The Secret World of Mehlli Gobhai: Read an exclusive excerpt
Even as a child, Mehlli Gobhai saw art in everything. His passion took him to London and New York, but the colours of India drew him back home.
He [Mehlli Gobhai] also began to be recognised as a very fine artist. He took part in a show at the Bronx Museum. The New York Times wrote about him. He got his Green Card. That meant he could live in the USA but some part of him wanted to come home.
The odd thing was that when Mehlli was in New York, he used great big swathes of colour, perhaps because he was missing India. But when he got home to India, his palette changed and became quieter. He was interested in the darkness of the garbhagriha in a small temple. He wanted to capture the essence of things. He wanted to cut away anything that wasn’t necessary. So he would put up a canvas or a piece of handmade paper. He would take a black thread from his mother’s sewing box and divide up the space. Then he would then sit and look at it for hours.
“This is the most important moment,” he would say.
Sometimes he would move the thread a little to the left or the right. Once he got it where he wanted it, he would draw the first line and heave a sigh of relief.
After that he would begin to work. He used brushes, knives, cloth and dusters, sprays, anything that he thought he needed.
“What if you make a mistake?” Jerry asked him.
“Mistakes are always welcome.”
“You’re not serious?”
“A mistake can show you what you wanted to do, or it can show you what could be done if you let go.”
A pause.
“If you never make a mistake, it’s because you’re never taking a risk.”
“But it’s still a mistake, right?”
“Only if you think of it that way.”
A crow emerged from under an armchair and began to totter about quietly.
“Who’s that?”
“Kauwwa.”
“I can see that much, but why is he here?”
“I found him under a truck. He can’t fly.”
“What if he dirties your painting?”
“Who knows, he might even improve it.”
(Excerpted with permission from The Secret World of Mehlli Gobhai: The Man Who Found Art Everywhere by Jerry Pinto, illustrated by Kripa B, published by Pratham Books; 2021)
