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 e-mail: khokar1960@gmail.com Panchabhutam! Photos: Ashish Khokar March 9, 2024 JGPAC sounds most unlike a dance music place. But it is. A college of performing arts, no less. In Ahmedabad, near Navrangpura area, beyond Gujarat University campus. The college architecture is nothing unusual in the landscape of mushrooming businesses in this city, now resembling a mini Manhattan. I've been visiting Amdavad (as locals call it) for 40 plus years now. It started with Paldi circle for most and ended at Ellis Bridge. There was one hotel those days called Karnavati and one dance institution of national importance - Darpana, initiated by the most gracious lady in dance field I've met in my 60+ conscious years - Mrinalini Sarabhai. What an epitome of goodness, on stage and off stage. She was a close friend of our family. My mother's guru vidwan Muthukumaran Pillai was her guru too. In fact, he went and helped start the first Bharatanatyam classes in that city in 1950s when Darpana was set up. He stayed there 2 years to help Mrinalini Amma find her feet and returned only as food and dusty city of textiles made him sick. As it makes me! Every time I've been to that city, I've fallen ill. 9/10 times. Something's in the air. Last I was there, I caught Covid. Two years I kept safe in the South and even Delhi trips but Gujus are very democratic people who follow no rules. No one wore masks inflight too! One can see it in city traffic and people's way of life. Shouting, talking loudly, laughing, not taking anything seriously except their accounts, stocks and shares; they are the Punjabis of West India.  Bijoy Anand Shivram In all this, to have a quiet, smiling Anand means either he is cultured or he is an artiste. Bijoy is both. There is pleasantness about him and he runs this first performing arts college of Gujarat University, very ably. JG is the abbreviation of John Geevargese, the former Chairman. It was during his tenure that the first college began. PA is performing arts. C for college. Their present Chairman Dr. MP Chandran is a smart and handsome public man. The college is part of a public charitable trust not owned by anyone. It was started by Ahmedabad South Indian Association (ASIA) Charitable Trust which was established in 1965. JG College of Performing Arts began in 2004, the first so, under the umbrella of Gujarat University. The standards in Kathak and BN are good, even if students are few, say two dozen. But one look at them on stage and I realise I'm coming from Baroda where I was born and the standards there of both forms, especially BN is very basic. It has not produced a single national level name, other than khandaani settlers like Rema Shrikant. Kathak, thanks to again a khandaani, the Gangani family, there are some like Preeti Sathe and Durgesh but in BN? Amdavad benefitted from having a Bombay talent Kumudini Jayakar (nee Lakhia; now all of 93+ ) who set serious teaching of Kathak and she produced many national stars like Daksha Sheth, Aditi Mangaldas, Maulik Shah-Ishira Parikh, and now Nilima and Rupanshi Thakkar. So, Bijoy Anand Shivram is the epitome of good grace and culture. Smiling, low key, elegant there's nothing in-the-face about him. The whole floor his dance department is on is full of devotion to dance - the Krishna-Radha in the corner or the Kathakali in his room. He had mounted many productions and done much to add to the city's cultural profile. Of course, with seniors like Dr Uma Anantani being associated for long with the faculty, it helps set standards too. Principal Diana Raval talks theatre and takes me back to NSD days. Rohit Parihar, whom I took in a group on a tour of Sweden 15 years ago is now Kathak guru here. The college itself is 20 years old and now come of age.  Mohan Khokar poster at MSU with Modi sarkar poster  Parul Shah Baroda was a pleasant change, always. Apna ghar hai bhai. Everyone is Ben or Bhai. Even if they don't really mean it! Parul Shah tops the list for sheer tenacity and ability to sustain audience interest over decades by mounting the best dance festival every year. Done in memory of Anjali Mehr, her teacher, it also dovetails with her death anniversary and Parul Ben's birthday. Initially for a decade, yours truly helped her curate and get the best artistes when her reach was not national. After doing UGC e-pathshala papers, she got connected to many operators from Delhi. Now she doesn't need anyone as she has reached out and has enough wings to fly, having been to Chennai a few times and got exposed to high art at NKC (Natya Kala Conference) or other platforms. She loves and lives dance. Period. The surprise this year to see in the festival was one Bengali settled there for sarkari work. Arupa Lahiri, the regional head of IGNCA. She has galvanised the institution's presence there and her art of BN is top class.  Dr.V.Shankar Top class was Shanmukhananda Sabha. God! Them Madrasis have conquered Bombay too, long ago. What team work, what organisation. There are multiple halls from 2700+ seater to 125, each one well-kept and run. When you have a brand that's like 70 years old or more and a Prez like Dr.V.Shankar, how can it be otherwise? From entrance to exit, food to good art, everything is timely, correct and to the point. Its galleries have many greats of music there. Perfection is a state of being, not mind or action alone. Even much after a function, they send pendrive in specially mounted case! Wow, that's real class. SnS. Shanmukhananda and Shankar saar spell class, like his shining shoes. I could see my face in them, they were so squeaky clean.  Guru Kalyanasundaram Pillai & his son Hari Shining guru - I've not come across a more gold of a genuine guru than Guru Kalyanasundaram Pillai of Raja Rajeshwari Nritya Kala Mandir, Matunga in Mumbai. Here's an institution within an institution. Anyone I talk to is all affection for him, old students like seniors Vani Ganapathy or new ones of his able son Hari. Lata Pada drops in from Canada and Malavika Sarukkai from Madras. Mala Agneswaran bursts into a child-like delight when she meets him, as do all others. Is it his personality or pure heart in art?! I feel I'm in a temple visiting his serene classroom, full of history and wall of fame. One feels blessed! Pune is Pune. Academic and understated. Almost poor-looking to other cities I've mentioned above. Most people keep to themselves and don't go out of the way to help but are pucca about their work. They seem a self-contained lot and self-sufficient too. Each to his own. Where there's no unity there is no branding or successful, good outreach. Remember the tale of birds in Panchatantra? A hunter casts his net and catches many. One wise one says if we sit and cry individually we are dead but if we fly collectively we live. Cry or fly. They did. To freedom. They fly with the net to forest where their furry friends, the rat and the rabbits, bite open the net and they are all free.  High table of culture of Delhi Free like a bird in five cities in 15 days in service of dance - that was my month that was. I didn't add the mother of all cities - or father! Delhi. Capital culture or punishment! Each one full of politics and prosperity. Interestingly, having lived there from 1965-2000, Delhi today has least qualified people in dance with most and maximum benefits. If you look at their material and mind of most, they are quite ordinary. But because they live in the capital city with all patronage and babus and ministers around - whom some meet often - they get into committees and class that connects. Even top awards. But Delhi has a heart and hospitality like no other city and most carefree people of India, as all of India, is here. Refugee City. Everyone has made it home. Old Delhi is forgotten and the new rules. It is a city of possibilities. The idea was to reach out and revisit the same cities and see dance history and heritage. If one was the commercial mecca, other was academic. If one was the business end, other was the art end. And political. Each had a unique personality, beat and rhythm and each danced to its own tune. Art was the common link and each was involved with it. India dances on! And with it, we.  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 Responses * Very well and aptly summarised... Following the regions so closely and analysing unbiasedly is hugely evident in the article... - Revathi Srinivasaraghavan (March 13, 2024) * An absolutely delightful read. The Gujarat and Mumbai segments were very interesting to me. A crisp and valuable round up by an impeccably articulate, and profoundly knowledgeable art historian. Very informative & well written. - Jigyasa Giri (March 10, 2024) * Brilliant read! As if penned down by a travelling monk... journeys & experiences ... congratulations Ashish ji. - Dr.Himanshu Srivastava (March 10, 2024) 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. |
