Moving colours: A modern great who infused new dynamism in Indian art

Shiavax Chavda’s retrospective show, which begins this week at Mumbai’s Jehangir Art Gallery, features some of his best-known paintings, sketches and drawings, many of which carry the motif of Indian classical dance forms, writes Bhumika Popli.

peculiar if these works are used to teach dance students the form and structure of this performing art. In these graceful paintings, along with the expressions of the dancers, even the rhythm can be felt profoundly. This series suggests an artist who has mastered his craft meticulously and is enjoying the work without any restraint.

Chavda gave the utmost importance to drawing, and was considered a master draughtsman. In a 1987 interview, the artist said, “In the summer of 1938, when war seemed imminent, I could not leave London. So I stayed on and systematically visited the British Museum’s Print Room and spent more than two months in making an intense study of the world’s best original drawings of Italian, Dutch, French, Indian, Mughal and Chinese masters spending six to seven hours a day in a quiet atmosphere...Drawing according to me is a linear depiction of an idea or experience in shorthand..”

Karthiayani Menon, who has been working as the secretary at Jehangir Art Gallery since 1968, talks about what the artist means to her. “Chavda was just like a father figure to me. He always brought sweets for me whenever he used to visit the gallery.”

Chavda belongs to the same circle of artists which included modernists like Narayan Shridhar Bendre, Krishnaji Howlaji Ara and Abdul Aziz Raiba. He shared close friendships with other artists. Menon says, “At Chavda’s funeral, Raiba told me, ‘Chavda is of my age, he has already left the world. Maybe my time is also near.’ Such was the attachment between these two stalwarts.” The show is on view through 24-30 October at Mumbai’s Jehangir Art Gallery