 "Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai")
If the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum was a business venture, her contribution to it would be termed "sweat equity," says Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, in an air-conditioned office filled with stacks of books, promotional material and documents.
The Byculla museum director frequently flits among these, reaching for literature that helps outline improvements made to the 143-year-old institution under her watch. Mehta has become more vocal in this exercise after local corporators raised complaints about certain practices at the museum and attempted to oust her.
The art historian and curator had joined in 2003, following a tripartite agreement between the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), heritage conservation group Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation to revive and manage the dilapidated museum. "I don't think the corporators understand that I am not a government employee but an equal partner."
The transformation of the museum was seemingly textbook, as a film playing on loop in the cafeteria shows visitors. Founded in 1872 as the erstwhile Victoria & Albert Museum, it displayed artifacts related to 19th century trade and crafts in the city.
By the late 1990s, however, it turned derelict. The artifacts were without labels and the building's Palladian exterior and Victorian interiors were ramshackle. Facing financial constraints at the time, BMC agreed to rope in help. The Bajaj family poured funds into it, while INTACH, of which Mehta is vice-chairman, brought in restoration expertise. A museum trust was set up, headed by the city mayor, which included representatives of the three partners as well as eminent personalities. This public private partnership was seen as exemplary - until a year ago when the narrative became one about a bitter battle for control.
Last March, Samita Naik of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) spearheaded a protest to stop a Lakme Fashion Week event from being held at the premises. Museum employees say party workers entered the gates, threatened violence and brought down part of the set-up for the show, which was hurriedly moved to another venue.
Naik alleges parties are hosted after museum hours and on the weekly holiday. "Where does the money from such commercial events go?" She also protested against plans for a new wing, saying a proposed parking lot would eat up the local playground.
Soon, Mumbai Mayor Snehal Ambekar said that she found irregularities in the finances of the museum trust. MNS corporator Sandeep Deshpande then put forward a resolution to remove Mehta, whom he describes as "adamant", which was supported by corporators across political parties.
Following this, Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta was said to be reviewing the public-private agreement and studying legal implications of terminating it. Mehta did not respond to a request for comment. It was later reported that BMC officials found Mehta cannot be removed since her contract runs to 2018.
Unwilling to back down, corporator Naik will demand next that a committee be set up within the museum to include local corporators in the decision-making process. Instead of fashion events, the museum should showcase local dance forms like lavni or garba, MNS' Deshpande suggests.
Over the phone, he often refers to the museum as a "public" institution and dismisses the private partnership as invalid. While he has no complaints about the museum's performance, he adds that Mehta should consult BMC.
The manner of the protest against the fashion event did not go down well with trustees. Had the corporators' move to dismiss Mehta as director gone ahead, it would have been the downfall of the museum, says Minal Bajaj, director of the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation.
Such actions will go against the municipal corporation, and in the future they may find it difficult to get funding from corporations, she adds. Both Mehta and Bajaj claim that their experience with the previous mayor, Sunil Prabhu, and former municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte, who had been there since the time restoration began, was free from conflict.
Since the Lakme Fashion Week tussle, the two sides have engaged in a cold war. The corporators have raised questions in the press, and never through calls, letters or meetings with her, says Mehta. She, too, has been candid in her responses in newspapers.
Although invitations are sent out for exhibitions, BMC officials rarely visit, alleges Mehta. Mayor Ambekar has so far never been in attendance, while the new BMC chief, Ajoy Mehta, only attended one event - related to the government's Make in India initiative - for a few minutes, she observes.
It all started, Mehta says, when plans for expanding the museum became known. "There is no parking lot planned on top of the playground. All parking will be underground," she says, pointing to a green patch on the map of the expansion plan.
As for allegations of irregularities, the museum trust, she says, is an autonomous body that is empowered to take financial decisions on its own.
Mehta's decision to give space for ad films or fashion events is guided by her efforts to get income for the museum's future growth. She makes a phone call to a team member who brings in a section of the initial legal agreement, which states that such activities may be conducted as long as earnings go straight to the museum trust.
Mehta is known to host gatherings to welcome artists and guests on days of show opening, but abides by the law of no alcohol on BMC premises. Museum insiders say events are well publicised, recruitments to the small team are carefully controlled and salaries are paid following due process.
Citing demands that the museum promote local culture, she points to an ongoing study about Maharashtrian artists, including an upcoming lecture on 18th-century painter Gangaram Tambat. "Everyone talks about the Bengal school of art. When it comes to Mumbai, everyone talks about the Progressives, but we want to showcase local artists even before them."
The director reckons she has been amenable so far, accommodating an order to change the word "Bombay" to "Mumbai" in a 19th-century art display, even if it troubled the art historian in her.
The future of the tripartite agreement is protected, she states, because it has a validity of 15 years from the time of the museum's reopening. "I should just put the deed online, make everything public."
Her sweat equity, says Mehta, is "credibility and hard work", which convinces people to give money. For the last three years, Mukesh Ambani, whom she calls an old friend, has been giving Rs 60 lakh - earnings from his post on the board of the Bank of America - to the museum. The Bajaj family gives Rs 20-25 lakh each year. It has pledged Rs 20 crore towards the new wing. BMC gives Rs 2 crore annually.
Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai
She studied textile design at the JJ School of Art. A decade-long stint in the US involved a job at luxury chain Bloomingdale's and a liberal arts degree from Columbia University.
Accolades for the museum started in 2005 when it won the UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage award for conservation. Even today, its clean façade in celadon green and beige with tall teak doors looks like something out of a picture book. Inside, the walls bear detailing in green, red and gold. The balustrades and chandeliers seem like exhibits in themselves. A toilet was turned into a restoration lab and objects from the permanent display were conserved. Spaces were created for temporary exhibitions of contemporary and modern art.
Footfalls have risen, says Bajaj. "When I had visited the museum in its dilapidated condition, all I could see were spill offs from the zoo. Now, tourists make it a point to visit the museum, even though it is so much out of the way."
Outreach activities, such as workshops to engage local schools, have increased to an extent that the museum trains interns and docents to help the curatorial team. There are guided tours in English and Marathi on weekends, besides audio guides and information sheets in the two languages.
Alain Zayan, director of Alliance Francaise de Bombay, which hosts monthly screenings about the history of art, says it enjoys repeat audiences of 45-50 people at every event.
"I love that the museum attracts such a diverse range of visitors and not just the 'classical elite'," says Sharon Memis, director of west India for British Council, which chose the venue for two exhibitions.
From a city museum about the city, its scope has grown to include collaborations with international museums and artists, says art critic Kishore Singh. Much of the programming is user-friendly and ticket prices have been maintained at Rs 20 per head, allowing access to different social strata. Singh, who was involved in two exhibitions for Delhi Art Gallery at the venue, credits Mehta for visualising the change. "Having restored the museum itself, she put in place systems, looked for sponsors, got artists to show their work."
The museum has uniformly glowing testimonials from art world giants in its brochure and from common visitors on TripAdvisor or Google reviews.
Mehta is known to be hands-on, keeping a keen watch on everything, from recruitments to design and introductory text for exhibitions. Museum directors in New York, Paris and Tokyo have taken note of the progress, says photographer and curator Ram Rahman, who teaches a photography course in the Byculla museum.
If the management set-up changes, Rahman worries that, like the Lalit Kala Akademi in Delhi, it will be run by bureaucrats and not by art professionals. That concern is shared by artist Reena Kallat, who worked on an art piece inspired by the museum in 2013.
The months of uncertainty have put a spanner in the works of some exhibitions as well as the ambitious expansion plan. The new wing, a modern building to be designed by American architect Steven Holl, will have galleries for contemporary art and travelling exhibitions.
Prominent players in the corporate world, including the Tata and Birla groups, had showed interest in investing but the plan is on hold.
Later in the month, the museum's artifacts are expected to go live on the Google Art project, which offers virtual tours of parts of important world museums. The museum is separately working on digitising its entire collection.
For now, Mehta has no plans of her own to initiate action against the corporators or BMC if they move to terminate the partnership. "I have not done anything wrong. So I will simply continue to work."
