Page 25 - Jehangir Sabavala - TheArtsTrust

entranced by the sanyasis as well local artisans in their art or paint the proletariat,
as the discipline and serenity of everyday people, without romanticising their
the ashram. This would inform his struggles. Sabavala’s Westernised personality
figures of the 1990s. and upbringing kept him, in some ways, from
Tonsured, astute monks fully immersing himself in this movement
became the central focus and were or the politics of the time. While he was an
depicted displaying mudras and ‘outsider’ in the shift to more indigenous
holding tulsi leaves. Sabavala spent inspiration, he had carved a niche based on
most of his life exploring the dichotomy his personal experience with Indian-ness.
of his aversion to the constricting The late 1980s and 1990s saw
beliefs of organised religion and his Sabavala once again communing with
constant attraction to spirituality. This nature and the cosmos. His interest in
ideal was, in large part, undertaken the interior shifted outward once more,
through his artworks that showcased his to depict the transience and drama of
ideas of self, the whole and the pursuit nature—an enduring fascination for the
of oneness. ‘Munger Skies’ is evidence artist throughout his life. The human
that his time spent at the ashram had an figure once again becomes part of a grand
indelible impact on him and that it served scheme, acting almost as a trespasser
as a muse well into the 21st century. These that visits and departs in silence. The
spiritual figurations were also indicative works of this time are endowed with
of the Indian art movement of the time. spirit, almost as defined as the vistas
An oil on canvas self-portrait titled ‘Mirror Image’ executed in 1996 (30 x 40.2 in) Dominated by artist groups such as the he painted. His wanderers, who
Baroda Group and Group 1890, there was searched for a Utopia throughout his
a call for artists to commit to more regional early artistic career, seem to have
images. Artists such as J Swaminathan finally arrived at their destination.
qualities with darkened clouds, shrubbery in the Italian monasteries that he had advocated for works that looked to folk art Landlocked seas, silent volcanoes,
foreground and a vast, mysterious land as the seen impacted him largely in their for inspiration, rejecting the first spate of post- mysterious cities and frothy rivers
focal point. seclusion as well as their austerity. colonial art for more elemental imagery. Other sprout throughout his work. His
These perilous landscapes were likely experimental artists like K G Subramanyan and enquiry into beauty and the role it
inspired by the sights Sabavala witnessed A Touch of the Mystic Bhupen Khakhar aimed to pay homage to the plays in manifesting divinity adds
in Greece, Tuscany, the Western Ghats Sabavala was conferred with the
and Bihar. The plurality of cultures and Padma Shri in 1977, a defining
experiences is visible in compositions that moment that signalled his influence
With artists Sunil Das, G R Santosh and
combine European terrestrial formations in the world of modern Indian art. As Jeram Patel, and wife Shirin at an NCPA
with Indian scenery. Yet, here too, these the early 1980s descended, the artist art camp in Mumbai
rock formations and water bodies, with turned his attention to the veiled figures
his skilled knife work, would become of monks and nuns enshrined within
shrouded, hooded figures. These forms the confines of walls. This exploration of
also provided room to play with volume, the interior made the figures seem more
while exploring what lay under the other-worldly, as they clustered together
veil. This was possibly best seen in an speaking in hushed tones or glided up
untitled work of 1974 that explored stairways. These shrouded figures served
a group of veiled figures as they as purveyors of both secrecy and revelation.
chaperoned smaller figures through a During this period, Sabavala’s wife, Shirin
landscape decorated with peaks. The Dastur, began to gravitate towards yogic
late 1970s saw further exploration philosophy, later becoming the President of
of these figures, leading Sabavala the Bihar School of Yoga in Bombay. Sabavala
to turn to monasteries and ashrams often resided in the ashram at the headquarters
to guide him. The French and of the school in Munger, Bihar. He was

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