Ragini Maharaj is a Kathak dancer who feels that even if we don’t like any form of art, we should respect its presence and not disrespect the ones following that path.

Ragini Maharaj is the granddaughter of Padma Vibhushan Birju Maharaj and a prolific Kathak dancer herself. She belongs to Lucknow Kathak Gharana.

Ragini did her schooling from The Banyan Tree School, New Delhi. She then pursued her graduation in Sociology from Sri Venkateswara College. She is about to finish her Masters from IGNOU in Social Work.

She was raised in New Delhi. Ragini says that her grandfather was from Lucknow and her grandmother from Varanasi and hence she was raised in a mix of cultures and influences.

Ragini shares that she has been performing Kathak for the past twenty years now. She remembers her first performance as ‘Lord Krishna’ when she was studying in 3rd standard. She remembers that during the performance she tripped on her Dhoti but did not lose her calm and exited gracefully. She still gets to hear praises from people about that incident.

Ragini shares that her learning of Kathak started under her aunt, Vidushi Mamta Maharaj. Her grace in postures and forms always inspired Ragini. She says that her family is full of classical dance veterans and she gets to learn from each one of them.

Ragini says that before Covid, she used to perform almost on a daily basis, in India and abroad. However, after restrictions were imposed, she shifted to online mode and is teaching Kathak online.

Ragini says that struggles are a part of everyone’s life. Being from a known family has its own struggles. People expect too much from such a kid and it is sometimes hard to match these expectations. Easy access to things does not mean that a person has not struggled or faced challenges is what Ragini feels.

Ragini says that there is so much to achieve in her life yet. However, she mentions that sharing the stage in a show in San Francisco with Ustad Zakir Hussain, Vidushi Saswati Sen, her grandfather Pandit Birju Maharaj, and aunt Vidushi Mamta Maharaj was a big achievement for her.

Ragini says that there are many people she takes inspiration from. In her school days, she used to admire Vishal Krishna, grandson of Kathak Queen Sitara Devi, and also performed many do-its with him.

Ragini opines that Education and Experience should strike an equal balance with one another. She says that both are necessary for life and cannot be neglected.

If given a Time Machine she would like to go back in time to see the likes of Pandit Durga Lal, Natraj Gopi Kishan, and Begum Akhtar perform and take guidance from them.

Ragini welcomes and wants to thank people who are aspiring to join the Indian Classical world, not only in Dance but in every field that falls under this. She says that half-knowledge takes no one anywhere and hence proper knowledge is a must.

In her free time, Ragini likes to do painting and even posts some on her Instagram page.