‘As soon as Nitin Desai heard about the Raigad landslide, he sent help’

Landslide survivors shelter in the tents provided by Nitin Desai at Irsalwadi. Pic/Satej Shinde (right) Somnath Gharge, SP, Raigad

The Superintendent of Raigad police, Somnath Gharge, recalled the generosity of renowned art director Nitin Desai, who died by suicide on Wednesday. Gharge had got acquainted with him when he took charge some months back. For some strange reason, Gharge said, when he learnt of the Irsalwadi landslide, he could only think of Desai to seek help, and called him. The art director immediately sent four tents to the police. Karjat where Desai was based, working and living from his studio, is close to Irsalwadi.

‘Called Desai for help'

"When we were hiking towards Irsalwadi, I saw the rescue teams walking too and asked them what we needed at the village. They told me they needed a canopy as the heavy rain was making it difficult for them to stand in one spot. The first name that came to my mind was Nitin Desai. I called Desai at 1 am and asked him if he had anything which could provide shelter from the rain. He immediately replied ‘I will send four tents which can be used as a base camp'," said Gharge. "Exactly 20 minutes later I received a call from an officer that someone had sent tents. I was stunned with Desai's presence of mind and attitude to help," Gharge added.

The Raigad SP said he was stunned by Nitin Desai's love for his work

Gharge also said that from day one of the incident, Desai made sure he or his men remained in touch with Raigad police or him, asking if they needed anything. "He was keen to host us at his studio and called every day. Then he was stunned by the work done by the police when responding to such a great calamity. Finally on the third day when the rescue operation was called off, Desai called and asked me to come to his studio. Me and 40 police officers went to ND Studio where Desai hosted us for lunch."

Dedication to his work

"He took me to the sets which he had designed and talked passionately about Maharana Pratap and Akbar. He described their time, their similarities, differences, clothes they wore, armours they used. He also told us what he studied to get the complete idea of that era. I was stunned with his dedication and passion," added Gharge.

"He heard about the calamity and discussed what he could do for the villagers. The couple of hours which we spent in the studio didn't give us a clue that this man was disturbed to such an extent that he might end his life. He spoke about the upcoming shoot of the web series on Maharana Pratap which he believed could change his fate, but it didn't happen," said another police officer.