‘Through the Purple Lens' - a group Exhibition of women artists - is now running at Charubasona, till the 20th.
It was so crowded when I visited last week that I couldn't manage to take photos of the artworks. But there was a memorable moment when I was allowed to photograph Jogen Chowdhury with his wife, Shipra. Had the chance of a brief chat with her, when she spoke fondly of their years in Delhi, of a time when there weren't too many galleries, their frequent visits to Dhoomimal, of gatherings at home and her special regard for Geeta Kapur ("the best art critic of India", she added emphatically).
I also liked what she said to the participating artists earlier, when pressed by them for a few words. To her knowledge, there's more people interested to buy art these days than ever before, she said; adding, that young people now bought art even in instalments. There was collective cheer hearing that!
The chief guests of the show were all distinguished men. For me, however, she was the star of the evening: standing by the man - the fêted artist - whose life she has shared for decades, and whose female students and mentees she had come to cheer.