Walkthrough of memories

The act of collecting objects is often likened to eating peanuts for you just cant stop Chemould Prescott Roads Instagram IG series The Collectors not only celebrates its collectors but as one of the citys oldest galleries showing how the practice isnt restricted to the act of buying itself its a potpourri of determination entrepreneurship and of course friendshipShireen GandhyThe people included in the series so far are Dr Homi Bhabha Jehangir Nicholson Kavita Singh Harsh Goenka and Gurcharan Das among others The idea germinated from gallerist Shireen Gandhys piece on her collector friends for a magazine She decided to revisit it and have openended conversations with them which then became the source of the IG posts Stating the mediums 300word character limit as the only hurdle Gandhy says Sometimes you may write or do something and there wont be an audience I am amused at how much discussion this has generated Collecting has changed now primarily because of technology mdash you dont always have to see the collector Earlier the connection was different So what people are enjoying about this series are the little anecdotesLog on to chemouldprescottroad on InstagramThe series begins with a post on Dr Homi J Bhabha who donned many hats including that of a patron of the arts he had said that the arts is what made his life worth living The nuclear physicist was a discerning collector and also a painter who left behind a substantial body of work following his death in an air crash in 1966Kanwaldeep Sahney Sunita and Laxman Shrestha and Devinder Sahney in the 1970s In the early 60s Kanwaldeep became a regular visitor at Gallery Chemould and Pundole and her collecting journey took shape since the dealers provided instalment plans to buy paintings In the 80s her husband Devinder became one of the most compelling collectors visiting artist studios before the start of any exhibition to lay hands on the first pickJehangir Nicholson at the opening of SH Razas solo exhibition at Gallery Chemould on February 20 1984 A trained chartered accountant and cotton merchant with a passion for photography and car racing Nicholson forayed into the art world and made quite the splash Gandhy recalls how he would examine his chosen piece of art by joining his index finger and thumb and looking through the space to inspect it He started a museum comprising works from his own collection at the NCPA before it was moved to CSMVS after his deathIn 1977 former Miss India and interior designer Kavita Singh used the money given to her to buy jewellery by her businessman husband Jasjit Singh to buy artworks by Anjolie Menon and Krishen Khanna from Gallery Chemould instead Later she was gifted the painting of her dreams one by Amrita Sher GillCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news