|
At that time in history, Lord Mountbatten was the supreme
Commander of the armed forces in India. Captain Dust, one
of the Italian POWs, approached Mountbatten with a unique idea:
putting the prisoners to work instead of keeping them idle. He proposed
a separate army unit christened 'Nur Art' which would bring
together prisoners from all over India. The Nur Art unit was made
to paint decorative panels by the hundreds to liven and add colour
to army garrisons.
This painting shows Captain Dust on the left
instructing his deputies, many of them undiscovered artists.
In 1944, Italy surrendered to the British Forces. At that time
the prisoners were given a free hand to interact with local Indians.
Indians always had a weakness for whites. So, many Italian prisoners
were invited by elite Indian households to spend Sundays with them.
"One of the POWs became dear to us and used to use our kitchen
on Sundays to make delicious Italian pasta. On his way back to Italy
he gave us this painting from the army camp as a parting gift,"
he recounts.
Hebbar for a hundred
"The renowned artist K K Hebbar introduced me to the
art world in the early 1940s. I have one painting by young Hebbar,
which I treasure because it was the first painting I ever bought
in my life. It cost me Rs 100," says Keku about another of
his gems.
My son, Horses and Hussain
A family painting adorns the wooden panelling along the winding
stairway of Keku's house. It would not normally invite a second
glance. But it has Keku's fond memories attached to it.
 "In
the early days, M F Hussain worked in fits and impulses.
I believe he still does today. He was always seen with a bucket
of paint and scores of brushes. He wanted to paint my family. This
painting is not among the greats of Hussain. To me it has value.
When this family picture was being painted, only my son was not
present. Hussain used his imagination and placed him astride an
horse in the frame, because my son was passionate about horse-racing."
Lang Hammer Set Free
The stately drawing room lights up to a beautiful painting of two
adorable children captured with an intense gaze. "That's a
painting of my son and daughter," initiates Keku and unfolds
an Austrian tale.
 "This
was a creation of Lang Hammer, an impressionistic painter
from the Academy of Arts, Vienna, in the late 40s. My wife
Khursed and I joked with him that his paintings had turned
commercial. To which he retorted, 'I have no choice. If I am painting
a child, the mother has a list of instructions for me and if I am
painting a woman, her husband tells me he does not want the wrinkles
to be seen.' So we asked him to paint a portrait of our children
and we would not interfere. This painting was the result."
Hammer took five sittings to finish the painting. Khursed narrated
stories to the children to make them sit still. If you observe the
painting, both the children are gazing intently in one direction.
|
Even
before you meet the man, his imperial stone mansion 'Kekee Manzil'
speaks… of individuality and class. Keku Gandhi may be frail
with age, but this factor is soon dismissed. A youthful energy drives
his passion for art. At ease in his house of (he)art,
Keku's crow-feet lined eyes fill with emotion as he traces the events
that led to his acquiring a collection that he rightly calls 'Neighbour’s
Envy, Owner’s Pride.'
This
painting occupies pride of place in Keku's heart and was created
by a POW (Prisoner-Of-War). "This is no beautiful painting,
but its value is beyond aesthetics," Keku expresses as he begins
to relate an interesting anecdote. During the African campaign of
1944 (World War II), the Allied troops drove the Axis forces out
of Africa. Thousands of Italian and German POWs were held and imprisoned
in colonial countries of the British Raj. Many were imprisoned in
army garrisons in India. 
"Everyday
when I used to walk home from school, I used to pass an old mansion
(over 300 years old) belonging to Dr Vincent Pereira. The
doctor was a handsome fellow and a favourite among the women in
Bandra Bandstand. Even my maternal grandmother had a soft corner
for him.
