Amitabh Bachchan to present the Uttam Vag Geykar Award to Birju Maharaj

Leading Kathak exponent Pandit Birju Maharaj will be honoured for his givings to the Indian classical dance form and will be presented the Uttam Vag Geykar Award by none other than the megastar himself, Amitabh Bachchan at the 17th edition of Vasantotsav on Sunday.

The popular Vasantotsav, organised by Ajivasan Music Academy will also see performances by Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and classical musician Ustad Rashid Khan. (Also Read: When Smita Patil had got an intuition about Amitabh Bachchan’s accident on ‘Coolie’ sets)

Speaking of the occasion, Prem Vasant, daughter of Acharya Jialal Vasant (founder of Ajivasan Music Academy), said, “The Uttam Vag-Geykar Award was introduced in 2001 in honour of our Guruji Acharya Jialal Vasant who himself was an epitome of the Uttam Vag-Geykar concept. The award is to acknowledge a performing living legend for his unparallel work in music and is bestowed to him at Vasantotsav every year.”

“With this festival and award we are trying to fulfill our Guruji’s dream of bringing back the pristine glory of Indian Classical music so that the youth in India and world over respect our heritage,” she added.