Remembering Soli Mama

It was a scene out of a film The young patriot supporting the Quit India struggle heard the police knock on the door of his Parel home Though no stranger to jail alerted by his mother Bachoobai he bolted from a back door and jumped on the tiled roof Unable to share his son and wifes sympathies red faced before the officers was Dr Shiavax Batlivala a physician and Mayor of Bombay under the BritishSoli Shiavax Batlivala diehard Congressman turned cardcarrying communist handled his duties as cultural czar with the ardour he reserved for politics At the Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute Soli Mama as everyone knew him propagated the dynamism and generosity of the family of Bhulabhai Desai whose vision changed the way freshly independent India engaged with the artsIn early Congressman avatarBhulabhai Desai Road where the eponymous institute rose honours the jurist dedicating his immense wealth to this crucible of culture Batlivala was personal assistant to Bhulabhais son Dhirajlal Dhiru accompanying him to Berne when Dhirubhai was appointed Indias ambassador to SwitzerlandBombays artistic fervour came to be distilled at 89 Warden Road before the street salaamed Bhulabhai Desai the address of the institute opposite todays Tata Garden It was the brainchild of Madhuriben Dhirubhais art lover wife who assigned Batlivala charge as catalytic trusteemanager to run this unique hub unlike any previous prototype The estate comprised two bungalows set at an angle Madhuriben lived in roadfronting Hasman now the Dubash residence Another groundplusone Art Deco structure was the institute vibrant with activity from 10 in the morning to 11 at nightAt the 1969 opening of the NCPA in Akash Ganga building Madhuriben Desai JRD and Thelma Tata Minister for Education and Culture Karan Singh Indira Gandhi Betty Bhabha NCPA Executive Director VK Narayana Menon Jamshed Bhabha and behind extreme right Subhas Chandran on special duty in Narayana Menonrsquos office Pic courtesy NCPAMadhuri Masi was a connoisseur and fine photographer herself says Pheroza Godrej whose parents were the Desais family friends Everything at Hasman was aesthetic selected with taste and care Even a banister made a lyrical statement Solibhai sat not in a closed office cabin but a simple glass enclosure Godrej was present at a dinner party at which Madhuriben and JRD Tata planned to convert the abandoned landfill across Hasman into Tata GardenBatlivalas nieces Zarine Khambatta and Freny Olbrich mdash whose Soli Mama he really was their mother Sheroos brother mdash piece together their remarkable uncles life Mama met leaders like Gandhiji Nehru and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit guests at Hasman on their visits to the city says Khambatta Olbrich writes from Scotland A man of unflinching integrity Soli Mama left the Congress because after Independence it conflicted with ideals he would not abandonSoli Batlivala Rafique Zakaria and Usha Rajbans Khanna at Samovar which opened at Jehangir Art Gallery in 1964 thanks to Batlivala Pic courtesy The making of SAMOVAR Usha R KhannaWhat principles essentially compelled Batlivala to shift his staunch stance He was a beautiful Marxist says design academician Mahendra Thakkar Indians viewed this ism as an extension of democratic socialism The 1950s were wonderful Everyone rallied around an ideal of national integration which Solibhai helped put into practice The country wasnt cut off from a history of art mdash in Bombay the Opera House and Laxmi Bagh in Girgaon laid the groundwork for such awareness That underwent a disconnect under the British But Solibhai walked the talk ensuring the Bhulabhai represented classicism and modernism in the Indian artsA section of painters believes otherwise They claim that Batlivala promoted personal favourites and preferred conventional to contemporary art In a lighter aside Thakkar smiles narrating how as a toddler he happily drew with a 5paise piece of chalk on the pavement outside while his mother Sharda attended Hindustani classical vocal classes at the institute Sharda Thakkar went on to form the reputed Sangeet Shala Vrind music groupPheroza Godrej whose parents were close to Madhuriben Desai with Soli Batlivalas niece Zarine Khambatta outside Hasman Bungalow on Bhulabhai Desai Road Dance historian Dr Sunil Kothari notes In the early 1950s we greenhorns wanting to savour dance music theatre or art and meet their exponents just approached Soli Mama at Hasman Captivated they watched the Bharatanatyam brilliance of Chinna Sharada disciple of Rukmini Devi from Kalakshetra and a rare performance of Kathak queen Roshan Kumari among other vibrant eventsA certain effervescence covered every conceivable art practice Piloo Pochkhanawala sculpted undisturbed for hours When he was not bowing for namaaz while sketching posters for a production of Medea MF Husain begged Prafulla Dahanukar to continue with her habit of singing as she painted mdash for his tuneful inspiration Like them Gaitonde Raza Dashrath Patel and Tyeb Mehta whose wife Sakinas verandah shop stocked rare art books were allotted balcony cubicles or studios for a rupee per day thinpartitioned unlocked spaces shared within mutually agreed on timingsThe institute spelt infectious energy and synergy Ebrahim Alkazi staged Greek tragedies on the terrace which was his drama troupes theatre One experiment saw him spotlight Husains rectangular canvas The Voice Alkazi directed silktoned Zul Vellani reciting a poem by that title to piano accompaniment and Austrian emigre critic Rudy Von Leyden discussed the artworkA marvellous nucleus of pursuits and passions the institute sprang spirited exchanges between genres Gaitonde asserted A writer must know what painting is what music is not only Indian music but world music A dancer must know what theatre is From his fixed spot on a bench the reticent painter gazed long at the interplay of sky and sea facing the institute echoed in his stark framesArtists took liberties with each other Ara for instance chided Ravi Shankar bothered by the sitarists dealings with his first wife surbahar doyenne Annapurna DeviIntroduced to Ravi Shankars Kinnara school of music the legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin declared Indian music challenged his intellect French films screened provided audiences an initial whiff of international cinema and Rati Mehta was renowned for piano lessons on a BosendorferWriter and literature professor extraordinaire Nisha da Cunha offers a detailed memory of the institute garden On a sloping desolate section of the lawn which could be a bit unkempt I directed Uncle Vanya We were helped to create the mood with this readymade prop of a shed the backdrop against which Chekhovs characters could talkSome stalwarts treasure institute heirlooms Pointing to a writing table in her living room Vijaya Mehta whose Rangayan laboratory launched experimental Marathi theatre recalls When that creative nest giving us such freedom and joy could no longer survive I got two gifts from Solibhai First he housed Rangayans records in the basement till they found a home The second was three pieces from his office a grandfather clock a wooden sculpture and this desk which was Bhulabhais very ownWith the bungalow auctioned in the 1960s the institute shifted to the first floor of Akash Ganga building on the same property Madhuribens grandnephew Samveg Lalbhai in Ahmedabad vividly recalls its 99seater auditorium Outside the bright blue carpeted hall had a grand chandelier and 26 stained glass panels embellished with Indian dance posesA level above the institutes new quarters the National Centre for the Performing Arts was born in 1969 Dr VK Narayana Menon its Executive Director Appreciative of the cultural vision JRD Tata nurtured for the city Madhuriben accepted rent of a rupee a year for five years of hosting the NCPA before it shifted to Nariman Point Subhas Chandran on special duty in Dr Menons office says He and I were from Delhi both new to Bombay I grew close to Soli Bhai admiring how he had a solution for everything and was ready to discuss any issueThe power behind the Bhulabhai revelled in an important parallel role From 1963 Batlivala supervised administration licensing and bookings at Jehangir Art Gallery as its honorary secretary A pillar of the art community he was a godfather to me says Karthiyani Menon the gallerys longtime secretary Mama spent mornings at Jehangir He was plainspeaking to a fault Doing exactly as he felt often made him quite controversial It was Batlivalas critical decision to lease the first floor to Kekoo Gandhy for Gallery Chemould a pioneering sponsor facility that spared grateful artists the expense of printing catalogues or holding receptionsFrom Devieka Bhojwani I hear a retelling of Batlivalas pivotal part in opening Bombays beloved little corridor cafe at the Jehangir Are we mdash who romanced wrote and lunched there mdash never tired of Samovar stories Solibhai changed our lives forever Bhojwani says My mother Usha Rajbans Khanna the niece of Balraj and Bhisham Sahni came from culture but considered herself an ordinary housewife bringing up three kids in faraway JuhuIt was 1964 a few years after Khanna returned from France where her director husbands documentary Gotama the Buddha won the Jury Prize in Cannes Bumping into Batlivala dressed in usual white kurtalehnga after an exhibition Khanna mentioned she missed the Left Bank vibe shed experienced at atmospheric cafes and bars Wistfully she said We need a place for artists relaxing over tea The prompt response was Why dont you start it Batlivala coaxed her to show up with a stove cups and saucers from her kitchen Mum packed extra quantities of the daily snack she cooked for us to take to school typically Punjabi kheema rolls and samosas Bhojwani saysBack at Bhulabhai the chhamchham tinkle of ghungroos was a pervasive sound Dance was a wellrepresented discipline exponents from Sonal Mansingh to Waheeda Rehman and Hema Malini rehearsing here with their gurus Acknowledging the impact Batlivala had on his followers till June 1986 when he died Sunil Kothari says The contribution of Soli Batlivala and Bhulabhai Institute will go down in the history of the art world of Bombay in golden lettersAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiagmailcomwwwmehermarfatiacomCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates