Owner8217;s pride

Talented in the art of figurative painting in school he won the national award for art and painting, he dedicated his spare time to discovering Indian painting from as early as 1967 when he acquired the aqua tint lithographs of the Cotton Green done by Grindlays Bank founder, Captain Robert Grindlay.

In between his cigar puffs, Dilipdarelates an interesting story of Balthazar Solvyns, a poor painter who came to India in 1794, from a place in Netherlands which is now in Belgium. He did about 250 etchings, like the Hookahwalla8217; in Dilipda8217;s collection, which depicted the lives of Indians at the time, their festivals both Hindu and Muslim and pursuits. He married a rich English heiress in Calcutta and left on a boat to England.

Somewhere near Holland the boat capsized, but the etchings were salvaged to become the property to Lord Brabourne, the then Governor of Bombay presidency8217;. In 1982, the whole portfolio was bought by an Indian all the way to Amsterdam. He brought them here and sold them individually. Dilipda bought six of these historic works, and even presented one to Uma Dubash, the princess of Morvi.

In 1970, after he established his own business and had enough money, he started buying art 8212; interestingly, in some chronological order. He has works by Rabindranath Tagore8217;s nephews 8212; Abindranath and Gagendranath 8212; as wellas some by his son Rathendranath Tagore. He also has two out of the three self-portraits by Rabindranath Tagore. Among his favourites from the Bengal school are works of Ganesh Pyne, Nandlal Bose, Ramkinkar Baij and Bikash Bhattacharjee, who was not in vogue when Dilipda began acquiring his canvases and hosted dinners to introduce the artist to friends and art lovers in Calcutta. In fact, he hunted out a 200-year-old photograph by the Bourne Shephard Studio of the Calcutta Port, circa 1865, with Bikash. The photograph was finally found by them in the Chowringhee area and Bikash painted from it for him it beautifully depicts the Clipper Ships carrying tea to Britain and America.

He also admires Maharashtrian painters and has several turn-of-the-century works by them. Suhas Awchat, now a well known painter, had once come to Dilipda for help as the Jehangir Art Gallery was booked for two years. Much the philanthrope, Dilipda arranged an extravagant dinner at the Taj Poolside and hung Suhas8217; works on largepillars.

He had bought the whole lot and only one The Last Supper was to be auctioned and the proceeds donated directly to the Jehangir Art Gallery. The painting was dramatically lowered from a balcony by Sunil Gavaskar and Vijay Rai. After hectic bidding it went to Kumaramangalam Birla. Rumour has it that there were fisticuffs between two industrialists to acquire one last work that had been left behind by Dilipda and was still with the artist.

The satirical humour of cartoons is also greatly enjoyed by Dilipda and the originals of several political cartoons by R K Laxman adorn his otherwise understated office. Incidentally, Laxman8217;s first colour cartoon is of De and is displayed at his office. Two of his favourite cartoons, framed on the wall behind his conference table, are of the colorful Mr Huddle 8212; the ex-US Consul General to India 8212; by Balasaheb Thackeray and of Prince Charles by Raj Thackeray.

The everlasting charm of folk art has not eluded Dilipda and his collection boasts of interestingKalighat paintings telling of beheadings and the girls who eloped. Eighteenth Century Kangra School miniatures with painting on both the sides rub shoulders with rare family portraits by Shakti Burman obtained directly from his house at Paris.

In the 19th century, the Ramayana was related by village story-tellers with the intricate paintings of the great epic accompanied by songs. There were around 60 such workers per set. During a visit to Pingoli, Sawantwadi, Dilipda found an eye-catchingly beautiful set. He proudly narrates how he found out from the Asiatic Society that these were rare mythological paintings, as the artists have become fishermen since six generations.

While some of these date back to the 18th century where the characters are adorned in Mukat and Indian dhotis, the remaining are from the 19th century where the soldiers are dressed in the East India Company uniforms.

The saga of collecting works based on personal reaction, merit and sometimes on an artist8217;s financial situation,carries on. Dilipda has a passion for intriguing objects the latest to catch his fancy is one of five 1934 Morris cars left in the world, which is now being restored and is the only one in India. His daughters Anandita, Arundati and Radhika share his interest. He hopes to share his massive collection with the world by opening it for viewing at a day centre at his Alibagh house.quot;If one wants to share one8217;s collection for viewing, one must do it magnanimously like J Paul Getty, the whole way, place and allquot;. It is a big commitment, one he is not very sure he can live up to fully now, but it is a dream.