Parsi 101

Godrej and co-curator Firoza Punthakey Mistree have traced the impact of the Parsi community on the city through the opium trade. The exhibition is being held as part of the 10th World Zoroastrian Congress,which concludes on December 30.

The exhibition though extends till January 20. “We earlier wanted to hold an exhibition that would focus on traditional Parsi embroidery zardozi,gara and kors. Parsis imbibed various elements from other cultures in their clothing. Similar to Chinese embroidery,Parsis use various symbolic motifs,such as chrysanthemums,birds,and a mushroom-like fungus,among others. But the NGMA is a huge space and the pieces we had would not have been sufficient. So we started to expand on the idea,”says Godrej.

This has culminated in a massive collection of works that is divided essentially into two parts – one about the aforementioned trade with China,and a companion exhibition titled No Parsi Is An Island – curated by Ranjit Hoskote and Nancy Adajania which traces the works of Parsi artists from the late colonial period to the present. The section begins with artists such as Pestonji Bomanji,M F Pithawalla and his son Sorab Pithawalla,then moves to 20th century painters such as Shiavax Chavda and Jehangir Sabavala,as well as sculptors Adi Davierwalla and Piloo Pochkhanawala. This section concludes with works by contemporary artists such as Mehlli Gobhai and Gieve Patel.

It’s apt that the exhibition is being held at the NGMA.

The construction of the building,earlier called CJ Public Hall,was sponsored by Cowasji Jehangir,and is one of the many prominent structures built by Parsis. That the personal histories of these families are interconnected with the progress of the city makes some of the artefacts fascinating,including,that of Jehangir and his wife’s knighthood and baronette seals.

“We have sourced the exhibits from various places. The majority of the pottery and furniture is from the FD Alpaiwala Museum of Mumbai. A lot of the paintings are from private collections. The cloth is from the Tapi collection in Surat and the Shilpa and Praful Shah Foundation,” says Godrej. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya has also shared textiles and paintings. The exhibition also includes portraits,which has been one of Godrej’s pet projects over the last decade. “A woman came up to me during the opening and said that she is so happy to have seen a beautiful portrait of her great-grandmother. This would have been lost otherwise,” she says.