Sharmistha Ray pieces together a picture of Kavas Bharucha (1947-2007), one of India’s few discerning collectors of Modern and Contemporary art.

Kavas Jamshed Bharucha’s passion for collecting Indian art began in the early 1970s. Bharucha, a qualified Chartered Accountant from the U.K., joined Colour-Chem Ltd. in Mumbai after he returned from England in 1972. Soon after his return, his close friend Mehroo Jeejeebhoy encouraged him to buy two paintings by K. H. Ara from the Artists’ Center above Jehangir Art Gallery at, what was then, the exorbitant price of Rs. 200 each. The acquisitions sparked off a serious addiction that took over the rest of Bharucha’s life: when Bharucha passed away unexpectedly in August 2007 at the age of 59, he left behind an impressive collection of Modern and Contemporary Indian art of over 600 paintings, watercolours, sculptures and artists’ books.

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Brooklyn based visual artist Yamini Nayar creates photographs of constructed interior and exterior environments to reflect upon the location of identity vis-à-vis place in the cultural domain. Each of Nayar’s environments start with a three-dimensional model in the form of an architectural box made out of cardboard in which the artist places both handcrafted and found objects as well as images sourced from photographic archives and mass-media. The items are disposable and made from tin foil, wire, plaster and wood and once she photographs the set-up (which she does with a large format camera) she discards the box and its contents. The photograph image becomes a stand-in for reality and is the only evidence left of the original.

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NON-RESIDENT CALCUTTAN

Bhupen Kakkar’s work at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid seemed to transport Sharmistha Ray to her own country.

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