Ashish Khokar loves and serves Indian arts and culture selflessly, by writing, documenting, filming, archiving, celebrating and awarding. 45+books, over 5000 articles, work with 10 inter/national organisations make his work the gold standard of the field. More details on www.attendance-india.com
In Hindu philosophy Moksha (deliverance from the cycle of birth and death) is the ultimate aim of life for those evolved. In dance like Odissi, there’s even an item in end called Moksha. Means, the end. For those still interested in artha ( material world or things) or kaam ( life -force for procreation or […]Read More
In last column, I had focused on symbols in Indian culture. What is India’s one symbol that is pan Indian. It is Nataraja now. No wonder when the mandarins of ministry of culture thought what to put in front of spaceship called Bharat Mandapam they first thought of some sculpture. Then the idea of pancha […]Read More
Culture is often defined by symbols. So Indus had that dancing girl from Mohenjodaro, which some later day historians claimed wasn’t even really Mohenjodaro or a dancing girl but a girl with hip problems! (Since it is bent at hip). France has Eiffel Tower. Italy has pasta and Leaning Tower of Pizza, err, Pisa. America – such […]Read More
Gurukul we have heard of. A place where young ones went to learn. Today, a cool guru is the operative word! Seeing young India and them millennials at a Sunday morning function celeb a 75-year-old guru (though she looks 50 – proving once again dance keeps one young, fit and smiling – like this Guru Sucheta Chapekar […]Read More
Pro (professional) and non (non-professional). These are the two types of people who exist in cultural field. Education is a-given. No point even talking about it (Hindi Medium or not. All Indians must see this unique film on our education system. Late Irfan Khan and Samar have acted so well in this film, which is […]Read More
Today in cultural field, or even in ancillary industries like hotel/ food/ fashion/ weddings the word curator or curated by is often used. The dictionary meaning says: the selection and care of objects to be shown in a museum or to form part of a collection of art, an exhibition, etc or the curation of […]Read More
So, ABC…kithhe gayi si? This was a ditty we heard as children growing up in Punj land (that’s most of Delhi and above! till Kashmir. As a language and culture, it dominates). A for Arangetram too. That’s very Madrasi or South Indian. Having had this for mother’s tongue literally (Tamil), we were also exposed to […]Read More
Summer is here! You can see in wilting flower beds, the paper-like poppy petals slowly falling off and insects being out in full force! Makhi, Machchar, maha-ugly cockroaches in Hindi called Tilchitta. Did you know that? As kids growing up in the Capital city in the 1960s, we were taken by our parents to almost […]Read More
It is considered impolite to begin a sentence with I, me, myself and thereby hangs a tale. The tale of two cities, two cultures. India and Bharat. Modern and ancient. Yesterday and today. I, me, myself is a new malaise effecting us Indians. A new virus. Another virus is calling anyone up anytime just because […]Read More
This was a term coined in the 1980s and much in vogue. It was meant to describe those who had interest in cultural activities, viz. organisers, sponsors, patrons or performers. I even had a column going by the same title, in a popular Delhi city magazine called First City, run by a debonair Bharat Kapoor. […]Read More
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