Not for Sale

8216;A thief sawed my Vishnu in half8217;
S Nandagopal, Sculptor, Chennai

Right from 1968, when I began work as a sculptor, I have kept behind at least one piece of work from each period because it tells me where I am and where I was and keeps me out of a rut. The 8216;samples8217; show my transition from symmetrical figures to asymmetry in symmetry and now asymmetry. Also, my early work looked cold as it was all silver-plated. Now I use warmer metals like copper and brass.
Two sculptures of Vishnu two feet in size that I did, which were to be exhibited in Yugoslavia by the Lalit Kala Akademi, were stolen en route to Delhi. I would not have minded if it happened for the artistic value of the pieces but what upset me most was that they were sawed in half for the copper! Then of course there is the piece I really cherish, my six-foot Vrischika. It would probably sell for Rs 5 lakh today, but I will never put a price tag on it.

Termites ate through my first piece8217;
Muralidharan, Artist, Chennai

In 1983-84, on a trip to Hampi, I painted what I would call my first composition. I managed to capture the untouched ruins at Hampi and couple them with Indian mythology, a subject I love. The result was breathtaking. I kept the painting safe in my studio, but in 1993, after a bad monsoon, water seeped through the roof and into my studio. I didn8217;t think anything had happened but one day, as I was cleaning my studio, I saw that the painting was covered in mud. As I tried to dust off the mud, the painting, eaten by white ants, crumbled right in front of my eyes. Like glass. I don8217;t even have a photograph of it. It lives only in memory.
After that I decided I was not going to take any chances. I8217;ve kept one from my series of human animals with a sense of humour very safely. It was inspired by my favourite Tamil writer Puthumaipittan. The caption goes: 8216;Ok, I8217;ll see you tomorrow, same time.8217; I finished and framed it the day my son was born. Now, tell me how much it is worth.

8216;Sold it for Rs 750, bought it back for Rs 20,0008217;
Thotta Tharani, Artist and Art director, Chennai

There are 40 pieces I gave away, mostly to painter M F Hussain, that I will never own again. They were very special drawings in pen and ink on bromide paper that I did in a forest in Chintapalli village when I was there to shoot a Tamil film. I can never paint those again. Then there is the painting done on sand mica that almost got away. I sold it in 1973 for just Rs 750. A couple of years later, my wife saw the same painting being auctioned and bought it back for Rs 20,000. Now, I will never let go of it.

8216;I kept the nicest for myself8217;
Krishen Khanna, Artist, New Delhi

It is 6X4 feet and shows bandwallahs practicing. I painted it two years ago as part of a series on bandwallahs. I have kept it because I thought it was the nicest of the collection. Will I ever sell it? I don8217;t know, there is no fortune-telling in our business. But I do not see it happening in the future.

8216;I burnt over 100 paintings8217;
Yusuf Arakkal, Artist, Bangalore

I experimented a lot in my formative years as a painter but I have kept very few of the pieces. I felt they were just an exercise in art and so burnt most of them. I must have destroyed over a hundred and my wife curses me for it even today. But honestly, I didn8217;t have the space to keep them. They were a hindrance and I really didn8217;t want to give them away to people because I didn8217;t think they were good. Today, people may have bought them at my market price because of my name. Wheels was a series that I did in the 1970s. But I did not like one of the first paintings I did for the series. One day, when I wanted to paint another picture, I couldn8217;t find a canvas and so wiped out this picture using a paint dilutant. Fortunately, I photographed it before I destroyed it. I look at it now and realise I made a big mistake.

8216;It told me I was going to be an artist8217;
Atul Dodiya, Artist, Mumbai

I have retained watercolours that I did when I was in Paris on a scholarship 1991-92. I also have with me portraits that I did of people close to me. I cherish the two collections. The most special watercolour I own is that of a man watering a tiny, leafless plant with a bucket, a small piece. This piece was the turning point in my life. Maybe I will hang it in my bedroom, my drawing room, or keep it in my portfolio, whatever. But it will never leave this house. I also have with me this portrait of an old lady that I started in the ninth grade. I don8217;t think I8217;ll ever finish it. But it told me I was going to be an artist.

8216;She has become a friend8217;
Sheeba Chhachhi, Artist and Photographer, New Delhi

In 1994, I did a terracotta female figure. It is the first piece I ever did. It has energy in it and I feel really close to it. It is a friend and I would never sell it, or share it with anyone. That means no photographs please.