Birju Mohan Nath Mishra, famously known as Birju Maharaj, is the most eminent kathak dancer of recent times. Birju Maharaj was born in 1937 and learn dancing from his father. By the seven, Birju performed kathak in his hometown Lucknow. It was the recital of his life. After the of his father, he was taught by his uncle. Later on, he became a teacher of Sangeet Bharati in Delhi. He composed many dance dramas like ‘GoberdhanLeela’, ‘Maskhan Chori’, ‘ Malti- Madhav’ and ‘Kumar Samava’ and gained extensive fame all over the country.
He receive national award from the Sangeet Natak Academy. In 1986, he was also conferred with the Padma Vibhushanby the government of India. He has also been awarded the ‘Kalidas Samman’, the highest award in the area of fone arts instituted by Madhya Pardesh government. In addition, he is also a recipient of Nehru ‘Fellowship’. Apart from being a kathak dancer, he is an execellent music composer, choregrapher and poet.