Stamp duty

Reena is well turned-out despite her hectic day. Dressed in a white and gold tunic with coordinated accessories, she quickly settles down to grab a bite at Cafeacute; Basilico in Bandra8217;s bustling Dr Ambedkar Road. We each pick a salad to go with the surprisingly hot December afternoon, and Saini Kallat confesses her soft spot for khus-khus and stir-fried veggies. Soon she is back at the noisy Bandra station area where she bargains with the Nandi Stampwala for a new order. 8220;These days I have a girl-Friday, Maria, who does all the bargaining for me. I8217;m a push-over when it comes to prices,8221; she smiles.

8220;The show talks about two things; the first was inspired by a friend who was looking for a missing person. The second is my continuing interest in India-Pakistan relations,8221; says Saini Kallat who has visited the Wagah boarder twice to research her project which is still under wraps. 8220;For the portraits, I began delving into records from various police stations, and then tied up the portraits of missing people, all over the country, with my rubber-stamp works that I was doing prior to this,8221; she explains.

At Nandi Stampwala, we see that Reena is all about people. She engages the owner of the stamp shop in an animated conversation about chaap and name-plates, with an ease that is enviable.

Class barriers are something she is aware of but she negotiates them with an awareness that many lack. Her fascination for street-side objects dates back to college days when one could barely afford to plan elaborate installations. 8220;I always scored a first class as a student of painting at the JJ School of Art but I took out extra time to work in various media8212;from installation to sculptures and video art,8221; says the artist who is showing all of these at the Chemould. In 2003, she had used the rubber stamp to talk of identity and nationality.

The three colours of the flag were evoked in the form of a swing; later it morphed into a cradle and now it8217;s portraits of missing people, made up of thousands of stamps. 8220;I8217;ve loved the rubber stamp as a metaphor for the Indian bureaucracy, since everything requires the sanction of the state,8221; says the artist rolling her eyes, 8220;Now I have the stamps in over 14 languages and my studio is filled with thousands of stamps,8221; she laughs.

The other segment of the show consists of a video piece, a floor projection of names that appear on the map of the India-Pakistan Boarder. 8220;These are people who signed the peace treaty and like the state of our peace talks, their names get slowly blown away,8221; she says thoughtfully.

Her work always revolves around the common man and is extremely political. 8220;I have done only one purely personal work in my entire career,8221; she marvels, 8220;But then, the personal is political.8221;

FAMOUS FAMILY
Husband Jitish Kallat
Brother Rajiv Saini
Sister-in-law Shilpa Gupta

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