How 'Attendance' shines light on Indian classical dance in France
Dance critic and academic Ashish Mohan Khokar's dance yearbook marks its silver jubilee with a special topic—Indian dance in France
When it came to marking the silver jubilee, Khokar opted for a special and surprising topic—Indian dance in France. But then, there was no one better than Khokar himself to know how widespread the influence of Bharatanatyam is in France.
His mother, the renowned Bharatanatyam artiste M.K. Saroja, had made her first trip to the country as a nine-year-old, touring with Ram Gopal’s company. She’d rekindle her French ties in the late 1960s, touring the country for both performances and teaching. Over the course of three decades, she’d end up having 100-plus students.
Khokar had heard enough anecdotes from his mother about her adventures in the land, including a peculiar one of washing hands with wine in Nice.
“When we were students of history (honours) at Stephen’s College (Delhi University), one statement stayed with me—when France sneezed, Europe caught cold,” says Khokar. When work began on the yearbook, Khokar thought he’d at best have 20-25 artistes featured. Only, Montpellier resident Sonya Wynne Singh, the book’s guest editor and Khokar’s college friend and colleague at the Festival of India back in the day, had other bigger plans.
Singh would end up finding 50 more dancers who pursued Indian classical dance. “Credit for adding to the material and enhancing it and giving meat to the subject goes to Sonya,” says Khokar. “She kept extending the brief.”
Prod Khokar on what made the French so enamoured with India’s classical dance traditions, one that would see many, including Milena Salvini, Malavika, Jyoti and Vidya, travel to India to learn and immerse themselves in the art. Says Khokar, “The French are a very artistic and intellectual lot. There’s genuine attraction for India, a connect with its democratic spirit. They have been at the forefront of creating trends in fashion, film, design, and there’s the revolution in thought. French related to Indian aesthetics and arts, its colour and quaintness and rhythm.”
The book features many fascinating accounts, but standing tall among them is Mileena, who first took to Bharatanatyam before embracing Kathakali. She would eventually establish the Centre Mandapa in Paris where Indian and other dance forms continue to be taught.
“She became the Sumitra Charatram (pioneer behind Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra) of Paris,” says Khokar of her. Prime Minister Narendra Modi would bestow the Padma Shri honour to her in 2019.
Both M.K. Saroja and Mileena passed away in 2022. The 25th edition of Attendance, for Khokar, is a way to “pay homage” to their legacy. Other chapters include of Indian artistes sharing their terpsichorean journeys in France, including Mallika Sarabhai, Alarmel Valli and Suchita Bhide-Chapekar.
Collating information for the issue was anything but easy, especially when it came to the opening chapter on Amala Devi aka Bettina Ferreira de Almedia, recognised as the first French woman to be a Bharatanatyam practitioner. A soloist in Ram Gopal’s company, she acquainted many to the dance.
Luckily for Khokar and Singh, one of her students, Katia Legeret aka Manochhaya, stepped forward to author the piece. Another challenge, notes Khokar, was translating the interviews from French to English and editing them for succinct yet thorough readings.
While Bharatanatyam dominates the book, there are also chapters from dancers who learned Kathakali, Kathak and Mohiniattam. One of them is Thomas Vo Van Tao, the rare male dancer featured in the book. Incidentally, Khokar invited Tao to perform at the book’s launch in Paris in November 2025.
“This book wouldn’t have happened if the French didn’t love India,” says Khokar. And Indian art is thankful and richer for it.
Attendance, Rs 2,000. Available on Amazon.
Published by Ashish Mohan Khokar
attendance-india.com
Subscribe to India Today Magazine
When it came to marking the silver jubilee, Khokar opted for a special and surprising topic—Indian dance in France. But then, there was no one better than Khokar himself to know how widespread the influence of Bharatanatyam is in France.
His mother, the renowned Bharatanatyam artiste M.K. Saroja, had made her first trip to the country as a nine-year-old, touring with Ram Gopal’s company. She’d rekindle her French ties in the late 1960s, touring the country for both performances and teaching. Over the course of three decades, she’d end up having 100-plus students.
Khokar had heard enough anecdotes from his mother about her adventures in the land, including a peculiar one of washing hands with wine in Nice.
“When we were students of history (honours) at Stephen’s College (Delhi University), one statement stayed with me—when France sneezed, Europe caught cold,” says Khokar. When work began on the yearbook, Khokar thought he’d at best have 20-25 artistes featured. Only, Montpellier resident Sonya Wynne Singh, the book’s guest editor and Khokar’s college friend and colleague at the Festival of India back in the day, had other bigger plans.
Singh would end up finding 50 more dancers who pursued Indian classical dance. “Credit for adding to the material and enhancing it and giving meat to the subject goes to Sonya,” says Khokar. “She kept extending the brief.”
Prod Khokar on what made the French so enamoured with India’s classical dance traditions, one that would see many, including Milena Salvini, Malavika, Jyoti and Vidya, travel to India to learn and immerse themselves in the art. Says Khokar, “The French are a very artistic and intellectual lot. There’s genuine attraction for India, a connect with its democratic spirit. They have been at the forefront of creating trends in fashion, film, design, and there’s the revolution in thought. French related to Indian aesthetics and arts, its colour and quaintness and rhythm.”
The book features many fascinating accounts, but standing tall among them is Mileena, who first took to Bharatanatyam before embracing Kathakali. She would eventually establish the Centre Mandapa in Paris where Indian and other dance forms continue to be taught.
“She became the Sumitra Charatram (pioneer behind Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra) of Paris,” says Khokar of her. Prime Minister Narendra Modi would bestow the Padma Shri honour to her in 2019.
Both M.K. Saroja and Mileena passed away in 2022. The 25th edition of Attendance, for Khokar, is a way to “pay homage” to their legacy. Other chapters include of Indian artistes sharing their terpsichorean journeys in France, including Mallika Sarabhai, Alarmel Valli and Suchita Bhide-Chapekar.
Collating information for the issue was anything but easy, especially when it came to the opening chapter on Amala Devi aka Bettina Ferreira de Almedia, recognised as the first French woman to be a Bharatanatyam practitioner. A soloist in Ram Gopal’s company, she acquainted many to the dance.
Luckily for Khokar and Singh, one of her students, Katia Legeret aka Manochhaya, stepped forward to author the piece. Another challenge, notes Khokar, was translating the interviews from French to English and editing them for succinct yet thorough readings.
While Bharatanatyam dominates the book, there are also chapters from dancers who learned Kathakali, Kathak and Mohiniattam. One of them is Thomas Vo Van Tao, the rare male dancer featured in the book. Incidentally, Khokar invited Tao to perform at the book’s launch in Paris in November 2025.
“This book wouldn’t have happened if the French didn’t love India,” says Khokar. And Indian art is thankful and richer for it.
Attendance, Rs 2,000. Available on Amazon.
Published by Ashish Mohan Khokar
attendance-india.com
Subscribe to India Today Magazine