About
Shinjini Kulkarni is a Kathak dancer of the Lucknow Gharana, ninth generation of the Kalka-Bindadin lineage and granddaughter of the legendary Kathak maestro Pt. Birju Maharaj. She began training at age five under her grandfather and made her performance debut at eight. She is the Ganda Bandh Shagird of Pt. Jai Kishan Maharaj. She has performed at major classical dance festivals across India and internationally, co-founded the Sai Shinjini Academy, and is a member of the percussion ensemble LayaCurry. She holds a degree in History Honours from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University.
Publications & productions
Jaanisaar
Dance sequence, dir. Muzaffar Ali, dance direction by Pt. Birju Maharaj
Film
Har Har Byomkesh
Kathak-based solo song, composed by Pt. Bickram Ghosh, Bengali film
Film
Festivals & appearances
Khajuraho Dance Festival
Performer
Sankat Mochan Samaroh
Performer
Taj Mahotsava
Performer
Chakradhar Samaroh
Performer
Kalidas Festival
Performer
Kathak Mahotsava
Performer
Sanatkada Festival Lucknow
Performer
Vasant-Utsava
Annual festival
Regular performer
New York Kathak Festival
Performer · 2018
Lineage & training
Pt. Birju Maharaj
Grandfather and primary guru; legendary Kathak maestro of the Kalka-Bindadin lineage, Lucknow Gharana. Began training under him at age 5.
Guru
Vidushi Mamta Maharaj
Foundation training.
Guru
Pt. Jai Kishan Maharaj
Current guru; formally initiated as Ganda Bandh Shagird.
Guru
Recognition
Nritya Shiromani
International Cuttack Dance Festival
2017
Yuva Pratibha Award
Tarana Foundation, New Delhi
2018
Affiliations
LayaCurry
Member - classical percussion ensemble
Ensemble
Sai Shinjini Academy
Co-founder
Institution
Gallery
[Atlas Assessment] A well-credentialed, actively working dancer with real film and screen credits, named awards, and her own content platform aimed at teaching Kathak to children - a distinctive educational angle beyond pure performance. The direct Birju Maharaj lineage is the single strongest credential in this cohort and should be foregrounded in how the profile is positioned.
Shinjini Kulkarni carries a specific, unbroken lineage - ninth generation of the Kalka-Bindadin gharana, trained directly by her grandfather Pt. Birju Maharaj from age five - making her practice a documented continuation of one of Kathak's most significant family traditions, not a stylistic homage to it.