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 e-mail: khokar1960@gmail.com Modern MokshaSeptember 24, 2026 Moksha is the ultimate quest for most evolved souls but in dance how to achieve it? No, I'm not referring to the often concluding item in Odissi repertoire, which is a joke now as all are smiling as if there's no tomorrow! Moksha? They are thinking of momos for dinner or what their mummies have made for dinner post-performance! Minal is both a mummy and moksha seeker and if her Moksha was a quest for a new dance aesthetics in Bharatanatyam then she succeeded admirably at Alliance Francaise, Bangalore. Bringing in an international cast was both a boon and doom because one each student from London (Ritika Srikanth), Boston (Manasi) and 'Frisco (Janaki) showed virtual learning and internationalism in Indian dance and yet a repeat show will not be easy to collect them again, unless someone bank rolls it or sends their private plane to fetch each and drop back. Manasi and Janaki are sisters, besides. Minal Prabhu is the best dressed lady of namma Bengaluru, period. Her taste in saris takes me to my days of working with Pupul Jayakar and Martand Singh, the textile and crafts authorities of India. Thanks to them, I got to know pan Indian weavers, textiles, saris and more. They were the founders of INTACH, which I served as a director 30 years ago and helped save many cultural symbols and monuments like Opera House in Mumbai (our chapter did!); Lingaraj Temple complex cleared of all shops by local chapter under Dr.Rath, architect AGK Menon; Rachol Seminary restored in Goa: something in Andamans and the Police HQ opposite the Lighthouse in Marina Beach, Chennai. The list is endless. Kolkata (Victoria Hall restoration), Cochin (Jew Town plan and Mattancherry Palace restoration), Amritsar (Post Operation Blue Star restoration). I had Bharat Darshan. Till one day when I took an appointment to meet father - my father? Yes, we had to take appointment from him to meet even at home! From one room to another! This taught protocol, discipline, manners; add patience and tolerance like that. He said: hmmm, you are very busy saving cultural properties and monuments all over India, what about the one at home? Meaning his dance collection. I left the high flying world of Maharajas and more in Delhi; the high end embassy parties and all fun and games Delhi dancers played and at peak of my career - 40 - I left and took vanaprastham! As a child, or college going youth, I had read Samskara by U.R. Ananthamurthy and later Vanaprastham and these two stayed with me. That I came to live in Bangalore at 40 was like a dream come true. That's because my unplanned Arangetram / debut had taken place in Mysore Palace in 1966, when I was 6 and could not wait in the wings while my illustrious star-dancer mother performed! In my chaddis, I just joined her on the royal stage and she was caught unawares! She swiftly told her musicians to play Krishna Nee Begane Baro and thus adroitly included me in the show. The date: first of April. All fools day! She saved me from making a bigger fool of my meagre talents! An American was making a film on Mysore then and later sent this memorable photo!  At 40, I with bag and a very kind, adjusting biwi (she knew swalpa adjust maadi - the byword of Bangalore from a previous birth it'd seem) we left the high life of capital punishment (Delhi) and came to serve the cause of dance history and serve my parents in a village outside Chennai, restoring my father's belief that God existed and helped him streamline and help him organise his lifetime work. Alas, his life was cut short due to lymph cancer and he was gone in a year of my shifting from Delhi to South. Why I bring up all this is to explain PROCESS of culture. It's not ALWAYS about events and shows. It's deeper and more consuming. Real work takes time. Between two Khokars, we have saved direct dance history with proof. 50 best years of my life went in this public service. Like Minal's 50 years in dance. Deep and dignified. An alumnus of the famed Kalakshetra, she has kept a low profile and created a pool of productions and populace of students who represent her stamp of high quality work like this Moksha. The production aims to embark on a journey of storytelling through Moksha Patha or the path of liberation, depicted through the timeless Indian game of Snakes and Ladders, or Moksha Patam.  Moksha "A game that seems simple on the surface, but carries within it a rather profound reflection of life. We climb. We fall. We continue to roll the dice, take the next step, and move forward. Some ladders carry us swiftly upward. Some snakes bring us crashing down. And sometimes, what appears to be a setback is simply another turn in the journey. Through this volatile journey, Krishna is our constant. When Krishna is the guiding force, when we place our faith in Him, and when we learn to surrender to Him, even the greatest obstacles can become part of the path toward liberation or Moksha," say the programme notes. Moksha Patha takes this familiar metaphor and journeys through the lives and stories of Krishna, his devotees, enemies, and those who encounter him and surrender to him, through its snakes and ladders, its stories and silences, its moments of struggle and celebration, and perhaps, somewhere along the way, to recognize a little of your own journey within it. This production has been choreographed by Aditi Saralaya, Janaki Raghunath, Manasi Raghunath and Ritika Srikanth, under the guidance of Guru Minal Prabhu. The production was first rate, tight and composed by Balasubramanya Sharma with lyrics and jathis written by Pradesh Achar and Prasanna Kumar respectively. Music credits include Balasubramanya Sharma on vocals, G Gurumurthy on mridangam, Pradesh Achar on violin, Prasanna Kumar on nattuvangam and rhythm pads, and Jayaram on flute.  Moksha to modern dance! Going to India's first screen dance festival - LSD! - Luru Screen Dance Festival was inspiring. Here's Nambi, the tambi as I call him, and in a decade he has grown into a huge international talent in modern dance from India. The idea was to start CONVERSATIONS (the pet jargon word these days!) in dance for the camera. 37 countries sent their entries, the selection was rather random as was the unknown jury but being the first attempt, it will settle down to more professional in content and approach, hopefully. The Italian band "I come from the Forties " by Michele De Buono should have stayed in the Forties! The singing was more screaming than singing. Next, a work from Czech which had no ray of hope in a singer called Ray Harty. Farty it sounded! Directed by Jiri Distal, "Just walk" the title should have been taken seriously by the makers and they should have just walked! It was not fit for a school competition, leave alone a metro India one with 16 million.  Vishwakiran Nambi Vishwakiran Nambi has to be clear what he wants to do. Music films or dance. While music makes dance, in film on dance don't mix faltu folks singing or TRYING to sing! The Spanish group had gravitas and style. Directed by Jaime Dezcallar of most beautifully, arrogant looking dames who think sexy moves is dance! Flamenco's journey to club house culture. Well made on location in Aranjuez (my all time favourite in music is Concerto de Aranjuez!), the production collapsed many times but the film is beautiful. That it won the best music video was a good choice.  Suchitra Film Society Western modern dance often is about BODY. Indian is about spirit. Seeing the Swiss suffer and throw their bodies here and there in The Dust of my Concrete Child - portrait 6, Risk and Balance by Lino Eckenstein was challenging but the part 2 was plain pain and torture. Nothing art or meaningful about it. One wondered where was ART in it. Only angst. And how these two win the Best Cinematography and Best Choreography awards? Who was on Jury, that missed the real best offering Ancestral Shadows that had story, good dancers, choreography and drama? Directed by Wilma Casal of USA, this was a clear screen dance winner. Nambi tambi has to be careful if there’s any Western influences or possible funding for the festival. He should develop his own INDIAN language. Period. His Kitchen was good but what was MODERN about it? Doing Bharatanatyam in kitchen looks fun but contrived. No one blows air in a kitchen wood fire with nails all polished and full costume on. Think. Just don't dance to look pretty for the camera. Having said all of the above, I'm still all for the IDEA of this Conversations. India needs it.  Critic, connoisseur, historian, author, artivist, archivist, administrator and more - editor, columnist and mentor Ashish Khokar remains true to his muse. Post your comments Please provide your name along with your post. All appropriate comments posted with name in the blog will also be featured in the site. |
