To mark the birth centenary of Bharatnatyam exponent Mohan Khokar, his son Ashish launches a book
In 1940, the son of an Army man, a young Punjabi Sikh guy boarded a train to Chennai (Madras at the time), to learn Bharatnatyam as he had heard there was a lady, who taught it under a famous tree. That lady was the legendary Bharatnatyam exponent Rukmini Devi Arundale and the young Punjabi guy was Mohan Khokar, eminent dancer, archivist, writer and academician, who created India’s largest collection of dance archives containing rare photographs, books, hand-written documents, letters, notes, articles and more. Khokar was the first North Indian student of Bharatnatyam, later married the Bharatnatyam doyenne, Padam Shri artist MK Saroja.
Celebrating his birth centenary, as he was born in Quetta (now in Pakistan), in 1924, Majha House and Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts presented an event, The Mohan Khokar Saga, with Ashish Khokar, Mohan’s son and an archivist, and also launched a book, Mohan Khokar — The Father of Indian Dance History, dedicated to his father’s life and work as an documentarian.
“September 2024 will also mark his 25th death anniversary and it is time to celebrate his life’s mission to not just pursue the art form but also archive it for generations,” said Ashish.
The Mohan Khokar Dance Collection, currently displayed at Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi, is massive, quite like the artist who created it. A treasure trove of Indian classical, folk and ritual dance forms and artists, the collection, which a UNESCO audit estimate put somewhere close to Rs 7 crore, is now being maintained and amplified by Ashish.
“I believe Mohan’s madness has been passed on to me,” he makes an honest confession. “As a father, Mohan Khokar was a mysterious man, who believed that dance was a fragile art form, just like life. When he was 10, he survived the Quetta earthquake that killed over 2,000 people and it was a turning point in his life. As he grew up, he saw the great Ram Gopal perform Bharatnatyam in Lahore, which was the cultural capital before Partition. It was then he decided to learn the art form and despite his father’s opposition, travelled to Madras,” shared Ashish.
The Mohan Khokar Dance Collection gives you a peek into the 150-year-old journey of Indian classical dance, with archives of Sitara Devi, American dance legend Ted Shawn, who performed Bharatnatyam in India during the 1940s, another Bharatnatyam legend Balasaraswati, Kathak greats Uday Shankar and Ram Gopal, documented notes on the Devdasi traditions and much more.
For Mohan, the academics of the art form was as important as the art itself, so he founded the Department of Dance at the Baroda University, designing a course which is still taught in dance schools. Ashish, who also finds delight in reconstructing Indian classical dance forms, an attribute he generously inherited from his father, said the Khokar collection was a medium to revive the lost dance forms.
“My father, through concerted efforts, ensured that Odissi, Mohiniattam and Koodiyattam, which were not recognised as classical dance forms, were recognised. He also archived extensively some folk art and ritual dance forms. Many would not know that there was a Punjab Gharana of Kathak, which had patronage of Pandit Pyare Lal, Tara Chaudhary, Aashiq Hussain…Such greats. A lot of our contemporary classical dance forms have been reconstructed and so, it’s my desire that Punjab should revive its lost art form. Universities must initiate research and revive the gharana,” said Ashish.
