India Inc and leading artists come together for a cause

Renowned artists and leaders are uniting to create artworks writes Ritika Kochhar

When Kapil Dev’s NGO, Khushii (Kinship for Humanitarian, Social and Holistic Intervention), held its first “India on Canvas” charity art auction in 2006, it included a painting jointly made by Ratan Tata, who was then the chairman of Tata Sons, and artist Laxman Shrestha. The auctioneers started the bidding for the artwork at Rs 19 lakh, but the bidding war rapidly escalated till the price of the painting reached Rs 60 lakh. At this point, the person bidding on behalf of Tata Sons promptly put down his paddle. The painting finally went to the understandably smug ITC representative for Rs 70 lakh. 

Anuj Malhan (left) creating an artwork with Sanjay Bhattacharya.

Khushii’s chief patron, hotelier and art writer Aman Nath, quotes Tata as he talks about why the work Khushii is doing is so important. “Ratan (Tata) used to say that no matter how much you do in India, it’s almost never enough. In my work as a hotelier, I provide 600 people a chance to work so that they don’t have to live in jhuggis. Here, through Khushii, we’re affecting the lives of 20,000 girls.”

From left: Minal Patwardhan and Joseph Andrade pose next to the painting they created with Seema Kohli.

Since 2003, most people, whether they’re artists, gallery owners or from the world of business, haven’t said no when Khushii has asked them to dig into their pockets. Art galleries have held Art Loots — where they’ve offered their unsold paintings lying with them for a fixed amount, with a lottery deciding which works the bidders will take home. 

A work by Sandeep Gupta and Paresh Maity

But it’s the art auctions where corporate patrons and artists collaborate on artworks that raise the most funds — some of it through friendly corporate warfare and some through the businesspeople and their families paying for the artworks. The entire auction in 2006 of over 121 paintings finally fetched Rs 13.96 crore, with a work by Tina Ambani and Jogen Chowdhury going for Rs 95 lakh. The next year, a work by Anjolie Ela Menon and Kumar Mangalam Birla fetched Rs 1.20 crore. 

The work that Khushii does with these funds is what makes the project interesting for so many people. Under the name Shikshaantra Plus, it provides teacher training and ensures that students can read and speak according to the prescribed level across government schools in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Faridabad, Mumbai and Bhiwadi, Rajasthan. It also provides computer labs and bio toilets in government schools for 20,600 students across India.

But this project isn’t just about serious philanthropy for many of these businesspeople. Anuj Malhan, director, Spirit Global Construction, for example, has already planned the space where he’ll hang the artwork he has created with artist Sanjay Bhattacharya. “The first artwork I bought eight years ago was a Bhattacharya. The one I have worked on with the artist now is divided in half: a typical Calcutta house on one side and a statue of Krishna on the other.”

Malhan is building a new house in Chattarpur, Delhi, which he expects to be complete soon. “While I haven’t decided on an upper limit to what I’ll bid, I’ll buy the piece for the house if the bidding isn’t too aggressive,” he says cheerfully. 

Amit Chandra, managing director, Bain Capital Private Equity, has made “India on Canvas” a family project. Along with his wife, Archana, and daughter, Anika, he has collaborated with artist Revati Singh Sharma because he liked the idea of collaborating as a family with an artist for a cause. As Chandra says, “It was super fun working with Revati since she had a broad idea of what she wanted to do, but allowed us to help shape the end product in a very creative way so that it was a highly personal experience.”

A sculpture Tara Singh Vachani and Gayatri Sekhri collaborated on.

Others, like Minal Patwardhan and Joseph Andrade, directors of Josh Derma Care, who worked with artist Seema Kohli, are equally candid. They say for novices like them who have never wielded a paint brush, the collaboration was based on what style of art they would like to display, and the geniality of the artist. “Charity to appease the soul and investment to appease the mind in one stroke was the major attraction of this project.”