Curators have loved artist Mohan Samant's work way more than the public at large. Art critic Ranjit Hoskote, who co-wrote a book on him, has followed his work since 1993. Dadiba Pundole and Abraham Joel, of Pundole Art Gallery, held a definitive exhibition of his works in 2008; Kamini Sawhney, from Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation (JNAF), held a retrospective in 2013; and, Amrita and Priya Jhaveri, co-owners of Jhaveri Contemporary, have presented him in two different exhibitions in 2018: at the Frieze New York, a mega art fair, in May; and a solo exhibition at their new space in Colaba in October. According to Sawhney, "Mohan Samant was one of the really important artists this country had. He was experimenting with avant-garde possibilities way before his contemporaries." So, why haven't you heard of him?

After graduating from Sir JJ School of Art in 1952, and participating in a few local exhibitions, Samant moved to New York, initially for six years in 1959, and then forever in 1968. He lived there until his death in 2004. According to Sawhney, "Unlike [SH] Raza, who kept coming back every year and showing here, Mohan Samant did not keep up those links with his country sufficiently." Though his widow, Jillian Samant, says over email, "Mohan did not need to go to India to feel Indian. He claimed he was more Indian than his family, which is still living in Samant Wadi [in Goregaon East]. He carried India inside him at all times."