearted person, he was known as the Abhinaya Samarat. He perhaps is the best.

7. Dr Vempati Chinna Satyam, Kuchipudi: I have had the pleasure of working with him for several years, particularly in Russia. His expressions are clean, gatisheel etc.

8. Mani Madhava Chakyar, Kathakali: He had his own style. He could convey his thoughts through expressions. His eye movement was superb.

9. Vedantam Satyanarayana Sarma, Kuchupudi: He dresses up as a woman and acts accordingly. When he dresses up as a woman nobody can say that the dancer is not a woman, but a man. While dancing when he did his hair it would look as if a woman was really combing her hair.

10. Guru Gopinath, Kathakali: He has the ability of evoking the feelings of the audience.

11. Birju Maharaj: I would not say much about myself because it is not good to talk about oneself. But people say my abhinaya of Lord Krishna is still unmatched, and I remind the audience of Krishna. People say I have his traits.

Photographs: Avinash Pasricha

As told to Onkar Singh

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