Straight from the heart

Said RPG’s Harsh Goenka, who is one of the biggest Indian collectors, "Ithink the works were a mixed bag. People paid with their hearts here. Under normal circumstances, these paintings would have fetched 30 to 40 per cent less than they did." The responsibility for the quality of the works lies with the collectors and artists who gave them for the auction. Most of the important contemporary artists were conspicuous by their absence with a lot of works by painters who are yet to establish their reputations.

And that Indians remain fascinated with popular stereotypical images was evident with Raja Ravi Verma’s Ahilaya going for the highest amount that evening — Rs 13 lakh. It was taken home by Anil Bodani of Oriental Aromatics. And a Ravi Verma-ish kitch painting of a woman standing by the door by John Fernandes fetched an unexpected Rs 1.4 lakh. "Only because Indians don’t seem to understand anything beyond village scenes and women in saris. There was a wonderful Naina Kanodia there which went for less that its lower-end estimate," said Arun Sachdev of Gallery 7.

While nobility was out in full force that evening, faux attitudes doused in expensive perfume also made their presence felt. Nauseatingly. "A lot of social glitterati was out there trying to make a statement by being seen and bidding at an art auction," commented a high-profile businessman, wryly.

But the people who really mattered that evening had no cause to complain. Of the Rs 73 lakh collected, Rs 25 lakh will go to NAB after the percentage of the contributing collector and artist is cleared. And it wasn’t only art that was auctioned — a Mitsubishi Lancer also went under Simon Taylor’s hammer and fetched Rs 8.75 lakh — all of which will go in the coffers of NAB.