Lachhu Maharaj’s hall at Bhatkhande set to be renovated

Lucknow: The hall in the Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya (BSV) where kathak exponent Lachhu Maharaj taught kathak for about a decade will be renovated by the end of April.In a bad shape for the last many years, it was from this hall that Maharaj founded the Kathak Kendra in the city.He himself taught at Kathak Kendra from 1972 till his death in 1978.Later, kathak exponents such as Guru Vikram Singh, Damyanti Joshi, Ram Mohan Maharaj, Arjun Maharaj and Kapila Raj also taught classical dance form in the hall. The hall has been lying unused ever since the Kathak Kendra shifted to UP Sangeet Natak Akademi premises in 2000.With each passing day the hall got converted into a scrap dump. Kathak exponent and former pro-vice-chancellor, Bhatkhande Music Institute, Kumkum Dhar said that they got the hall cleaned in 2015 when Shruti Sadolikar was the vice chancellor of the university.BSV vice chancellor Mandavi Singh said that the hall became a scrap house again during the pandemic.Kathak professor Ruchi Khare said the move is overwhelming for the fraternity.