Kittens Button and Glutton
I was born in Baroda, where Sri Aurobindo had been “jailed” by the Britishers for 14 years and the enlightened Maharaja of Baroda, Gaekwad sahib, was so cultured that he told the British such a saint- philosopher can’t be put in regular prison so kept him in his Palace and was responsible for him and that he would not run away. Sri Aurobindo remained there (Ravi Varma the painter too was a house guest of the Maharaja for long) and the Maharaja also gifted him a small patch of land opposite the Palace where today stands the Aurobindo Ashram of Baroda. Intact. After hundred years. All because of one sensible Maharaja.
So, I was born in Baroda but when my parents took me to Punjab for my tonsure (mundan) ceremony my sikh grandfather kept a Japji sahib paath, or reading from the holy guru Granth Sahib book of Sikhs and as per Sikh customs, the child’s name is kept from the first alphabet or word that appears when the holy book is opened at any random page. It came to A. Father said let this child be blessed by all so Ashish it became. Which was then popular name in both Gujarat and Punjab. From Arvind it became Ashish. By the time I reached my mother’s native place in Madras, they being the masters of mathematics and mumbo jumbo of horoscopes, said my rashi was Meen, nakshatra Revathy so my real name should have a D. Or an L. Like DevAshish . So Bong! Or Arvindalochanam! Gawd! No one in rest of India could pronounce it even then, then imagine today? It’d be shortened to AV! Audio visual. I’m neither. I don’t speak much and being in the realm of wild life looks, there’s very less visual appeal to speak of.
Fortunately for me, by the time I returned from balle balle land to garba HQ, I had been enrolled in Baroda’s Rosary school so they needed ONE name for rolls, not three! Ashish it remained in rolls, even when we shifted to Delhi in 1965 and I was put in Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. So, the name stuck and all Devs and Lochans fell by the wayside. Why I tell this story as a preamble is to share how things were back then. 65 years ago. Last century!
Today parents who name kids must think through. Though how Dimpy and Mottu slip in sometimes amazes one. Which parent would name a child Duffer Singh? Or Pimple Desai?
Akumal Ramachander. That’s an unusual name. His story is amazing too: An ordinary family astrologer to Mysore royalty, he is the English teacher of Bangalore Agriculture University who went to America in 1980s and discovered Harold Shapinsky, a painter forgotten and bypassed by the New York art scene. Akumal single-handedly got him acclaim and honour and got him his rightful dues in the canons of international art scene. For this BBC’s Channel 4 made a documentary on him by no less than the Salman Rushdie anchoring it! The New Yorker write (ultimate magazine in the world of narrative journalism) did a 22-page spread on him. It was this nice to get to celebrate his 75th birthday on July 10. He deserves Karanataka Rajyotsava Award if not a national Padma.
Birthday cake and the birthday boy Akumal Ramachander
Prerna means to learn, to be inspired, to get motivated. That this child has grown to be a Kathak dancer, despite no family background in art or force, shows that true to her name, Prerna was inspired and followed her interest in art and learnt it well enough to perform in front of 500 grown-ups, in a swanky hall of Bangalore last Sunday.
Her gurus are actually gurus to hundreds of others not only in Kathak but Bharatanatyam too. To learn one classical form is difficult enough as takes 10 years really but to have learnt and performed and have taught two forms to many is an achievement. These two are a dynamic dancing duo themselves. Well-read, articulate and smart set, they retain traditional culture with modern trends. True teachers. They inspire kids while they perspire. They put them in productions so they get a chance to dance professionally and they also give support and motivation.
Prerna
The items chosen from invocation to Tulsidas’ Sri Ram Bhajaman to Meera’s devotion sat well on Prerna, who acquitted well in all she undertook. She covered the stage well and this comes with confidence and experience. She also had quick change of costumes that showed professional use of time in which the master musicians present like Praveen D Rao and divine singer Kirtana Hola regaled the audiences. Perhaps the only thing that Prerna doesn’t have control over is her smile and bindaas personality on stage but here the Guju happy – go – lucky- gene speaks. I was born there, I know!
Old gurus just taught. They often didn’t dance themselves. They didn’t multitask. They also were not market-oriented. They were very demanding and pucca and didn’t care for name, fame or even money. That was like 50 years ago. There was no competition either from TV, films, school admission and college tough life and courses. Life was linear. Point to point.
Today, the demands of the society, peer group and competition is so much that a child is stressed. Dance is a great stress buster. It takes lots to bring up children. In that, for busy professionals who are also parents to manage child’s aspiration and desires is not always easy. How to motivate, keep to course drive to daily or often classes, keeping track of all school and college obligations and add family realities, vacations, demands and relations. The cup is full and overflowing. It leads to accumulation.
Sanchita that’s what is accumulation in Hindi. To learn a tradition and master it then make the form your own, perform and give a good account of tutelage is again not easy but Sanchita Shenoy did that two weeks ago, again to a full hall and doting gurus, the same Shiva Shakti pair called on earth gurus Rajendra and Nirupama.
Sanchita is a born dancer. There’s stage presence. Either you have it or you don’t. It’s aura. The minute one enters stage one can tell if this is. a serious talent or time pass hobby. Sanchita’s stamina and foundation came through in all items from start like the Mangalacharan , Jathiswaram to the varnam composed by her guru’s guru Dr, one and only, Padma Subrahmanyam, that she undertook. Full 40+ minutes! The varnam Hidako Bidabyada in Raga Kalyani and Tala Adi is a Purandaradasa Krithi composed and choreographed by Dr Padma Subrahmanyam was superbly etched by Sachita. Correctness of positions and delivery were maintained with finesse. There was nothing sloppy about her presentation all evening.
Sanchita
That shows tayari. Today most cafe can’t face 20 minutes without huffing and puffing then what of a young lass of 20 something doing for nearly two hours one full evening to live music of all professionals? Here is a strong star material in the making, hope she stays with the dance.
All humans have been gifted by one art, be it be speaking, thinking, painting, designing, writing, singing, stealing! Yes, even that’s an art form, not to be caught (and most of our politicians have mastered it without basic schooling or going to college even, forget a PhD!). Did you know as per our shastric traditions there are traditionally the chonsathth kalas or 64 art forms in which thieving, lying, cheating is also included. One medical icon of Delhi Dr KK Agarwal ran a YouTube channel Medtalks before Covid claimed him and he made me share these traditional lores on that; you may access by my name).
What’s not included in today’s education is sensitisation to art. Either a family is aware, or exposed in some way or a child has an inborn gift. Elders or parents can often decipher it and occasionally encourage it. The idea is to learn. If that becomes a tool to earn that’s secondary. A teacher is as good as the student turns out to be. Our Math teacher used to beat us and box too. God, he scared me for life. Our history teacher was cool, kind and humorous. No wonder I turned out the way I did.
To teach a vocabulary of a form – karnas – that’s become a sub language propogated by Padma Subrahmanyam no less – an icon of dance and academician par excellence to boot- is not easy for generation next. For me, born to the manner and having seen art from childhood in many cities and countries and to comment and recall or share and spread itself becomes a herculean task over decades but then for young gurus to impart this knowledge, in condensed form to a child that’s barely learnt to walk as a teenager is super human work. In that Sanchita and Prerna both stand congratulated for keeping to the course, valuing their teacher and seriously and sincerely learning an art form. Tomorrow their life choices and journeys will take them to their individual destinies but art will always stay with them. Sanju and Aashish Shah have given their daughter Prerna to continue with tools and foundation in art and education bit like the Shenoys – Suraj and Sushma- did for Sanchita. Both the parents and students have bonded because of art. Art gives meaning to life and removes dirt from our souls of everyday living. Those who live in metro India today know what I’m saying. Our art forms are the gifts of the gods and gurus are the rep of gods in earth.
Gurus Rajendra & Nirupama with Prerna
On this occasion of Guru Purnima (July 21) let’s propitiate and bow down to all gurus who have shown the way and given some joy and much meaning to our lives. Oh by the way: GSP means Guru Shishya Parampara!
Mangalam Bhava!
Ashish Khokar uses humour to make serious points on our culture and society. A historian by training, artiste by disposition and organiser by nature ,in his spare time he has also published /authored 50 books; over 5000 articles in mainstream media in the last 45 years and served many cultural institutions in India and abroad, making him a renaissance man. He is also a pioneer in arts administration and international culture education since the 1980s. He is hailed as the gold standard of archiving, documentation and dance history. For full bio : www.attendance-india.com
