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Nisha Jamwal
For Bakul Patel, former sheriff of Mumbai, businesswoman and reputed financial consultant, the collecting of art has not meant merely the acquisition of valuable paintings and sculpture. It has also been an emotional journey where each work has a story to tell, an embodiment of sentiment and personal history.
Awe-inspiring as her collection is, they are like an album of photographs. You are not viewing an Ara or a Husain, but a snapshot in a medley of experiences, where each work triggers off a special moment in her memory some poignant and some happy.And like old photographs, some just have special memories attached to them.
"The Mother Teresa by Husain is very special. Apart from the fact that Husain is a personal friend, with whom I discuss and debate many ideas, this one is significant as it is his first painting of Mother Teresa, before he went on to create a series." Husain happened to be at her office when Mother Teresa's Nobel Prize was announced, and Bakul just commented, "It must meanso much to all those motherless children she's nurtured." To her surprise he shot out of her office without another word. The next day he presented her with the Mother Teresa canvas, his first ever painting on the subject. All he said was, "Yesterday after hearing your words I thought of my mother whom I'd never known, and so I painted this."
Her relationship with art is so closely intertwined with the artist that most of the work in her house is a chronicle of her life and times as seen through the canvas of Husain. Nature's Symphony, a Husain seascape, is inspired by the breathtaking view from her apartment. A work that he impulsively painted right there, while she looked on. The broad expanse of the ocean with the Haji Ali masjid in the foreground and the silver-white sky come alive in this work. Husain personally designed and painted the frame for this work.
The Flying Goddess -- Husain at his ethereal best -- was used to teach Sanjay, her son, and his friends how to paint, leaving noknife fit for the kitchen after the session. "In some way I have felt part of the creative process of the numerous Husain's that I own, and this immensely adds to their appeal." Often the founder of the Nehru Centre would discuss a scene with Husain and it would give him an impetus to do his next sketch or painting. One such incident led to the "white horses in the moonlight". "I was driving down from the office when at Chowpatty I saw a striking picture of urchins bathing white horses in the sea on a full moon night. It made a beautiful picture and I described it to Husain." A few days later she was given a 6 ft X 4 ft canvas that captured the scene she had described.
In the near future she is hoping to publish a diary of sketches that Husain has done for her -- chronicling her life, his times and vignettes from the history of India.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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