Palette Generator: How Bhupen Khakhar’s Waiting for Darshan was acquired

US-based art collector and former gallerist Arani Bose on Indian art, his several firsts and auctioning part of his collection .

Bhupen Khakhar’s Waiting for Darshan.

The title of this Bhupen Khakhar work, interestingly, also narrates the tale behind its acquisition. Suspended on a false wall at Delhi’s Taj Hotel last week, Khakhar’s Waiting for Darshan is one of the 26 works of art that will come under the hammer at the Christie’s auction during the Asian Art Week in New York on September 17. Its US-based owner Arani Bose recalls how he “waited” for the Khakhar for months, before the veteran called him for a purchase. It was around 2001-2002; Bose was already an established gallerist in the US, with his banner Bose Pacia. Introduced to Khakhar by Atul Dodiya at the former’s studio, Bose recalls that upon requesting for a work, the Baroda artist said that “all of them were already spoken for”. Months later, at the San Francisco International Airport, the gallerist got a call from the artist, “There’s a painting that I’ve just finished. Are you still interested?”. An excited “yes” followed and the canvas was promptly transported to New York.

With the September auction, Bose, a practising neurologist, and his wife Shumita, a software engineer, will part with a handful of works from their collection that runs into hundreds. “It is not an easy decision to sell, but it is for a cause we feel passionate about, which is the + 91 Foundation that supports discourses between South Asian avant-garde, global art world and the general public,” says Bose, who is also the Director of Stroke Research at Lenox Hill Hospital.

The “visionaries” — he, Shumita and their partner Steve Pacia — have more than a couple of firsts to their credit: having opened the first gallery in New York focusing exclusively on modern and contemporary art from South Asia in 1994, they also organised the first US exhibitions of FN Souza, Manjit Bawa and MF Husain, followed by Subodh Gupta, Jitish Kallat and LN Tallur. They were also the first South Asian-focused gallery to be accepted into several major international fairs, including the the first national presence of India in the century-long history of the Venice Biennale in 2005.

“We were sitting in Venice in 2003, and realised that India has never had a pavilion there, we set out to rectify that,” says Bose.

After the 2009 meltdown, though, he shut his gallery to open the + 91 Foundation.

This is the second successive year that the couple are putting works from their collection on auction. Last September they auctioned select contemporary works through Saffronart. The Christie’s auction, Deepanjana Klein, Specialist, Head of Sale, Modern & Contemporary Indian Art, promises is more extensive and representative.

The highlights include Francis Newton Souza’s monumental masterpiece The Butcher painted in 1962 (estimate $1.5-2 million), Vasudeo S Gaitonde’s 1971 Untitled ($7,50,000-9,00,000), Nalini Malani’s Ecstasy of Radha 2 (estimate $60,000 – $80,000) and Bharti Kher’s sculpture I’ve Seen an Elephant Fly (estimate $500,000 – $700,000).

Vandana Kalra

Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice. With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India. Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale. She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters. Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory. The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions. Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović). Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India: 1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival "At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors. "Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers. "At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025). "Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention. 2. M.F. Husain & Modernism "Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum. "Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025). 3. Art Market & Records "Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million. "All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025). "What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork. 4. Art Education & History "Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025). "A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art. Signature Beats Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More

📣 For more lifestyle news, click here to join our WhatsApp Channel and also follow us on Instagram