A Far Afternoon

Homi Bhabha was one of India’s leading scientists and headed the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research at the time of independence. Bhabha not only had deep knowledge of science but numbered amongst his friends artists such as Raza and Hussain. Homi Bhabha was like Leonardo da Vinci- a Renaissance man. So, Husain was, as Krishen has always acknowledged, responsible for bringing his work to the notice of Tate Institute of Fundamental Research. A scientific body, it was building an important collection of art and more so of Indian contemporary art. Husain, a friend of Dr Homi Bhabha, was instrumental in drawing his friend's attention to one of Krishen's paintings which eventually was bought by the great scientist. And this was Krishen Khanna's first painting.

For me it felt that like Homi Bhabha- I was turning from the healing sciences of medicine and biotechnology to understand and appreciate the amazing modern artists of India. In a sense, in the modern world of business one has to take time to immerse in the creative arts and culture. My husband Ajay and I have formed the Piramal Art Foundation to help education and research for the arts.

An iconic painted saga by artist Krishen Khanna called “The Far Afternoon” is one of the highlights of the Piramal Art Foundation this year. I met with the “young” artist Krishen Khanna who at 90 years ago began painting the Far Afternoon. It has been painted over a period of nearly 9 months. The painting is constructed in 5 panels that flow into each other. The theme of the painting is of a wedding party in procession in a mid-summer wedding. There are images of Bandwallas, Dhabbawallas, Streat Urchins, The Wedding Party, The Groom on his horse amongst others. In a way it represents the joie de vivre of the people of India, their colour and vibrancy, their sorrows and their joys, everyday life and a festival all in one painting.

A ramrod straight spine, a shock of white hair , a polished English accent and twinkling eyes characterize this great artist. Just a week after putting a pacemaker in his heart Krishen regaled a knowledgeable Mumbai audience with tales about his painting. At some point, in the process he felt what fellow artist Raza had told him “The Devi (Goddess) enters your painting- you don’t know when Her Majesty comes down and gives the painting a soul!” Krishen said he had used an unusual colour in this painting an Indian Yellow which brings an overtone of a distant afternoon, the yellow spreads across the canvas like a shimmering blanket. ..

Krishen’s colourful background always enters a conversation with him- a child of partition his family moved from Lahore to Shimla, an education in a British school that opened up vistas of the verses of Kipling and Shakespeare, knowledge of Persian languages and Sufi poetry and sixteen years as a banker in Grindlay’s bank. Posted in Mumbai he spent after work hours not in sailing or golf like other bankers- but hobnobbing with other artists like MF Husain and Raza. The group wished to break with the revivalist nationalism established by the Bengal school of art and to encourage an Indian avant-garde. The Group was formed just months after the 14 August, 1947 and the "Partition of India “because Francis Newton Souza, S.H. Raza, M. F. Husain and co. wanted to “ imagine modern art for a free India- an explosive demolition of feudal and colonial edifice through modern art”

Krishen after joining the Progressive Artists' Group in 1950 enjoyed their circle of friends of intellectuals and art lovers. The Progressive artists group disbanded in 1956 but this group shaped Indian fine art for decades to come.

While painting The Far Afternoon Krishen wrote “I had no idea that this painting would grow to this size. I began with the groom on a white mare, accompanied with an even more inexperienced youngster seated behind him fearfully clutching the groom . The painting took off from this image and became pivotal in the expansion of this work. The choice of colours and the tone of each expanding form were determined by what had already been set down. It seemed to me that the expanding shapes and colours were attaining to a life of their own. The painting, as it developed, was growing out of its own inevitability plying my energy for recording the entire movement. It was as if I had abandoned myself to forces beyond me. I would find myself moving forward and then I would find that what I had left behind as done would start asking questions. My attention would shift to the earlier panels where modifications were made…This was becoming like a mural which by its nature boarders on infinity. The change is scale involved a wholly different approach to the way this work was painted.”

These are some of my favourite parts of the painting-the groom on a white horse. I love the romance and vivid colour at Indian weddings.

The old man with his kettle of “cutting chai” appears in many of Krishen’s paintings. This strong dose of boiled tea with myriad spices is India’s heritage.

The boy with a glass of juice seems to shout “Thanda Thanda juice"- a cool glass of juice for the bandwallah who has just finished a rich burst of music at the wedding.

On the right panels are revellers who also dance at the wedding and the fruit vendors look on selling oranges and mangoes

As one look’s at the painting you can hear and smell the sounds and scents of an Indian summer. Do take time to watch the trailer of the making of the painting- a Far Afternoon.

The Piramal Art Foundation had collected a smaller work called the Bandwallah- Krishen Khanna’s famous series about the wedding band that is the star of every Indian wedding. Krishen commented about his bandwallah series “I’ve painted the middle class and lower middle class but because they are the people of this country. But I’m dumbfounded at the popularity of the bandwallahs” . Krishen attributes the experience to the grand Indian wedding fantasy which has kept at least this one British institution complete with red coats, brocade trimmings, hats, trumpets, “the whole jolly lot” — intact.

In his painting Musicians Krishen Khanna connects the North of India and the South. His preoccupation is to recreate the rhythm of music through the use of white as a connecting note throughout the work. One panel represents sarod maestro Amjad Khan. Reflective of his friendship with Carnatic musicians, the other panel depicts the South Indian flautist T.R.Mahalingam. While the two pieces are literally separate, the panels are united both physically, as well as thematically. In many of our family weddings, Maestro Amjad Khan along with his talented sons Ayan and Aman have performed in a concert so our connect with this work was so powerful.

Inspired by the artists whom we have met and artists whose works are in our collection we commissioned Ashvin Rajgopalan and his team to research the history of the artists and reasons why they painted the work at a particular time to document for research and education. Smriti a printed catalogue of the works in Piramal art collection attempts to digitalize the memory of the great Indian artists.

Here is a small poem about the Far Afternoon.