Think art, think AttenDance

The 20th edition of AttenDance, the yearbook on dance by Ashish Mohan Khokar has Mysticism as its theme

Over the years, performing arts did not enjoy the media’s attention or were poorly documented. Barring a few newspapers’ coverages of art and cultural events, artistes suffered for want of attention/publicity. That was till scholar and art-critic Ashish Mohan Khokar conceptualised an annual dance book titled AttenDance. In keeping with renowned historian, art collector and his father Mohan Khokar’s strident wish to chronicle all activities related to art in the country, the first edition of AttenDance became a reality in 1998. The 20th edition, themed ‘Dance and Mysticism’ was released recently with art critic and journalist Ranee Kumar as the Guest editor.

In an exclusive interview, Ashish shares the two-decade journey of AttenDance and the status of dance today.

It had no plan, no real goal. I was merely fulfilling my cancer-bound father late Prof. Mohan Khokar’s desire that there ought to be a record of the year that was. This was in 1998 when there was no internet; we were still in the carbon-copy age! Even those working in the dance art field could not readily recall who died when; what were the milestones of a year or what books had been released. We tried to address the academic gap, as universities too had no literature on dance. Each issue evolved as a process of osmosis.

 Yes. Honestly and humbly, it helps link the past with the present. We feature history-based articles too, thus building bridges. My father created India’s largest dance archives called the Mohan Khokar Dance Collection (valued at ₹ 7 crores, now donated to the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (INGNCA) Delhi. Lots of rare photos and historical materials from there have figured in past issues of AttenDance, which also features upcoming talents, helps Indian dance reach international academia and most importantly, adds to the body of knowledge that is woefully inadequate.

All we can reach: the practitioner, the purveyor, the patrons and the press! We are so small that when an order comes from Japan or Jalandhar we feel elated. I didn’t even know where Xalapa was until we had to post a copy to Mexico 20 years ago. Sweden or Mauritius, we have committed readers. There’s nothing like a yearbook of this kind in India. Today, we have many PhD students referring to it and some even copy it or translate it without giving us any credit. We don’t sue them as we believe knowledge must travel. We are mere transporters.

Writing, like all arts, is a gift too. Real knowledge is not a quest or fashionable even. Most youngsters can’t give a 3000-word article. Where I failed, Ranee Kumar, guest editor of this most difficult issue, succeeded. She found many good youngsters like Aniruddh Knight or Himanshu Shrivastav and made them turn in very readable copies. She found one in Finland too! She tackled a very difficult subject and I must confess, this 22nd-year issue is by far the best in the last decade. All credit to her.

 Depends on the subject, though there’s no rule. Art is more important than the artiste. Subject core competency decides the author for us, though we can’t be too choosy as in all India, really sorry to say, there are not even 10 qualified or good writers on dance.