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This is a paper from princeps.com - it captures memories and history of this absolutely magical place - an artists' center - that existed in Mumbai till late sixties.
Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute ( BDMI )
Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute (BDMI) was a center for innumerable artists of diverse fields and practices. An institute with the same structure and bohemian style has never been established again, giving rise to various experiments, collaborations, and discussions. The impact of the atmosphere created at the BDMI has touched the practice of artists visiting the space for various reasons.
The following chapters bear dialogues and synergies that
occurred at BDMI. It will shed light on life at BDMI. We get different
perspectives on the same tale narrated by various individuals. The effort of
collecting dialogues and incidents from many biographies, autobiographies,
interviews, and books that have recorded the life and time at the Bhulabhai
Desai Memorial Institute gives the readers an insight into the impact of the
Institute in the Indian art scene.
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In 1952, they converted the huge bungalow of Bhulabhai Desai
into BDMI, making it probably the first art center in India. Artists
like Husain, Madhav Satwalekar, Dashrath Patel, Baburao Sadwelkar, and
artists like Raza, P. Mansaram, Laxman Pai who returned to India for a
brief time would hire studios at the institute. Ambalal
Sitara practiced her music here while dancers like Sitara Devi,
Rohini Bhate, and Kutti Krishnan had their dance classes at the
Bhulabhai. Prafulla called Gaitonde ‘Gai’ and he called her ‘bubbly’
for her facial features and long braided hair. Gaitonde leased a studio because
of Prafulla at BDMI. Bhulabhai marked a joyful occasion in the professional and
personal world of Gaitonde. [1]
Gaitonde said “Artists need to be in contact with other
professions, music, theatre, books. You can’t stop thinking. You have to go out
of your way to listen to music. A writer must know what a painting is, what
music is… both Indian as well as world… a dancer must know about theatre… and
so on.” [2]
Gaitonde got the privilege of handling large canvases at the
institute. His studio had a spacious room with a window that illuminated it
with light. Krishan Khanna mentions that Gaitonde did drawings on a mile-long
roll. Had the roll not ended, Gai would have carried on. He told Khanna in one
of his letters that he had done a substantial amount of work on larger
canvases. He felt a great sense of freedom in handling the large canvas as it
allowed him to deal with space. [3]
Prafulla had brought rollers
used for printmaking from Paris. And when Gaitonde tried the roller technique
to apply color on the canvas with such an exceptional ability, the results
overwhelmed the art world. Later he found someone at Girgaum to make the
rollers for him, so he would not have to invest in the expensive imported
quality rollers. B. Vithal and B. Prabha also rented studios at the Bhulabhai
Institute. [4]
Laxman Shrestha spent a lot of time with Gaitonde at the
BDMI, sitting silently next to him and watching the ocean for hours. Gaitonde
longed for solitude at the chawl he lived in, and there was an
abundance of it at BDMI. Kolte suggests that the horizon captivated Gaitonde’s
imagination. Gaitonde swayed another young artist,
Nasreen Mohamedi, who also took a studio for a brief period at the institute.
[5]
One day after the session Gaitonde turned to Shrestha and
said “You know Laxman why I like you? You know the value of silence." [6]
Gaitonde’s father was
determined about Gaitonde not being an artist, so he would throw all his
paintings out. Gaitonde then asked
Prafulla who had a studio at BDMI if he could keep his paintings there. She
obliged, and they shared the studio. He was her professor at J.J. School of
Arts. [7]
One time when Gaitonde came to the Institute, he discovered
that his studio was open and swarming with American tourists. Batliwala was
taking out Gaitonde's paintings and displaying them. So Gaitonde said, “This is
my studio, why are you here? I don’t want you to touch my paintings. They are
my paintings. I don’t want to show them. Why are you showing
them?" To which Batliwala replied, “Look, this is an institute. Here,
if someone asks, we show paintings. And you are in my institute, so you can’t
tell me what to do.” So the next day, Gaitonde brought a lock and put it on his
door. When Batliwala saw this, he said that he would not remove his lock. He
removed the hinges of the door instead and continued to bring people in.
Gaitonde had no alternative place to work, so he went through this. But after
some time, he stopped keeping his paintings there. [8]
Many such significant life experiences leading to the
development of Gaitonde as an artist took root at this institute in Bombay.
References
[1] Tribute Prafulla Dhanukar, Suhas Bahulkar, Translated by
Deepak Ghare, India Contemporary Art Journal, Volume 12, May 2014.
[2] A Slice of History, Prerna K, October 2018.
[3] Sonata of Solitude Vasudeo Shantu Gaitonde, Meera Menezes, 2016
[4] Tribute Prafulla Dhanukar, Suhas Bahulkar, Translated by Deepak Ghare,
India Contemporary Art Journal, Volume 12, May 2014 & Sonata of Solitude
Vasudeo Shantu Gaitonde, Meera Menezes, 2016.
[5] Sonata of Solitude Vasudeo Shantu Gaitonde, Meera Menezes, 2016
[6] Sonata of Solitude Vasudeo Shantu Gaitonde, Meera Menezes, 2016
[7] The Scenes We Made–An Oral Experimental Theatre in Mumbai, Edited by Shanta
Gokhale, 2016.
[8] The Scenes We Made–An Oral Experimental Theatre in Mumbai, Edited by Shanta
Gokhale, 2016.
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“I went to Paris in 1950, there was no Bhulabhai Institute. When I came back
in 1952 or 1953, it was there. I heard it from my brother. It was on Warren
Road. He said it was a fantastic place, so we both went there.” - Akbar
Padamsee
Padamsee discovered the institute from his brother Nicky
when he returned from Paris. Nicky Padamsee gushed about the space, and they
both visited. Soli Batliwala was a cultural officer in Switzerland who had
worked with Madhuriben’s husband, so she had entrusted him with the working of
the institute. [1]
With Soli’s guidance, she contacted the artists, comprising
theatre communities. The most noted entities among them were Alkazi, Husain,
Gaitonde, and Jatin Das. They had their studios there. "They offered me a
studio. But I lived next door, so there was no point in me blocking a studio, I
had my studio within a ten-minute walk from the Institute. I used to live in a
building called Tahir Mansion at the corner of Nepean Sea Road. I walked to the
Institute every evening and spent time there." Tyeb
Mehta’s wife, Sakina, had started a bookshop with books ranging from dance and
music to theatre which were described as extraordinary. (2)
Image courtesy Sonata of Solitude Vasudeo Shantu
Gaitonde, Meera Menezes, 2016
Husain had got Bal Chhabda to BDMI. He became close friends with Gaitonde, who
often remarked “Bal is a Pal”. Gaitonde was also a witness at Bal’s wedding.
Bal started the Gallery 59 after the year of its founding. [3]
Chhabda grabbed the brush and was public enough about
painting to set up an art gallery at the institute.
The inaugural exhibition exhibited works by V. S. Gaitonde, M. F. Husain, Akbar
Padamsee, S. H. Raza, Ram Kumar, and Krishen Khanna. Khanna sent his paintings
from Madras, where he was employed at Grindlays Bank. He later flew to
Bombay and rushed straight from the airport to the gallery with Chhabda and
Husain, who fetched him, eager to disembark the work of displaying the works.
Raza had estimated his works at a few hundred rupees. Husain decided that he
would play Raza at his own game and appraise his works at five rupees each.
Khanna uttered, “Well, at that price, I will buy the
lot and paint over them!”
The irony was that these were the very canvases Khanna had
left behind in Bombay on his transfer to Madras, and Husain had painted over
them! But nobody minded in those days.
Rudy Von Leyden inaugurated the exhibition and was
successfully received. Thanks to Chhabda’s contacts in the film world, a fresh
group of people were introduced into the world of Modern Indian Art. Mulk Raj
Anand ventured the opinion that Basohli miniatures inspired Raza’s works.
This view, Krishen Khanna denied to where he not only demolished Anand’s
interpretation but impressed the distinguished filmmaker, scriptwriter, and
journalist Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, with his argument, who later disseminated his
review of the show the following day. [4]
The end of Gallery 59 at BDMI was a tragic event, Bal
Chhabda got the entire hall at the institute to establish his gallery from
Solibhai. He invested money for appropriate lighting and screens to make it
into a gallery space. One morning Bal Chhabda saw dancers practicing in the
gallery space and told Soli Batlivala that performers were not allowed to
rehearse in the gallery space. Soli Batlivala’s reason was that nobody was
using the hall, so he permitted the dancers to practice. When the same thing
took place the next day, Bal Chhabda was furious and came early one morning
with his helper and smashed the lights and tore the screens he had installed.
Batlivala was astounded and inquired if goondas (thugs) had come and
done this. He was told, "Sab hi aye the. Bal Chhabda sahab. Unhone sab tod
diya" (Bal Sahabda sahib came and broke everything).
When Batlivala inquired from Bal Chhabda the reason behind
this ghastly act, Bal said that he cannot have dancers in his gallery space, he
has destroyed everything he paid for and has damaged nothing of the institutes.
Batlivala asked him to leave and started using the space for other purposes.
[5]
The incident caused Gallery 59 to move out of the Bhulabhai
Desai Memorial Institute, Husain, Padamsee and other artists were upset with
Soli Batliwala. When they talked to Madhuriben, she
refused to speak to Soli and told it was his decision on how he wishes to run
the Institute. (6)
References
[1] The Scenes We Made – An Oral Experimental Theatre in
Mumbai, Edited by Shanta Gokhale, 2016.
[2] The Scenes We Made – An Oral Experimental Theatre in Mumbai, Edited by
Shanta Gokhale, 2016.
[3] Sonata of Solitude Vasudeo Shantu Gaitonde, Meera Menezes, 2016
[4] Sonata of Solitude Vasudeo Shantu Gaitonde, Meera Menezes, 2016
[5] The Scenes We Made – An Oral Experimental Theatre in Mumbai, Edited by
Shanta Gokhale, 2016.
[6] The Scenes We Made – An Oral Experimental Theatre in Mumbai, Edited by
Shanta Gokhale, 2016.
..................................................................................................................
Image courtesy: Tribute Prafulla Dhanukar, Suhas
Bahulkar, Translated by Deepak Ghare, India Contemporary Art Journal, Volume
12, May 2014
Prafulla Dahanukar was born as Prafulla Joshi in Goa and
raised in Mumbai. She studied Fine Arts at the Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai
and graduated with a Gold Medal in 1955. In her final year of college, she
saw the work of a student who had come from rural India. The boy had done his
painting in powerful strokes and bright colors. Prafulla was fascinated and
called her friends Palande, Mhatre, and others to see his work. She told them,
“See how excellent this small boy in half pants
works.” That small boy was Sambhaji
Kadam. Sitara Devi, Rohini Bhate, Kutti Krishnan held their dance
classes at the institute. Prafulla with her sweet nature soon became an
integral part of this charged and vibrant atmosphere. They kept the studios
open, with no restrictions on movement.
In 1952, they converted the spacious bungalow of Bhulabhai
Desai into The Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute. It was a boon for artists
and performers coming from various creative fields. It was the first Art Center
in India. Apart from painters and sculptors, there were facilities for artistes
in diverse fields such as music, dance, and theater. When it was difficult in
Mumbai to have one’s studio, artists could avail of a small studio here at a
nominal rent of one rupee per day. Prafulla got a studio here in 1958 when she
returned from Paris. M. F. Husain, Madhav Satwalekar, Dashrath Patel, and
Baburao Sadwelkar had their studios with a few more sculptors. S.H. Raza would
take a temporary studio there when he visited India.
In the earlier days, Palshikar and Gaitonde’s use
of distortion mingled with the Indian miniature style influenced Prafulla’s
work. After her Diploma, Prafulla strived hard to prove herself in the art
world. Her first exhibition was based on the Raga and Raginis of
Hindustani music in 1956. Her artwork was well-received and she also sold
some of her paintings. Then she went to Paris and took lessons in Printmaking
at Atelier 17. Her black and white achromatic landscapes during this period
proved indicative of her future path as a woman artist.
Gaitonde then began visiting Paris and hired a studio
because of Prafulla. While Gaitonde used his printmaking rollers from Paris for
his abstract work, she used rollers to create abstract landscapes. She soon
established this as her style. Those days at Bhulabhai Institute were
wonderful. Around 1966, Gaitonde received the
Rockefeller Fellowship and went to the U.S. The experiment at The Bhulabhai
Desai Memorial Institute ended after they demolished the bungalow. Gaitonde had
sketched Prafulla during this period. [1]
Image courtesy: Tribute Prafulla Dahanukar, Suhas Bahulkar, Translated by
Deepak Ghare, India Contemporary Art Journal, Volume 12, May 2014
Days at Bhulabhai, as stated by Prafulla Dahanukar:
There was a grand hall on the ground floor with three or
four rooms flanking it. Quite a few artists had rooms there. Ravi Shankar had
the first one. The Theatre Unit office was downstairs, but they would rehearse
on the terrace. There was a long passage on the terrace. That’s where the
artists’ studios were. They never locked the doors of the studios. Nothing was
ever stolen from the premises. M. F. Husain’s studio was next to mine. Bal
Chhabda used to visit him often. Tyeb (Mehta) also had a studio, but he and
Akbar Padamsee came later. Rajesh Khanna visited the Institute. I attended his
wedding. He recognized me. I asked him how.
Rajesh Khanna said, “You’ve
forgotten. I was Jatin Khanna to you. We used to have tea with you. We didn’t
have money, so you used to give us tea."
He used to do minor roles,
servants, and things like that, in IPTA plays. Sanjeev Kumar also used to be
there with IPTA and A. K. Hangal. I recall these three. I first met
Satyadev Dubey there. He was working with Alkazi then. We became dear
friends. He came and stayed with me a year before he died. I’d even designed
costumes for one play he rehearsed at Bhulabhai, Ashadh Ka Ek Din. They staged
it at Tejpal Auditorium, in the sixties.
Ravi Shankar opened his Kinnara School there to teach sitar.
He produced a program called Melody and Rhythm, which he staged all over the
country. Shiv Kumar Sharma used to play the tabla and
accompanied Ravi Shankar. Sharma was a seventeen-year-old stripling then and
often told me that, I’m the only person in Bombay who knows that he used to be
a tabla player.
Waheeda Rehman, Hema Malini, Sonal Pakvasa (Mansingh) used
to come with their gurus and practice there. Gaitonde would visit my studio. He
asked me if he could keep his work in my studio. I said why just keep? You can
work in my studio, no problem. Gaitonde was not only my teacher but was also my
friend. Gaitonde used to come in the morning at eight o’clock and work till two
o’clock. I used to go in at twelve and stay till eight or nine or ten. When he
left the studio, he’d go to see a film. He spent most afternoons watching
films.
Downstairs there was Piloo Pochkhanawala and Davierwala.
They were both very well-known sculptors. Beside them was Mhatre who worked in
enamel. Also B. Vitthal the sculptor. There was also a German
photographer I’ve forgotten his name. He used to teach photography, how to
develop pictures and all that. There was the film-maker Rathod who used to show
us his documentaries. Shyam Benegal would shoot there.
The yoga guru Iyengar used to come on Saturday and Sunday
mornings. Fifty or sixty outsiders would come to the Institute to learn from
him. They gave the stage over to the theatre people in the evening. It was all
very well organized. It charged the atmosphere from morning till night.
I had a bad habit. I sang when I painted. When I stepped
back to see what I had done, I would stop singing.
Husain used to shout across, ‘Chup kyon ho
gayi Prafulla? Gati raho, gati raho, hamein bhi inspiration mil raha hai’ (Why
have you stopped singing Prafulla? Keep singing, keep singing. It is inspiring
me).
Image courtesy: Tribute Prafulla Dhanukar, Suhas Bahulkar,
Translated by Deepak Ghare, India Contemporary Art Journal, Volume 12, May 2014
Wooden partitions separated the studios. You could hear
everything people were saying. When we had nothing to do, we used to go
downstairs to watch rehearsals and listen to music. The Kinnara people were my
friends, all Ravi Shankar’s secretaries, Penny
Easterbrook and Kamala Chakravarty. Secretary meant a girlfriend.
They lived with him. His school ran from about 1962 to 1966.
P. L. Deshpande rehearsed two plays at Bhulabhai,
Varyavarchi Varaat (Procession in the Air), and Tujhe Ahe Tujapashi. I had a
singing role in the first play and of a society lady in the second. He would
come for rehearsals in the evening and go away. The third play he rehearsed
there was Sundar Mee Honar (I Will Be Beautiful) in which his wife Sunita played
the lead. She was the actual force in his life. She put him together.
Otherwise, he would have merely been one of those entertainers. Bhulabhai
closed in 1969. The family sold the land to a builder. (2)
References
[1] Tribute Prafulla Dhanukar, Suhas Bahulkar, Translated by
Deepak Ghare, India Contemporary Art Journal, Volume 12, May 2014
[2] The Scenes We Made – An Oral Experimental Theatre in Mumbai, Edited by
Shanta Gokhale, 2016.
...................................................................................................
Ravi
Shankar and Kinnara School of Music
Ravi Shankar’s world-renowned music school Kinnara started
at rented quarters at Breach Candy School on Bhulabhai Desai Road. He
couldn’t find an investor for the school and had no finances to procure real
estate for the school. This was a pleasant seafront location near to his
Malabar Hill residence, but it was a long way south of the suburbs Ravi had
envisaged.
Ravi wrote to Kamala. "But now I feel positive
about the whole thing. This responsibility is the only thing that would hold me
and sober me up. The effing around (aimlessly) days are over!"
His ambitious objectives for Kinnara seem to have
intensified his perceptual tendency to doubt himself.
Kinnara’s ceremonial inauguration took place at 6 p.m. on 17
July 1962, chosen because it was Guru Purnima, the day when students pay homage
to their gurus. They made puja offerings first to Ganesh and then to a portrait
of Allauddin Khan. Tat Baba was present too. The school initially
offered classes in sitar, flute, tabla, pakhawaj, and vocal music for learners
aged from eight to fourteen and also for advanced students. Screen reported
that they were overwhelmed with applications. Sitar was tutored by Ravi’s
pupils: Shamim Ahmed, Kartick Kumar, Shambhu Das, and Amiya
Dasgupta. Tulsi Das Sharma, tabla by Taranath Rao and Ravi Bellare (the twin
brother of Shashi) took vocal classes and flute by G. Sachdev. Kamala was a
joint honorary secretary and the chief administrator. Ravi took the title of
the director. Another member of the team was Penny Estabrook, who had returned
to India to learn the sitar on a Ford Foundation grant.
After a few months at Breach Candy School, Kinnara moved
down the street to new rented premises on the first floor of the Bhulabhai
Memorial Institute. Desai’s former aide, Soli Batliwala, a passionate supporter
of the arts described by Ravi as ‘one of the most unusual people I have ever
come across’ ran the space. He had divided the old mansion into
studio spaces offered at a peppercorn rent to dozens of fine artists,
consisting of two painters who were to become modern greats, M. F. Husain and
Vasudeo Gaitonde. This was also where artist collector Bal Chhabda founded
Gallery 59, one of the city’s earliest private galleries. Ebrahim Alkazi ran
the School of Dramatic Art and staged plays on the terrace. Dancers, musicians,
and actors - among them Waheeda Rehman, Hema Malini, Sonal Mansingh, and Sachin
Shankar - rehearsed in the house or on its spacious
lawn. Shyam Benegal recalls attending a workshop there
led by Martha Graham. “I never dreamt there was so much to do in
running a school", Ravi wrote to Isadora Bennett.
On top of Kinnara’s regular classes, functions and recitals,
and organizing the move. His energies were taken up by a new production of
Melody and Rhythm, staged at Bombay’s Birla Theatre on four nights in
mid-November. Based on the 1958 Delhi show, with even more performers. Among
the orchestra of fifty-one and choir of forty-two were rising names such as
Shivkumar Sharma, Shankar Ghosh, and Shobha Gurtu, Shubho, and most of
Kinnara’s teaching staff. Ravi was a composer, arranger, and conductor. Penny
Estabrook conducted the choir, while Vijay Raghav Rao, now
music director at Films Division, was the assistant conductor of the
orchestra. Gaitonde acted as an art consultant.
A passion project for Vyjayanthimala, the reigning
queen of Hindi and Tamil cinema, who was an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer-
‘a mesmerized dancer blessed with a gorgeous figure’, as Ravi noted. She
choreographed the production and starred as the Dalit heroine who is inspired
by Buddha’s disciple Ananda to see the injustice of her caste-based oppression.
Rather than use Tagore’s original songs, she commissioned Ravi
to record a new song-less soundtrack, considering him perfect for the job
because of his expertise in both Carnatic and Hindustani music, as well as his
familiarity, as a Bengali. with Tagore. They worked intimately together
coordinating the music and dance, through rehearsals at Bhulabhai Memorial
Institute and five recording sessions, in time for the opening at Bombay’s
Birla Theatre on 22 December.
Chandalika was a major theatrical production, with a
dozen dancers, lighting by Tapas Sen, and set design by M. R.
Achrekar, art director to Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt.
President Radhakrishnan attended the premiere, while Nehru
brought the king and queen of Belgium to see the show.
“The most praiseworthy aspect of the dance drama was
Raviji’s unsurpassable music" Vyjayanthimala wrote in her
autobiography.
Image courtesy New York Times
Bhulabhai Memorial Institute building was to be demolished
and replaced. After a 26-story residential apartment block, Akash Ganga was
completed on the site in 1970, M. F. Husain held Soli Batlivala responsible for
terminating a great cultural center by agreeing to the sale of the land.
Although Ravi purchased two sixth-floor apartments in the tower, he never moved
in. Ravi Shankar continued to operate from the NCPA auditorium in the Akash
Ganga building and perform thereafter at the Nariman Point where NCPA stands
now.
Reference
[1] Indian Sun - The Life and Music of Ravi Shankar, Oliver
Craske.
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Ebrahim Alkazi as pictured in 2007. (Alkazi Collection of
Photography)
Alkazi’s father was a Saudi Arabian businessman. As a child,
his education at home was in Arabic reading the Quran and at school, he was
studying in English in Pune. He later went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
(RADA) in London. While he was in London, Gallery Leicester held an exhibition
of his drawings and paintings. He had been offered work in London but he
refused and came back to Bombay.
Alkazi returned to Bombay in December 1952 and moved to
Delhi in 1961. He first held an exhibition of drawings and paintings in Bombay
like the one he had in London. He joined the Theatre Group and widened its
mandate to encourage all forms of art.
He got close to the progressives, even the ones who were in
London and Paris. He held their exhibitions from time to time throughout the
50s and 60s in Bombay. He went on to collaborate with them at every opportunity
that he got. [1]
The reigning figure of Indian drama in those days was George
Bernard Shaw, who realism had now begun to be seen as stale and wearisome. It
was known the Shaw's style was modern theatre, Alkazi said no to that. He
looked at Europe keeping England aside. He was especially interested in the
portrayal of the female actors in their playwrights.
The Theatre Group was established by Alyque Padamsee, who
also received his education from RADA. Alkazi was the President of the Theatre
Group. People used to show up for rehearsals after their work and many amateurs
were also a part of the group. Anyone who had done a play before could join the
group. Things were not being run very professionally and eventually, Alkazi
quit the Theatre Group and established his Theatre Unit at the Bhulabhai Desai
Memorial Institute.
He called everyone at Alyque Padamsee’s terrace, where the
Theatre Group held their rehearsals and made an announcement. "I
am going to talk and give you some news. There can be only one leader. That
means, if you want good work consistently, there must be a single leader. I
don’t think there should be other directions in the Theatre Group. I should be
the only director. I have been to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Either I
will take over the Theatre Group or form a new unit, the Theatre Unit. And
people are not free to join. I will select people." Then
there was an extensive debate and one young fellow rose and spoke. “Elk,
you’re talking about theatre as though it is religion. We are here to enjoy
life. This is all a facade."
Alkazi went red in the face. He said, ‘You call it a
facade? This is my life! I have devoted my entire life to theatre and you’re
calling it a facade?”
...........................................................................................
Alyque Padamsee
Alkazi also conducted workshops besides theatre, in which
they taught the theatre folk to dance. I remember Kathakali being tutored. I
did that and was the worst dancer you’d ever see. He’d do three-month workshops
and it would be every day. We learned the discipline of theatre from him. I
love the theatre; I live for the theatre, but not overtly solemnly. I thought
the theatre was to enjoy in rehearsal. If you’re performing a serious part you
perform it sincerely, you come off, you may have a drink, crack a joke with
companions, and have a good time. It’s not religion!
But Alkazi felt it was a religion... and in the church,
you don’t laugh. (2)
In 1954, Alkazi, Roshen, and Nissim resigned from Theatre
Group amid breeding discontent among actor members over Alkazi introduction of
wide-ranging projects such as art exhibitions and the art magazine that went
beyond the group's initial mandate of staging theatre productions. Alkazi was
the one who bought the BDMI into the limelight of the Bombay art world, there
is no doubt about that!
Alkazi and the Progressives
Alkazi resisted to narrow his vision and got a space for it
at the BDMI, which he knew was the ideal location for his multifaceted
projects. Here he could concentrate on theatrical productions enveloped by all
sorts of practicing artists like Vajifdar sisters who rehearsed dancing there
and yoga sessions by Pannikar amongst others.
Besides the course for his School of Dramatic Arts, Alkazi
regularly organized small exhibitions at BDMI, like the "Drawings and
Paintings of M. F. Husain" (based on Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali), and
novel art events like the experimental presentation (with music and text) of M.
F. Husain's painting The Voice by Rudi Von Leyden.
He invited Husain to design the sets for a rather large,
complex production of T. S. Eliot's poetic drama Murder in the
Cathedral. He and Husain had an instant connection.
Alkazi made unique use of the BDMI's tiny rooftop theater
for a production of Murder in the Cathedral, this time inviting Adi
Davierwala, the sculptor, to design the sets. This was followed by Molière's
That Scoundrel Scapin, with masks created by Gaitonde, and unforgettably
powerful production of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex with a brochure designed by Akbar.
Ebrahim Alkazi portrays Oedipus in Oedipus Re, which he also
directed for the Theatre United 1955. (Alkazi Collection of photography)
There was barely any demand to buy works of these painters
in India. Their art was neither pretty nor likable. Besides Walter Langhammer,
Emanuel Schlesinger, and Rudi von Leyden (the war emigres from Europe who had
settled in Bombay), together with Mulk Raj Anand and Kekoo Gandhy, Alkazi was
among the very few who promoted the Progressives during this period. By getting
them written about, tribulations they were going through to remain committed to
their chosen profession. Souza, their mentor, had remained back in London
trying to make a living as a painter.
"It is a sad commentary on the cultural situation in
our country and the level of art criticism. Our most creative talents in the
field of art, music, and literature have had to turn to other countries through
frustration and lack of recognition in their homeland. Just a few years ago
three of our most eminent painters, namely Padamsee, Raza, and Souza, were
almost hounded out of the country, not only through lack of appreciation but
also through ignorant and inept attacks by the public and the press. These same
painters have not only won recognition for contemporary Indian art abroad but
have also carried away awards in international competitions." [3]
.............................................................................................
Kusum Haider (née Behl)
Alkazi was an exceptional educator. In retrospect, I
consider, however excellent a director he was, he was an even better
educator. If you were his student, it could simply be an
unforgettable experience, because all that learning provoked you to seek more
knowledge and skill. I still use the same exercises in my coaching as he did.
From all that he trained me, I can say that, because of him, I developed an eye
for the visual arts. Being in a production of his was an immense learning
experience that has benefited me to pass on to others. I grasped that all arts
have a meeting point. Music, art, sets, movement, all develop a cohesive entity.
This experience expanded one’s boundaries and opened up the mind. He had also
started his School of Dramatic Art at the BDMI.
...............................................................................................................
Satyadev Dubey
There was an Irani shop outside Alkazi’s house and
occasionally Alkazi would accompany us, but he constantly reminded us and
stated, "Don’t waste your time. You must read. You know how much we
have read." He had done RADA for three years along with his wife.
He was perfectly equipped. We were given scenes to perform and I would ever be
in the director’s shoe. But later Alkazi reprimanded me because I was trying to
improve the actors’ English. I wanted them to speak like me and I was told that
was not how English was spoken. Thereafter I established that English could be
spoken in many ways as long as the pronunciation was correct. In the Indian
context, we don’t have to speak like the English, like Bapsy Sabavala and all those
people.
I had a bad ear for music, but Alkazi used music vastly in
his productions. He would listen to different kinds of music. Now every time I
listen to any music, I wonder how can I use it in a play. It has become second
nature to me. Shenoy would become a teacher and replace Alkazi every time
Alkazi went abroad. Shenoy later took charge of the Hindi theatre in the
Theatre Unit, he eventually started Filmalay Acting School.
.......................................................................................................................................
Shyam Benegal
Alkazi was a man of many parts. He was virtually a
Renaissance man. He wrote poetry. I befriended him because I used
to versify a bit myself. So, he invited me to his place, I recited my poems to
him. He later gave me a critical analysis. This was in 1956, the first time I
visited Bombay.
Alkazi was an absolute perfectionist. He was a
disciplinarian, and he handled his theatre with an enormous amount of control.
So, it was consistently a controlled performance, done in exceptionally
wonderful taste. He was until he stopped doing plays, a remarkable theatre
producer. Alkazi was one of the pioneering generations of this country for
modern theatre. For someone like me, a person who had come from the outside and
was in his early twenties, it was all overwhelming. I felt like I was in
heaven! It was such a fabulous learning opportunity and experience.
...........................................................................................................
Girish Karnad
Alkazi’s contribution to our knowledge of theatre was
enormous. From where I came, the tradition I had experienced was of natak companies
performing in proscenium theatres.
Alkazi opened the theatre to us. Particularly his
productions like Miss Julie, Antigone, and Eurydice. It was not just how he
managed the space. There were all kinds of things that baffled me about these
plays. For example, in Miss Julie, there was a scene where Jean is listening
and Miss Julie is giving a long sentimental speech. She is crying, and he is
staring at her and some sentimental music is going on. She stops crying. Jean
takes out a box of matches, puts a cigarette in his mouth, and strikes a
matchstick, ‘Chhhck’. At that exact moment, the music stopped, and the lights
came on! The mood suddenly changed. I was thunderstruck.
'Antigone' by Jean Anouilh. Director: E. Alkazi. Kusum
Haider as Antigone and M. Chitnis as Creon. Theatre Unit, Bombay, 1955. (Alkazi
FOUNDATION FOR ARTS)
Alkazi’s plays triggered an impulse that took me back into
my background. It didn’t take me out. One great thing that I learned from
Eurydice and Antigone also, was that this was what you could do with your
myths! Suddenly, I realized what was wrong with our pauranik plays, our
mythological plays. Although I couldn’t have phrased it that well I knew that
one problem with the pauranik plays was that they all dripped with bhakti. And
the whole point of bhakti ultimately is that salvation comes from god. So, no
tragedy is possible.
"I think Alkazi's contribution to our work was not
where it took us, but what it took us away from." (4)
Ebrahim Alkazi later headed the National School of Drama for
15 epoch-making years, teaching the likes of Naseeruddin Shah, Om
Puri, and Rohini Hattangadi; who brought modern Western classics to
the Indian stage and professionalized theatre; he established the Art
Heritage gallery with wife Roshen in New Delhi; and who left
behind a trove of art, photography, and books, now looked after by
the Alkazi Foundation for the Arts.
While at the NSD, Alkazi staged some of the most significant
plays of the times: from Indian playwrights like Mohan
Rakesh and Girish Karnad to Sanskrit classics
like Kalidasa and Shudraka, from Greek tragedies to
Shakespearean dramas and 20th-century European playwrights like Bertolt
Brecht.(5)
Elk as his friends called him has made an enormous
contribution to modern post-independence India for the arts of all forms.
References
[1] The Progressive Revolution MODERN ART FOR A NEW INDIA,
Zehra Jumabhoy and Boon Hui Toon, Asia Society Museum, New York, 2018.
[2] The Scenes We Made – An Oral Experimental Theatre in
Mumbai, Edited by Shanta Gokhale, 2016.
[3] The Progressive Revolution MODERN ART FOR A NEW INDIA,
Zehra Jumabhoy and Boon Hui Toon, Asia Society Museum, New York, 2018.
[4] The Scenes We Made – An Oral Experimental Theatre in
Mumbai, Edited by Shanta Gokhale, 2016.
[5] Alkazi: A guiding light of theatre in India, Zara Murao
& Vanessa Viegas, Hindustan Times, Aug 09, 2020
......................................................................................
Image courtesy: Remembering Soli Mama, Meher Marfatia, May 12, 2019, Mid-Day.
The youthful patriot supporting the Quit India struggle
heard the police knock on the door of his Parel home. Though no stranger to
prison. Alarmed by his mother Bachoobai, he took off from a rear door and
jumped on the tiled roof. Unable to share his son and wife’s sympathies,
red-faced before the officers were Dr. Shiavax Batlivala, a physician and
Mayor of Bombay under the British.
Soli Shiavax Batlivala, diehard Congressman turned a
communist, handled his obligations as cultural czar at the Bhulabhai Desai
Memorial Institute, Soli Batliwala, propagated the dynamism and kindness of the
family of Bhulabhai Desai, whose vision transformed the road of freshly
independent India engaged with the arts.
Madhuriben, who assigned Batlivala charge
as trustee-manager to run this unique hub, unlike any previous model.
The estate comprised two bungalows set at an angle. Madhuriben lived in
road-fronting Hasman, now the Dubash residence. Another ground-plus-one
Art Deco structure was the institute, vibrant with activity.
Batlivala’s nieces, Zarine
Khambatta and Freny Olbrich speak about him, “Mama met
leaders like Gandhiji, Nehru, and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, guests at Hasman on
their visits to the city” says Khambatta. Olbrich writes from Scotland: “A
man of unflinching integrity, Soli Mama left the Congress because after
Independence it conflicted with ideals he would not abandon.”
The country was cut off from its history of art — in Bombay,
the Opera House and Laxmi Bagh in Girgaon laid the
groundwork for such awareness. That underwent a disconnect under the British
rule. But Solibhai walked the talk, ensuring the Bhulabhai represented
classicism and modernism in the Indian arts. [1]
Following are the statements of various artists who describe
their interaction with Soli Bhai. Some believe to owe him their career and some
resent him to the bone. However, one cannot on any account claim that he did
not play the catalyst role in building the Indian Modern Art scene. His
contributions have been left undiscovered. He is the unacknowledged hero of the
Modern Indian art world.
Vijaya Mehta
"When that creative nest, giving us such freedom and
joy, could no longer survive, I got two gifts from Solibhai. First, he housed
Rangayan's records in the basement until they found a home. The second was
three pieces from his office: a grandfather clock, wooden sculpture, and this
desk which was Bhulabhai's very own." [2]
Anonymous
‘Soli Batlivala dedicated his attention to building up the
art movement in Bombay, through helming the works at BDMI. Not only were the
studios rented to the artists at Re.1/-, but every Saturday Solibhai would host
a dinner in the gardens appealing to a few leading industrialists and art
connoisseurs to share a meal with the artists. After the supper, it was
obligatory for the patrons to visit the artist’s studios one-by-one until they
bought at least one work of art. The next day, this money would pay off the
cumulative dues of the artists with the Irani café round the corner and their
dhobi bills. If there was an excess, they would all together take taxis to go
see a matinee show, in air-conditioned comfort, at Regal Cinema.’ [3]
.....................................................................................
Gerson Da Cunha
Soli Batliwala was, in many ways, the power below and behind
the Bhulabhai. It was because of Soli that the place ran at all. Everything
like the income-expenditure business, the dealings with the staff or with the
authorities, was handled by Soli. I don't think Madhuri would have been at all
interested in that aspect of it. He was also a very close adviser of Madhuri's.
So, he was an important influence on a lot of policy decisions. I think a lot
of the success of the Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute and what it was able
to achieve came from Soli's nudging in that direction.
The great thing about Bhulabhai was that it produced a
confluence of many arts. There were sculptors there, painters, poets, theatre
people. It was therefore a wonderful fusion of minds. I don't think any of us
realized the impact that the Bhulabhai Desai had on all of us. I don't think
any of us can quite estimate the value of those exchanges. It is a matter of
huge regret to many of us that the Institute came down and that ugly building
took its place.
But Soli was as responsible for the closure of the Institute
as he had been for running it for so many years. He must have looked at the
future and thought this place cannot go on the way it is with no real revenue
stream, so best sell it when there is a decent price that one can get. I think
he was of that view. I may be entirely wrong.
But there came a moment when indeed the concept of the
Bhulabhai was at variance with the environment. I mean that times had changed
costs had grown. There were competitive calls from other venues of theatre. So,
the financial problems may have been a thought. I don't think that they
overtook the Bhulabhai at the times I remember. But any good manager looks at
the future all the time and how long really could an organization like that
survive? I realize that it was run on the funds of the memorial trust but that
kind of funding cannot go on forever.
....................................................................................................................
Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute had aided all forms of
arts, theatre, dance, painters, sculptors, puppeteers, yoga, musicians, and
more... Soli Batliwala handled the restricted space efficiently. A web of
activities took place and in the center was the institute. An entire breed of
modern artists was established and nurtured at the center was the institute. In
this last part, we shall bring forward every other artist, personality, and
stories connected to the space, further demanding to establish the gigantic
waves created by the institute that not only washed up on home shores but
likewise on foreign shores.
Girish Karnad “The climax of The Cold War, the USA
and the USSR to impress the Third World with their culture and abundance. The
result of this was visiting orchestras, ballets, dance performances,
exhibitions were taking place giving exposure to pupils who would turn into the
future of arts in India. A single visit to Martha Graham’s rehearsals,
organized by Alkazi for the members of Theatre Unit, altered Satyadev Dubey’s
entire understanding of choreography. Martha Graham, the most prominent
personality of modern dance, conducted a workshop at BDMI attended by Shyam
Benegal.”
Vijaya Mehta in her autobiography mentions BDMI as a magical
place. Her laboratory theatre Rangayan started working at Bhulabhai in the
1960s. “The school children used to dance to Kiran Shantaram and Shashank
Lalchand’s rock band. Everybody including Ravi Shankar would gather to watch
the fun.” Even when the Akash Ganga building came in its place, a room
with an attached terrace had been placed away for Rangayan on the first
floor. The second floor had an office, library, and NCPA founded by Mr.
Jamshed Bhabha, Little Theatre at NCPA, Nariman Point is a replica.
Anandam film society held regular screenings of Indian and
foreign films and published a journal, Montage. The Little Magazine movement
for new and protest poetry came in full force. BDMI became a space for new and
experimental art, theatre, music, cinema, and poetry. Its end was the end of an
extensive part of Bombay’s vibrant cultural scene.
When Girish Karnad first turned up at Bhulabhai Satyadev
Dubey was doing three one-act plays on the terrace. Alaknanda Samarth’s
recollection of BDMI is of a space in which ‘safety and lack of anxiety’ turned
into the prominent emotion. She joined Alkazi’s Theatre Unit on an assurance to
her parents that they would look after her and they would chaperone her.
Kusum Haider speaks of the times at the institute as a
glorious age with all the arts coming together, with individuals immersed in a
sincere quest for artistic expression. People were remarkably modest and
self-effacing, with no ego issues. There was a genuine innocence. Art, music,
dance, and theatre intermingled as nowhere else that I have experienced. There
were scarcely any clashes or gossip.
My deep passion in contemporary Indian art today is because
of my relationship with artists and interaction with people like (M. F.)
Husain, Tyeb (Mehta), and Gaitonde who left a permanent impression on me. There
were other people at Alkazi school. Cedric and Rohini Santos and the da Cunha's
were all supporters of the Theatre Unit.
There were senior actors like Bomi Kapadia, Nergis Cowasji.
Pheroza Cooper. Hilla Cooper, Usha Amin, Kersi Katrak, Zul Vellani. Minoo Choi.
Mina Chitnis. Zohra Sehgal, Derek Bond-an Englishman, Zarine Engineer,
Alaknanda Samarth. Satyadev Dubey and many others. They performed some plays at
the institute, which could accommodate about one hundred people in the main
room downstairs.
The audience would be full of intellectuals of Bombay like
Karl Khandalawala and Mulk Raj Anand. Rudy Von Leyden was an eminent
personality. At sixteen, for me, it was the most relevant period of my
existence. I felt I was part of a movement that had received a direction, and
everything in the arts could simply follow from that initial awakening.
The Institute had been right at the center of the city’s
cultural history, starting a new chapter for the arts in India, exploring and
advocating a plethora of experiments. The world was Bhulabhai’s stage. It was a
place that started a cultural explosion, and like lightning, it lit fires
everywhere in India. It was an era of excitement and innovation.
...................................................................
Alyque Padamsee
Image courtsey: Business Today
Hima Devi was a magnificent dancer and a huge name in dance. Later, she moved
into the theatre and trained a lot of actors, especially in English. She was a
stickler for enunciation.
She would constantly add. "Don’t suffer from lazy
lips."
There was a lot of intermingling, and that was the beauty of
the Bhulabhai Institute. It was a place where artists of different languages in
theatre, of different schools of painting, poetry came together. Nissim Ezekiel
was there.
Everywhere there would be workshops going on, even dance
workshops. I recall even Akbar and Husain organized some informal workshops of
sorts. Not the kind where you’d have to sign here and pay there but the sort
where you said, ‘Okay let’s meet tomorrow evening and talk about art.’ There
was constantly a kind of unusually pleasant banter going on there.
Conversations, rivalries, controversies...that was the beauty of Bhulabhai.
Akbar, who is now this grand old statesman and spokesperson
for the art world, had done a painting for which the police (they registered a
lawsuit against Akbar Padamsee for his painting The Couple) arrested him. It
was a particularly prominent case with progressive artists. We were truly a
rebellious crowd. I did a play that got banned. It was Pratap Sharma, A Touch
of Brightness. We got invited to the Commonwealth Arts Festival in London. It
was the first Commonwealth Arts Festival, and we were the sole Indian group
invited. After battling a long legal battle for seven years, they withdrew the
ban. However, we could not perform at the Commonwealth Arts Festival in London.
We called the space Scandal Point; I don’t know why.
..........................................................
Satyadev Dubey
Image courtsey: LiveMint
The Bhulabhai Institute. I have heard Bade Ghulam Ali Khan sahib sing over
there: ‘Ka karoon sajni aye na balam.' The lawns were also
where Vijaya Mehta and P. D. Shenoy had a conversation and Shenoy persuaded her
to go back to Marathi theatre, which she did, and became perhaps its first
star. Every actress seemed to copy Vijaya.
..................................
Shyam Benegal
Image courtesy: The Hindu
I will never forget the first time I came to the Bhulabhai
Desai Institute. There’s a significant reason for that. It was at the height of
the battle for the city of Mumbai to be incorporated in Maharashtra, the Samyukta
Maharashtra agitation. This was in 1956. Several policemen were firing
at various spots in Bombay, especially at Flora Fountain and Colaba. I can
never forget that because mine was the last train to come into the terminal at
VT (Victoria Terminus) station. I had arrived from Hyderabad, where I used to
live. I was a college student.
I was interested in dance and music and other things that I
had only read about. One person who appeared to me to be a very exciting figure
of the time was the doyenne of modern dance, Martha Graham. I had come
specifically to watch her perform in Mumbai. I remember being very
impressed by Bhulabhai. It was quite an extraordinary place. There was a lawn
below and next to that there were cubicles where most of the eminent artists of
the second half of the twentieth century had their studios.
Besides the artists who worked at Bhulabhai Desai Memorial
Institute, all the people visited for lectures and discussions and so on. We
haven’t had a repetition of that ever. Today, you can’t get artists together in
one place like that. It was something extraordinary that happened to Bombay.
.......................................................................
Gerson da Cunha
Image courtesy: Mid-day, Mumbai Dairy
Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute was a perfect rehearsal
space. But most of the shows took place in separate places because there was
not adequate space for pucca green rooms or an appropriate setting for a large
enough audience. Just the audience that could be accommodated on the terrace
was not adequate to cover costs.
Everybody was in any of the arts would have met each other
at the Bhulabhai. I recall meeting P. L. Deshpande at Bhulabhai. He was a
remarkable personality. The beautiful thing about Pu La Deshpande was that
besides being a monumental personality in theatre, he was likewise a fine
character. He was a warm individual who always talked to you like an equal,
never talking down to you from his exceptional peak of theatrical
accomplishment.
There was a great deal of coming and going. We used to say, “See you at the Bhulabhai." Today, I see space where you can perform, but I don’t see spaces where you can meet as we did at the Bhulabhai Institute
......................................................................................................
Meena Naik
Image courtesy: The Hindu
There was a great hall on the ground floor and several small
rooms above it on the first floor. They gave one of them to Madhavrao
Master, the puppeteer. The place used to be chock full of puppets-stored away
in boxes, hanging all over the place. He had even established a small puppet
theatre there. I went there for my sister’s ballet rehearsals, I’d watch for a
while and later drift off upstairs. Masterji would arrive at around three in
the afternoon and would remain till about nine. There was another elderly man
with him called Babuji Mistry. He was a woodworker who had been with the
Prabhat Film Company before he retired. Masterji also had piles of books—all in
English. Masterji didn’t know a word of English, but he would examine the
pictures and instruct Babuji, who would make puppets accordingly. I would love
to spend time with him and manipulating his puppets.
I learned everything about puppets and puppetry there, in
that room in the Bhulabhai Institute. The artist Gaitonde used to work in a
room next to Masterji’s and I had heard Ravi Shankar used to play in some other
room. For one of Masterji’s shows, Ravi Shankar had composed the music because
the production called for classical music. It had three sitting puppets—one
playing the tabla, one the sitar, and one something else I can’t remember. I
loved being in that place, overflowing with so much culture.
Vijaya Bai was directing Bai Khulabai, Vyankatesh
Madgulkar’s adaptation of Jean Giraudoux The Madwoman of Chaillot for Rangayan.
She was going to use masks in the play. I made the masks. The rehearsals for
the play used to be at Bhulabhai. There was a terrace on the second floor—not
small but not as large as the hall downstairs—where we used to rehearse till
nine at night.
............................................................................................................................
Ratna Pathak-Shah
Image courtesy: Khaleej Times
Things like poetry readings and speeches too used to
materialize there, and I was a part of that too, although my memories of those
things are fuzzy. There were poetry readings, dance programs, talks on painting
and at some point, they held even some workshops there. It was theatre-related,
so I landed up for that too. But what I have a powerful memory of is the space
it was. It was very informal, with no genuine sense of distance between the
performers and the audience. If I am not mistaken, there was a kind of stage.
Bhulabhai was not a commercial venture. It focused on experimentation and
understanding of theatre. A variety of performances took place there. None of
the plays ran for a long time.
They were mostly one-off. Even the people who came there differed completely
from the people who came for the Gujarati commercial theatre. The actors and
directors were different. They were concerned with putting forward ideas rather
than producing plays that ran for many shows and made a lot of money as the
general movement was in Gujarati theatre.
.............................................................................................
Arun Kakade
Image courtesy: The Indian Express
Vijayabai knew Soli Batliwala. Because of him, we could work
at the Bhulabhai Memorial Institute. They had given us a small space there.
Also, there was a vast space at the back that was turned into a godown for us.
We would put all our equipment there, all our sets, everything. We used the
small rehearsal space; we got to use the terrace space, the lawn, and every
available space for rehearsals.
In my opinion, it was the ideal center for the arts. All the
arts had come together there. Gaitonde worked there. There were a couple of
sculptors. Ravi Shankar practiced there. Vijay Raghav Rao was there. So we’d go
watch them practice, rehearse. When we rehearsed, they would come and watch us.
There was a lot of giving and take. Dubeyji was there. It was an important
cultural center. When we did shows, Gaitonde and others would come and watch.
We had to pay a nominal fee for the godown space, nothing else.
I think we worked at Bhulabhai for about seven to eight
years. We did a lot of plays there. When we performed at Bhulabhai, there would
be about forty to fifty people in the audience, not more. Most of them would be
our sympathizer members. We didn’t have any money. So we told all our friends
that we would bring them three new products every year for which they would
have to pay a membership fee in advance. As a result, they encouraged us to
turn out new work consistently. Slowly, a kitty formed. I think the membership
was about Rs 15 for a year, and about Rs 25 for a family. This was more than
enough money for us. This was around 1960.
We used as much as we could of the space at Bhulabhai. When
we performed on the terrace, we used lights and everything. How terrace space
had been visualized, the way we have used it in the space design for the play
was brilliant.
I don’t remember other groups working at Bhulabhai. I only
remember Rangayan and Theatre Unit. We had a limited, exclusive audience.
Getting off at Grant Road station and walking to Bhulabhai wasn’t easy. So our
audience was only those people who believed that watching the theatre of this
sort was a must. In those days, South Bombay was the center of the theatre.
.............................................................................................
One cannot talk enough about the Bhulabhai Institute and the
effects of the space. Ravi Shankar becomes the face of Indian classical music
on the international stage. Alkazi is invited all around the globe and trained
the best Indian actors Indian and international audiences have seen perform.
The Progressives continue to write history and are still breaking price records
in India and abroad. Marathi theatre got important personalities and many
Indian cinema actors also came from the roof of this institute.
Madhuriben's vision and Soli Batliwala's execution had
changed the language of the arts and gave a safe space for artists to
experiment, collaborate and create without the constraints of finances, as it
was not a commercial space. This may also be the reason why the space
eventually had to shut down and the bungalow had to be auctioned.
The documentation of this institute has not been vastly
done, even though this has been birth place of many award winning artists in
India and abroad. Today a space like the Bhulabhai Institute is required more
than ever, keeping in mind the finances and need for experimentation,
collaboration, and the confluence of new ideas.
……………….
Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute
In reading about the Bhulabhai Desai Institute,
one can acquaint themselves with a few historically important personalities who
supported contemporary Indian art in the 1950s and 1960s by nurturing talent
and providing an international stage and platform for many of them.
Image courtesy: India Photo Archive Foundation
Bhulabhai Desai came to Bombay in 1905 and joined Bombay High
Court as an advocate. He worked closely with Gandhiji - Desai-Liaquat
Pact and the INA Soldiers Judgement marked important landmarks. His
son Dhirajlal B. Desai became India’s first ambassador in Switzerland and was
married to Madhuriben Desai. Warden road in Breach Candy was renamed to
Bhulabhai Desai Road after him.
Bhulabhai’s daughter-in-law Madhuriben Desai was an
archaeologist, an art connoisseur, and educationist who undertook many projects
and edited many books such as Ancient Monuments of India (Edited by her and
Douglas Barrett), The prehistoric background of Indian culture (by her &
Douglas Hamilton Gordon), Sculptural Monuments, and others. [i]. Soon after
Dhirajlal Desai’s early demise at the age of 42, on 22nd June 1951, Madhuriben
put her efforts and energy in building Bombay’s art scene, by creating
Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute (BDMI).
................................................
“At about the same time, I think it was in 1957, we were
asked to leave the premises in Flora Fountain, where we had been holding our
rehearsals for the past six or seven years. The search began for a new place.
On Bhulabhai Desai Road was the famous bungalow of Mr. Bhulabhai Desai. Mr.
Desai had been a distinguished barrister and a Congress leader during the
freedom struggle."
After his death, a trust had been formed and the bungalow
had been converted into the premises of the Bhulabhai Desai Institute. One of
the practices of the Institute was to rent rooms to artists on a nominal fee of
one rupee per day. Here they could work in peace. The chief trustee was Mr. Desai's
daughter-in-law. "She was aware of IPTA's activities and was sympathetic
to our work. So, when we approached her for the use of some rooms to conduct
our rehearsals, we were warmly welcomed". Mr. Soli Batliwalla, the
manager, was also very helpful to us. It was here that we started work on Annabhau
Sathe's (theatre) Imandar”[v]
Ebrahim Elkazi separated from the Theatre Group and established his
Theatre Unit at the Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute. Wooden benches were
made on the terrace and performances took place, in an intimate setting[ii].
Ravi Shankar’s now very famous music school Kinnara School of Music started
here as well. Studio space was also provided to a lot of dancers and other
artists of various genres. MF Hussain, Ebrahim Alkazi, and Pandit Ravi Shankar
were amongst the more well-known personalities who had availed of this
facility.
The list of performers and artists who visited the intimate space and/or had
their studios is enormous. Gaitonde, Dashrath Patel, Husain, Prafulla Joshi,
Homi Patel, Nalini Malani (who got a studio, even though she was a first-year
student0, and many others.
“I met people like (Ebrahim) Alkazi, Satyadev Dubey (she went on to work
with him as well). That’s also where I met Alaknanda Samarth, with whom I
worked later. I would go to the studio at 6 am, and there would be Annapurna
Devi doing her riyaaz, which was a magical experience. I can never forget those
moments of listening to a morning Raag and eventually I got very interested in
Hindustani classical music. All of these factors embellished my work,” [iii]
Alaknanda Samarth, Ralli Jacob and his wife Perin (a ceramic artist), Madhav
Satwalekar, Adi Davierwalla, Piloo Paockhanawala, Tyeb Mehta and his wife
Sakina (who had a library in the veranda), Girish Karnad, Shyam Benegal,
Satyadev Dube, Mina Chitnis, Shabana Azmi’s mother Shaukat Azmi, Jatin Das,
Laxman Shrestha, Bal Chabbada who started a gallery here called Gallery 59 (as
it was established in 1959), Nasreen Mohomedi who interacted here with her
mentor Gaitonde, Akbar Padamsee who frequented the space for evening
discussions, but never took a studio space as his studio was ten minutes
walking distance from BDMI.
Sylvester Da Cunha, Nisha Da Cunha, Gerson Da Cunha who shuffled between
Theatre Group and Theatre Unit[iv]. Harihar Jariwala who changed his name to
Sanjeev Kumar when debuted in Hindi Cinema and Jatin Khanna better known as
Rajesh Khanna, Gieve Patel, Anjolie Ela Menon who held her first exhibition in
Bombay at BDMI, Nissim Ezekiel and Rati Mehta’s piano class was conducted here
as well and much more… A.K Hangal who required space for rehearsals got a room
for one rupee a day.
One can only imagine the overflowing talent that arrived at the doorsteps of
BDMI, Mumbai, and got space, no one seemed to be turned away. Soli
Batlivalla accommodated an entire generation of talent in a two-story
bungalow, where they were nurtured, constructive criticism took place, got
inspired, and had deep thought-provoking discussions, performances,
collaborations, exhibitions, and so much more.
After the bungalow was demolished and the building Akash Ganga came up, the
National Centre of Performing Arts (NCPA) rented its first floor for five
years, paying rupee one for each year, thus coming into existence, before
moving to its Nariman Point location. BDMI continued to live on even after the
building Akash Ganga came in its place, but its notion changed with its
infrastructure. With Jehangir gallery established in 1959,, the art scene
expanded and artists moved out of the institute. NCPA was established in 1969
with Dr. VK Narayana Menon as it’s Executive Director.
Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute has had a glorious past, this is a partial
attempt to recapture it.
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