artnlight: Mumbai

Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai - Part 2

Sunday, June 19, 2016

This will be the 2nd post on Dr. Baudaji Lad Museum, the earlier post explored mainly the structure and aesthetics of the Museum, this will post will share a little of the displayed art and sculpture. The Museum has been meticulously restored by INTACH, and reinstated to its current glory, made possible by the public private partneship, a tripartite agreement was signed between the Municipal Corporation (MCGM), the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation which funded the restoration, and INTACH which executed it and in February 2003, the Museum Trust was established and work began, and continued for 5 intensive years.

"INTACH’s approach to the restoration of the building was careful and considered. Intensive research and preparatory work went into putting the project concept together before drawing up the restoration and revitalisation plan."

The point of the restoration and the point of art is celebrating the beautiful. And this celebration is incomplete without engagement,with everyone. I had visited the museum on a Tuesday morning, and it was extremely heartening to watch people from all walks of life taking in the museum. The top floor of the Museum has an extensive representation of the different communities that came together lived and thrived in Mumbai. Its a great reminder of this city's cosmopolitan roots and a celebration its of diversity.

"Most of the museum objects were in an extremely neglected and damaged condition. They had fungus and were damaged from poor handling and incorrect conservation work. Approximately four thousand objects have been conserved to date by INTACH’s expert conservators. Each object is assessed for damage. It is photographed before, during and after the process. The restoration of each artefact was a cause for celebration."

As a nod towards all things Indian and traditional, a large brass statue of Lord Ganesh or Ganpathy was right at the entrance right next to the gorgeously carved wooden screen.

These stone patters totally had my attention. "The intricate carving on this soapstone dish plate from Agra, blends Islamic geometric design with European foliage patterns. The softness of soapstone permits delicate treatment in design and workmanship."

A marble statue of David Sassoon by whose enterprise Sassoon Docks at Colaba in the city were built. Rani Bagh (Jijamata Udyann) was also his property and was donated to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation for the construction of the Albert Museum, designed by the most prominent architect of the time. It is this Museum which is today's Dr.Bhau Daji Lad Museum.

The extensive research unfolded many layers of history. The primary curatorial objective was to tell the story of this extraordinary city from a multitude of perspectives.

I found these precious bengal styled, tiny, palm sized ceramic statues, meet Goddess Lakshmi - did you see that small owl tucked next to her feet on a conch?

And this here is Goddess Saraswati, sans her Veena, but with books and mandatory swan.

There is one entire shelf dedicated to the 10 avatars of Vishnu, of which I found Lord Ram and funnily even Krishna, rather pensive.

This vase demonstrates a blend of western form and design inspired by a traditional Indian motif, the peacock feather. This pottery was much admired and popular at international exhibitions.

Leaving you with the gorgeous Garuda, the eagle, Lord Krishna's chosen vehicle. He kneels majestically at the exit. Is that a wooden beak, fixed on a stone statue only to be broken again? A reminder that restoration and maintenance of anything in our lives has to be a constant en-devour. If its precious, it must be cared for and tended to, daily.

Architecture

Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Till you see something, you don't 'see' it. You may see a million pictures, but it will not firmly grip you in its silent eloquence. For that you need to walk into the space, breathe the air, where many an artisan has worked dedicatedly to recreate a poignant ode to an august artistic history. Dr. BhauDaji Lad Museum used to be the erstwhile derelict Victoria and Albert Museum became this polished jewel in Jan 2008 after 5 years of intensive restoration work. To say that team INTACH more than lived upto its mission of conserving this countries pluralistic cultural and artistic legacy by giving Mumbai this award winning example of excellence, would be stating the obvious. The simple and elegant exteriors of the building belie the explosion of intricacies that await you inside. "The grand wrought iron palisades, staircase railings and arched supports, as well as the Corinthian capitals and columns which are the defining features of the building were imported from England. The richly coloured details, the intricate woodcarving, the Minton tiled floors, the etched glass and gold gilding make it a unique example of 19th century architecture in the country."

"It was not easy to ascertain the original colours of the Museum as the chemical constituents in the paint could have changed the colour over the years. In the end, 'Celadon Green' was decided upon, a colour widely used in the 19th century buildings around the world.

The choice of Celadon green as the colour for the building was later confirmed by the restorers at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Henry Cole, the architect of the Great Exhibition of 1851, and the first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, considered the colour to be the most appropriate colour for the contemplation of art objects."

"Perhaps the most daunting task before the team was to incorporate new lighting and electrical requirements which was substantial. It was important to consider not only the ambient lighting but also lighting the objects effectively. As the building was under restoration and the objects were in storage in their cases, this became a hugely challenging task. The stone walls made embedding the wires difficult, if near impossible. Fortunately the roof was more amenable and the wires were able to be concealed."

"There were debates as to whether the lighting should be period or modern. In the end the view prevailed that in a building which such ornate embellishment modern lighting would be inappropriate. The time period of the establishment of the Museum was researched carefully and lighting designs were created."

The intricately carved wooden screen that stands at the main door hides the view of the main hall, much like in some temples in India.

"The grand wrought iron palisades, staircase railings and arched supports, as well as the Corinthian capitals and columns which are the defining features of the building were imported from England. The richly coloured details, the intricate woodcarving, the Minton tiled floors, the etched glass and gold gilding make it a unique example of 19th century architecture in the country."

Master gilders from a family of artists in Vasai were employed to restore the original 24 carat gold gilding on the columns. The craftsmen had been gilding church statues for generations. In this way, the restoration project supported a dying art.

Pardon the many pictures of the chandelier, you can see why it was so irresistible.

One of the unique features of the building is the flooring with Minton tiles on the stairwell and the upper floor. These tiles were shipped from England.

The next post will feature some of the artefacts in the Museum. It will be unfair to cram so much eyecandy and information into one post.

Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum has an active FB page which is updated with the recent activities. Today is the opening of the Polish Art Exhibition called "Eye on Poland". Do like their page and all those who feel passionate about art & culture in the city can even become part of their brilliant initiative ~ "Friends of the Museum"

art gallery

Nilofer Suleman's Show at Art Musings

Saturday, October 20, 2012

It was an evening when the stars shone bright in Art Musings, an art gallery in Colaba. I was horribly late for Nilofer Suleman's show and I rushed in to see my favourite people gathered around the entrance happily chatting. Shilo greeted me with the warmth of a long lost friend and what a fantastic surprise to see the Venkat (Vijaya, Anju & Navina) clan in full strength. I will tell you more about them, but 1st Nilofer Suleman's paintings were on the walls giving everyone there tough competition.

Every art lover in town much just head to Colaba, Art Musings, for it is not often that you will get to see a Nilofer Suleman in full glory, up-close and personal and you can spend hours in front of each painting and take in the the humour, the well observed details and it takes being in front of her painting to appreciate the quirk quotient of this country :) We are killer :) And we have Nilofer Suleman, now try and beat that.

I love this picture of Shilo's. She looks like that the young girl that she is :)

I was delighted to meet the Venkats at the show and what a small world it is! Nilofer and Navina were friends from college and Navina is Shilo's god mother.

Dr.Vijaya Venkat is a pioneer in the the field of nutrition and is directly responsible for more and more people of my generation choosing to live a more conscious life and eating right and eating fresh. If we become a healthier country 20 years from now, which we will, we will have this woman to thank. She has founded The Health Awareness Centre, which is doing some amazing and relentless work in the field of health and nutrition.

While Shilo played the solicitous host to perfection, her friends and well wishers were present and I had the good fortune to meet the very gracious and young Avijit Michael, whom I have wanted to congratulate ever since i saw this video.