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 e-mail: khokar1960@gmail.com India dances!September 29, 2025 As I traverse time and space, in different cities of India, I see a renewed energy: The old and the young want to dance. Old ones more so! They have much to share and realise the light is dimming - if not fading - and they must make the most of it. Young ones are raring to go. Almost, too much of a hurry. They want to achieve in 3 years what seniors did in 30. They are in a hurry with a serious worry. Parents are pushy. They want their wards to become stars overnight. It is indeed a time of quantity over quality. That's why my search is for that spark, that lil star shining far away in some small town, with no means to reach the big scene. I go to Mangalore or Murshidabad; Patiala or Pataliputra in search of that gem lying hidden, unseen. The serious worry for the young who take to dance professionally is, earning from dance. With competition from many sources of entertainment and the new digital media, where does a classical dancer go? That too, a male dancer, without deep pockets, godfathers or mothers. No fund, no scholarship, no real support systems. Teaching is the only source of income to barely pay rent and survive, especially those away from home. Rents in metro India are sky high. There is no hostel for dancers. Why? 75 years after independence, dining out of our dance, music identity at global level, what has society and corporate industry done for dance? One AGM dinner costs lakhs. My dance books lie unsold. Dancers lie unsung. Only ten percent succeed and get awards or rewards; grants or monies. The rest? Govt. has done what it could, grants, scholarships and more. How many Indians pay income tax? Check Google, then talk or blame any government for all ills. Only under 3% pay income tax, that's like 4 million out of one and half billion population! Yes. Get real. Government has to build roads, hospitals, educate, export, import, run rail, postal services, employ, defence or dance? Of course there are gangs and groups in institutional operation but arts field is not alone. We Indians are like that only. That's our culture: no team work, one upmanship, total corruption of mind (not just in money matters) then add that most think are born greats, if not brahmagyaani. Ordinary sponsors don't find classical dance really interesting. Period. They would rather do a food show or fashion show than some ancient dance drivel no one understands and everyone pretends to like. Newspapers (what's that? In this age of insta-n-t gratification?) have stopped carrying reviews since long (so there's no telling what's copper from gold; diamond from zircon), and those few who still platform dance either take return gifts (the Sari gang!) or taxi and dinner money (under the table). All they do are personality driven or soft PR pieces and most TV channels are palming off gymnastic as dance.  Aman Nath There's only one serious corporate sponsor in North India (south has some, Sabhas and support systems) - the NEEMRANA group - that has regular every Saturday show in tolerable months of heat and dust of North India (read Rajasthan) in September to April. That 50 or so (Saturdays in a year) hand picked from 5000 wannabe dancers get bhog hospitality and a first rate fetch-drop from Delhi to dance on a fine stage to high end audience, plus stay in a specially created dance room, is unheard of in India. Aman Nath and CEO Sonavi Kaicker of the Neemrana team be praised for it. Could others follow? In Mumbai or Kolkata (Chennai and Bangalore have some) or in rich two tier cities like Chandigarh, Coimbatore or Jaipur? Govt. bodies are doing govt work. Period. Whatever is priority for that season or reason, these need to deliver. If they don't, then a replacement can easily be found. In all this jungle mein mangal, who are the new sparks of professional talents? Who are capable of taking their art, given by their gurus, forward? Who are these very few in India, who will do India that is Bharat proud? I'm talking of under 50 plus minus…or under 60, thereof. Here's my list:  Madhulita Mohapatra and team in Draupadi Madhulita Mohapatra of Bangalore is a first rate dancer, organiser, trainer and more. In ten, twelve years in a new city where there was hardly any Odissi - except in a jungle setting where a few girls danced well - she set up shop in a fast growing city and made Odissi happening. Hundreds of students, each well trained and groomed. A delight to watch and her annual festival, a good platform for locals and dancers from outside. Her recent work on Draupadi, helmed by poet, critic Kedar Mishra was first rate. One hasn't seen this kind of group Odissi even in Odisha, which seems to be running after speed on steroids! Rama Vaidyanathan (not in the above age group though but the only one) in Delhi - a first-rate teacher for Bharatanatyam; best fest Shivaarghya (Shiva ghar aya!) for young, upcoming male talents and then once-a-year presenting a top star of the form in a big hall. Her whole family is involved with dance. Daughters, husband and a fine institution left by saasuma Saroja Vaidyanathan - The Ganesa Natyalaya.  Rama Vaidyanathan  Jigyasa Giri Then in South, there's Jigyasa Giri in Kathak in Chennai, of all the places. No point taking coals to Newcastle or rasam to sambar land. So let's leave Bharatanatyam out because the city has mostly BN on offer, some Kuchipudi. No Odissi. No modern. No Chhau. No Manipuri. She is the lone Kathak senior in Chennai for last 20 years, building a base and adding to the growing class of non-Tamil learners of a non-South Indian form. Bengal's famous grouse was that it never had a classical form of its own and for long wanted to hold copyright over Jayadeva because the similar sounding river existed in both the states, Odisha and Bhesht Bhengol by which the poet was born and lived (Kenduli Ajay river/ Prachi). Precisely because it did not have a classical style of its own (precisely why one committed Valmiki Banerjee tried hard to foster his Rabindra Natyam but failed to get recognition for it), it was free of baggage of a bani and gharanas of other traditional styles, so it could create anew - the Uday Shankar style contemporary dance and today Kolkata is breeding ground for maximum dancers in that style, even if there are no clear definitions as Dada Uday Shankar himself didn't want. His was a response to his times, a CONTEMPORARY approach to all the then nationalistic movement. After all, don't forget Kolkata was the first capital of India under British hegemony. When a Delhi Bharatanatyam senior Rashmi Singh then decided to do songs of Tagore in a cameo form of short items, it was both a novelty and fresh. Like packing Hilsa in Dosa! Made in a Punjabi clay oven (tandoor), Bhanusinger's Padavali expressed the tale of eternal, inspiring, and inimitable love between Radha and Krishna. It is a series of more than 20 songs written by Rabindranath Tagore when he was just 16 years old. He had dedicated it to Kadambari Devi, his sister-in-law (older brother's wife) with whom he shared a very deep relationship. These compositions were also a result of his early acquaintance with old Vaishnav poems.  Janvi Chouhan, Sanjana Kumar, Arushi Bahl, Hiya Agarwal, Ganya Arora, Tanvi Berry Bhanusinger's Padavali is a lesser known and less performed concept, especially in Delhi. Chief Guest Malavika Joshi being an educator, theatre, stage artiste of note, immediately spotted the theme and its leitmotif. Acharya Rashmi Singh Khanna used the post-monsoon season to showcase her students in this. Not Tagore's birthday on 9th May, when the whole world suddenly remembers the world famous poet, a Nobel laureate no less. She picked six songs, one for each student, by loosely weaving Radha in different stages of love. Starting with Aju Sakhi, performed by a winsome Arushi Bahl, onto Sundari Radhey by Janvi Chouhan - the Radha who dresses up for Krishna and awaits their union, to Bharaabaadar performed by charming Sanjana Kumar as the Virahotkanthita Nayika, who is dejected by his absence, to Saawan Gagane performed by Tanvi Berry as the Radha heartbroken and pining for Krishna, unable to meet him in the stormy dark night, to Sajani Sajani, which had a lilting grace to it performed by an able Ganya Arora as the Radha who finally is united with Krishna. In Gehen Kusum performed by stable Hiya Agarwal, Radha is rejoicing after meeting Krishna. On the whole each danced well and held well together as a team. Each seemed to enjoy themselves fully and that was the best part of this interpolation. The songs were short in terms of lyrics and music composition and kept clean to keep the uninitiated audiences interested. The mostly Punjabi audience perhaps knew more about Sharmila Tagore than Robin da! but it was a wholesome evening of bright talents and team work.  Rohan Bhutaiya, Rashmi Singh Khanna, Rahul Varshney and Proma Mukherjee From Bengal lots of good male dancers are coming out: Washim Raja, Nilava Sen, Sourov Roy. Samudra the group of contemporary dancers from Kerala. In Delhi, young upcoming bright lights are Rahul Varshney in Odissi, Ravi Yadav in Kathak. He opened the NEEMRANA season this year and was a hit. Indore's Harshita Sharma Dadheech opened the Tijara Season in their grand new Hathi Mahal/Convention Hall and was celebrated. In Baroda - Surat there's Rohan Bhutaiya, who has lachak despite his 6 foot frame. Ahmedabad has Rupanshi Thakkar, who continues to run Kumudini Lakhia's Kadamb. This is not to single anyone out but to single the long distance talent from the herd. Bangalore today is the dance capital of India, as ALL classical forms abound here and modern too. All the eight established classical forms are there plus Yakshagana (why it hasn't got national status is also because lazy Bangaloreans in central committees never pushed for it or that locals are maha self-sufficient and hardly care for anyone's opinion!), and then the best in modern. No other city can boast of that today. Mumbai had long ago, but the best is over, almost. Bollywood has taken over and then the TV.  Ravi Yadav  Ajeesh Menon Kathakali, Yakshagana and melam forms like Kuchipudi, do these traditions proud. Anyone in Mohiniattam? Too many pretty polly but Vaidehi Rele of Nalanda, Mumbai and Madhavi "Regatta" of Thiruvananthapuram is back in form and how. One dancer was seen at Shivaarghya Festival last time and boy! He was something else. His name is Ajeesh Menon. Classical singer by day and a first rate Mohiniattam dancer by night, he is a talent to watch. Modern / contemporary. Well first of all the debate still continues what's what? Any art has a contemporary expression to it, be it in design, film, architecture or dance. In India, very few have really succeeded. There's no real language of modern dance. Each one doing their own and calling it jargon borrowed from the West when not copying from the West. That's not modern Indian dance. Playing for West also is not modern Indian dance. Limited body movements and slide, glide, roll eyes may work within Germany or Portugal, not here. There they want to see Indian, not poorly copied version of passe western stuff. In this jungle, Proma Mukherjee with her unique Uday Shankar style is differently abled! She has an inner soul. There's something extra in her dance. That bend and depth. Anyone else? Vishwakiran Nambi. Just doing duets or merging two styles is not modern. Please don't mix dosa with dhokla: it may work in food, don't spoil two good forms and create a tasteless fusion. Jungle mein Mangal? Aurangabad shows the way. That Odissi student of Madhavi Mudgal from the 1990s who left Delhi for Aurangabad and both benefitted is now running a full fledged dance institution affiliated to a local university and has done consistent work and output. Gawd! A senior moment. Her name is Parwati Dutta. Sharanga-devi I call her because she is an academic and does a festival dedicated to Sharangadeva. Why she hasn't got any national award till date shows the system. Remains of the day? The father of all events took place in IGNCA, celebrating the concluding function of the father figure of Indian dance history - my father too, most respected Mohan Khokar ji. I won't write much on that, let someone else do. I'm FULFILLED that after a long struggle of 40+ years, our family wealth - the (Saroja) Mohan Khokar Dance Collection and Archives - is safe and organised in and by the IGNCA, Delhi, thanks to its head Dr Sachchidanand Joshi and trustees, especially dance icons Dr.Sonal Mansingh, Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam and Dr. Bharat Gupt as a national resource. Posterity might remember this service, I'm just grateful for Saraswati's gift and ashish!  Critic, connoisseur, historian, author, artivist, archivist, administrator and more - editor, columnist and mentor Ashish Khokar remains true to his muse. More on attendance-india.com Response * The first half of the article lucidly delienates what's bogging the classical Indian dance forms in recent times. Indeed, innumerable classical dance rasikas spread across the country and beyond would wish to encourage, patronise, and help spread the divine art form. However, the endeavour in this direction is not succeeding in gaining desirous traction is evident. Self sustainance for wannabe dancers to carve out a niche is exhaustive and unreliable. Of course, the government can do only that much. Can an efficient, acceptable, workable, and encompassing ecosystem for the dance forms be created? If Khokarji's messainic zeal could be supported by like-minded patrons such an envisaged ecosystem may fructify. Senior Khokarji has been a bench setter for the classical art forms whose contributions are immeasurable and unquantifiable. The present generation can derive inspiration about the legacy from none other than his able flag bearer Ashish ji. The recent IGNCA event proved how the crusader keeps chugging along despite encountering numerous challenges. There's no dearth of talented exponents of various art forms in India. A self sustaining platform is the need of the hour. Can it fructify sooner than later under the indomitable spirit of Ashishji duly supported by all stakeholders, including the government? Hope it's not wishful introspection. - MV Krishna (Oct 1, 2025) Post your comments Please provide your name and email id when you use the Anonymous/blog profile to post a comment. All appropriate comments posted with name and email id in the blog will also be featured in the site. |
