Not a mean bone in her:

MUMBAI: She was an invaluable part of the contemporary art scene, artist Jitish Kallat said of his friend, Hema Upadhyay, who was found murdered in Kandivli on Saturday.

The 42-year-old artist’s body, along with that of her divorce advocate Haresh Bhambani, 65, was discovered in a stormwater drain, their bodies wrapped in plastic and stuffed into cardboard boxes. Both had been missing since Friday.

“She was a lovely and extremely sweet person... not a mean bone in her body,” said gallerist Shireen Gandhy, choking up. “There were times when I would shout at her and she would tell me how she is my punching bag.” Hema was one of the prize artists at Gandhy’s art gallery, Chemould Presscott Road at Fort.

It was at Chemould that Hema had her first solo exhibition, Sweetsweat Memories, in 2001, three years after she moved to the city from Vadodara. The exhibition had explored what the move had meant to her — both a loss of home and a sense of excitement for the new.

Gandhy, who worked with Hema for years, described Hema as her mainstay artist and also her favourite.

“Her work, her thoughts and her integrity, were all very beautiful. There were times when she would get stuck but she would then produce something beautiful and aesthetic. Hema loved to challenge herself,” said Gandhy, breaking down in tears.

Hema was married to artist Chintan Upadhyay, a union that fell apart and led to a bitter divorce battle that began five years ago and was still ongoing at the time of her murder.

Two years ago, in fact, she had sued Chintan for allegedly putting up obscene drawings all over the Juhu home that the couple still both occupied.

“I am deeply shocked by the news of Hema’s death, especially

after having met her on Thursday, just a day before she disappeared, at the Big Art Night in Fort, a bimonthly meet-up for art gallery owners, artists and members from the art fraternity,” said gallerist Abhay Maskara.

“It was known that Hema had a troubled personal life with her impending divorce, but we never got the sense that it was a hopeless situation. There never seemed to be any threat to her life. She was cheerfully talking about her art and her projects. The news of her death has come as a complete shock.”

Kallat added that he had known Hema since she graduated from MS University. “We have been friends for almost two decades now,” he said, his tenses still confused.

“Her death is truly devastating; a chilling end to a life spent in artistic pursuit.”