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Ladies & Gentlemen, It is A Wonderful Evening today as we have amongst us, Mrs. Sheila Dikshit ji, – our Honble Chief Minister of Delhi, Ebrahim Alkazi Saheb – Director, Art Heritage, a number of our distinguished Collectors & Artists; and our Friends from the Media.

I welcome you all for the launch of this book, which pays homage to some of the true admirers of Indian Art.

The urge to collect has been a part of human consciousness forever. Collecting art is a well-known passion and ownership of art in one form or another, has flourished through centuries as the temples, churches, mosques and public buildings became abodes of art. Many Indian Kings & their Kingdoms would have never been so fondly remembered, but for their patronage of art.

Art collection in the sense in which it is known today, did not begin in India before our encounter with the west, and thereafter continued to prosper even in the post-independent era. There was no single patron to perform this multi-hued function of patronage.

Individuals like Naval Tata, Manu Thacker, Homi & Jamshed Bhabha, Alkazi Saheb, and many others like them became visionary benefactors of Indian Art.

This was the time when most of the artists in spite of their talent, creativity and hard work, didn’t get enough recognition for their efforts. At this critical juncture, THE CREATORS and THE ADMIRERS of Indian art, came together & joined hands. Thus emerged a complimentary team, which took Indian Art forward to its next level of recognition.

Over the years, a lot of books and printed materials have been written and published on Indian Art as a subject, its history and on the artists who have evolved over time.
However, there has never been an effort to recognize the Collectors of Indian Art. This book salutes the pioneers and is a doorway into the mystical world of discerning collectors of Modern & Contemporary Indian Art.

India has emerged as the hub of art renaissance, where patronage, now also includes a new class of young collectors

Friends, I just remembered a joke of a young collector like me, and I would like to take the liberty of sharing it with you all.

A young art collector was visiting Louvre, the famous French Museum. She looked at a painting, and suddenly said, Is this a dreadful painting or what! I can't believe it, that a respectable place like this could have such a horrible piece of art in its collection.

Pardon, Madame! one of the staff said, But it's not a painting, it's a mirror.

Though as a Collector, I am aware of the joys and idiosyncrasies of collecting art, but the Collectors being profiled in this book are indeed pioneers and have been instrumental in supporting art for many years when art was not an asset, but a passion and admiration of creativity.

In fact they initiated the process of patronage and Collection of art and due to their contribution over the years, Modern & Contemporary Indian Art has evolved today into having international interest, leading to the current buoyancy, that it is enjoying in the global markets.

We have paid our humble tribute to 27 such Collectors, through this book, but there are many other passionate Collectors of art, who wished to remain anonymous, for their personal reasons, though we thank them for their best wishes.

Ladies & Gentlemen, each book like every piece of art is a unique story of – a journey & adventure of a particular dream & an obsession of a particular time.

But, Good art is timeless. I hope this book enriches generations of readers and leaves them with an abiding interest in Modern and Contemporary Indian Art.

In the end, I would like to quote a very well known American Art Collector Peggy Guggenheim who once said -

Today is the age of collecting, not only of creating
Let us at least preserve and present to the masses all the great treasures we have

Thank you!

 


Hamare Shaukh Ki To Yeh Inteha Thi.Kadam rakhe to manzil rasta thi...

Honourable Chief Minister Mrs Sheila Dixit Ji, Art Czar Alkazi Saheb, Distinguished collectors, Artists, Friends from Media, Ladies and Gentlemen!!

Its kind of fun to do the impossible and doing it twice is a Double Whammy. Earlier we entered the private domain of clubs through our unique coffee table book ‘Elite Clubs of India An ode to the legacy of Clubs. We have now entered the elitist and esoteric private world of Collectors.

The similarity between the high profile institutions and high profile individuals was that the Clubs were still sitting in the Raj and had to be brought back to Independent contemporary India….The collectors were a little difficult, a little reluctant and very private in bringing forth their collected works I think my size did the trick again

Once convinced they shared not only their eclectic collection but also interesting anecdotes of the journey and their quest for collecting contemporary Indian art.
Though, they knew that an amazingly assembled coffee table book is on the anvil they had not visualized that our labour of love and sweat will attain this beautiful and artistic profile.

Now this wonderful work is being hailed as a treasure trove by the collectors and it is no wonder that a milieu of network has begun among them and their peers.

The cascade of appreciation from collectors who have contributed in this rare piece of art include Business honchos, NRIs, Foreigners and some reclusive patrons of art.

There are some exclusive and Unique Features of the Book
To begin this is the First such book in its jonur.

It chronologically periodizes the transition of collector's preference and Socio –political landscape in India.

Some rare collections which for years were confined to the darkness of cellars were dusted their cobwebs removed records retrieved from ancient trunks and dirty cupboard tops for the delight of discerning Connoisseurs and Commoners alike.
Mostly collectors compare themselves to mountaineers who do their utmost to reach the highest peaks. The exhilaration of finally owning a rarity is similar to attaining a summit. We are feeling the same on completion of this stupendous tome.

Courage expresses itself in many creative ways, from the spunky optimism with which one lives one’s life, to the unfettered aesthetic exuberance with which one does another first of its kind book
...Crafted with precision, grit and endless passion..
I wish it is hailed as an enduring Object d’art.

“ Sirf Andazey Bayan baat badal deta hai…varna duniya mein
Koi baat nayi baat nahi”

Ladies and Gentlemen Indulge!!