Soon after the passing of Pandit Birju Maharaj, one of Kathak’s most famous names, on January 17, posts and threads appeared on social media detailing disturbing experiences involving the late exponent and Padma Vibhushan awardee. “Serial sexual harasser Birju Maharaj, whose unchecked predations drove away so many students from Kathak, dies at 83 without being punished or even formally called out by the Indian classical dance community,” wrote one user on Twitter. Posting a picture with Maharaj, Kathak dancer Naina Roychowdhury Green wrote on her Instagram: “Saswati Didi [Saswati Sen; dancer and senior disciple of Maharaj] would cry to me on my bed and tell me stories of how BM [Maharaj] would ask her to find more young Kathak dancers, some of these girls were teenagers, and she would weep as they often disappeared into his bedroom, sometimes two at a time,” adding, “This is a translated secret I swore to keep that I betray uncomfortably. I believe the teller of this story with all of my heart.” She has since shared accounts of other voices describing similar experiences.

(Left to right) Dhrupad stalwart Pt Ramakant Gundecha was accused of rape, and his percussionist brother Akhilesh of sexual abuse; an FIR was filed in Delhi after a Kathak student accused Pt Ravi Shankar Upadhyay of alleged molestation