Maharaja’s treasure and Gaitonde!

When I visited NGMA, Mumbai one evening, the first painting that came in front me was that of legendary painter Gaitonde’s Orangish coloured painting. To describe it in today’s jargon, the colour palette was more towards saffron. The site of that painting was of course, very soothing. In a moment I forgot all my exhaustion. There were many people around that painting and so I could not go near it and watch to my heart’s satisfaction. But I am going to visit the exhibition at leisure once again to see both the paintings of Gaitonde.

When Chinha first published the book on Gaitonde in 2016, I made lot of efforts to procure this painting. Air India had published a picture of it in its 2004 annual calender. I had instantly liked it. I decided that whenever I publish a book on Gaitonde, I will procure the painting and publish a picture of it in Gaitonde’s book. This painting was the first one on my list.

Despite lot of efforts, I was unable to reach the person concerned in Air India. Numerous emails, and messages were sent. I tried talking lot of contacts in Air India but, no one responded. My emails and messages went unanswered too. I had not expected any different reaction given the fact that Air India was with the government then. And so, I decided if not now, I will surely use it for English edition of the book.

And to my surprise, the other evening the same painting was there in front of me. I was ecstatic. Not just that, I also got to see another of Gaitonde’s rare paintings on the second floor of the gallery. Come to think of it, I could have easily scanned the painting in the 2004 calender and reprinted it in the Marathi book. But, that would not have been the right thing to do. Besides, I was not sure if such kind of reproduction would have given the desired result. Therefore, I avoided the temptation of doing it. Though I am aware of many unpleasant things in this regard, it would be improper to write about it now, here. That I have decided not to write about it was the right thing to do. You will soon know why.

The work on the English edition of book on Gaitonde has gained speed now. We have decided that on 2^nd November 2023, come what may, we would be releasing the book. And I feel, the exhibition by Air India has come at just the right time and I found two of his rare paintings at NGMA exhibition. What a coincidence this is!

2^nd November 2023 is the birth centenary of Gaitonde. I doubt whether there would be any government celebration this year as elections are nearing, and the situation is such that nobody can predict its outcome. Last time, when we met the then Maharashtra Minister of Higher and Technical Education Mr. Chandrakant Patil regarding issues at J J School of Arts, a letter was handed over to him regarding this issue. He had assured action in this. Later, I also handed over another proposal to Higher and Technical Education Secretary Vikas Rastogi. But till date, I haven’t received reply for the two letters. This clearly shows the importance and respect the artists or their works have in view of government.

In order to draw more attention from Chandrakant Patil in Gaitonde project, I informed him that during his youth, Gaitonde was a RSS worker. I did not lie about it, it is a fact. Gaitonde’s childhood friend Shantu Amonkar in his 2006 interview to ‘Chinha’ had mentioned about it. I thought this piece of information will help us get some help from Chandrakant Patil, but all in vain. Anyways. Besides, next year is an election year and nothing will happen in this regard is for sure.

That’s the precise reason why we have decided to release the book on 2^nd November and also, the whole year we would continue to write on Gaitonde on ‘Chinha’ website as well as other social media platforms. This is Chinha’s tribute to Gaitonde.

The work on the book is going on full steam. Designing for the book will commence in August while the book will be sent for printing in September. As of now we are working as per our schedule. Unlike the conventional methods of distribution of book, this time we have engaged a foreign agency. And therefore, pre-release discounts would be a complete no for this book. Yet, anybody will be able to order the book on pre-payment and it will be delivered within 24 hours at the doorstep. You will find all the updates on the book every week at https://chinha.in/. You can also join ‘Chinha’ whatsapp group by clicking on the link https://chat.whatsapp.com/L8dCxxAbOaDBjaT6qrg0SI for further information.

Satish Naik

Editor,

Chinha Art News