Kathak queen Sitara Devi died in a hospital here Tuesday. She was 94.

"His funeral will be held Thursday morning. We are waiting for her son, who has gone abroad for a show," Rajesh Mishra, son-in-law of 94-year-old dancer, told IANS.

Born in 1920 in Calcutta, Sitara Devi took the themes, poetry and choreography collected by his father in his choreography. She also drew inspiration from the environment around it - if it comes to a city or town.

The characters that surround it came alive in his dancing. "By training, I'm just a 'kathakar' Krishna-lila (stories of Krishna)," the dancer would say.

Kathak, which literally means 'katha', is a narrative drama that unfolded outside the Krishna temples indoor climbing the summit of glory in Muslim courts.

The roots of Sitara Devi were inextricably interwoven with the tradition of 'kathakars', the first Kathak dancers.

Dhannolakshmi She was born as a Brahmin family 'kathakar' Sukhdev Maharaj and elected school and dance through an early marriage, as was the norm of the 1920s.

His father, a Vaishnavite Brahmin scholar and Kathak exponent, sent to a local school where she impressed her teachers and local media with his performance in a drama of dance, "Satyavan Savitri".

When his father found out about it, I'll re-christened Sitara or the star and placed under the care of her older sister for kathak training.

At the time Sitara Devi turned 11, the family moved to Bombay, where he impressed Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore with a recital of three hours.

Tagore offered a shawl and Rs 50 Sitara Devi refused and sought his blessings instead of becoming a great dancer.

Over the next six decades, he became a legend and Kathak was a pioneering force in bringing the genre to Bollywood.

Sitara Devi married director K Asif Mughal-e-Azam fame and then Pratap Barot. She was a vital force that defended the zest and vigor of Indian dance.

She was honored with India Legends Lifetime Achievement Award 2011 for his contribution to the genre of classical dance for over six decades.

In his condolence message, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled his rich contribution to Kathak.