"Homi was a very vibrant and dynamic personality. In fact, very few people know of his hidden talent," say the writer-duo of Indira Chowdhury and Ananya Dasgupta, who have launched a book called A Masterful Spirit
"Homi was a very vibrant and dynamic personality. In fact, very few people know of his hidden talent," say the writer-duo of Indira Chowdhury and Ananya Dasgupta, who have launched a book called A Masterful Spirit:
Homi J Bhabha on the nuclear scientist which brings forth his personal side. Indira Chowdhury is a historian and archivist while Ananya Dasgupta is a consultant editor to the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) Archives. CS got the duo to talk about the man and the scientist 
The beginning
"I came down from Banglore in 2004, that's when the whole process started. I and my other colleagues were working on setting up the archives of Homi Jehangir Bhabha at the institute. This book is more of an archival collection instead of a biography. When I came across Bhabha's various letters and correspondences, I was fascinated by his personality. He was a truly a renaissance man," says Indira. "But the idea of the book came much later in 2007, when we had finished collecting all the information and were documenting it," adds Ananya.u00a0
Closet artist
"He was an amazing person. Very few people know that Bhabha was not only an art connoisseur but also an artist himself. The fact that his paintings where displayed at prestigious exhibitions worldwide prove his strong artistic streak" says Ananya Dasgupta. She further added that TIFR not only exhibited Bhabha's contributions towards science and Maths but also his love for paintings, architecture and gardening. Indira also emphasizes this fact saying,"Artist MF Hussain found similarities between the drawings of Bhabha and master artist Leonardo Da Vinci. And he called him the Leonardo of India." The Amoeba garden in TIFR is a shining example of Bhabha's gardening skills.
Flawed genius
The book also outlines some of the negative traits in the great man. "Talks with acquaintances from his office and his school have revealed some of his negative traits. Bhabha was very complex person. He too had flaws. A common complaint against him was him being late for meetings, says Ananya.u00a0
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