More than a hundred friends, fans and art lovers gathered at Jehangir Art Gallery, Kala Ghoda, on Tuesday, to honour the memory of Jehangir Sabavala, veteran artist and Padmashree awardee, who died aged 89 on September 2.
Art critic and curator Ranjit Hoskote, who worked on an official biography on the artist, praised him for his small gestures of kindness. "He would receive guests personally at exhibitions. He was genuinely interested in people's lives."
Author Jerry Pinto spoke of Sabavala's clarity of thought. "[Sabavala's wife] Shirin once told me that he was not painting because he was unwell,"said Pinto. "I suggested that he could draw instead. 'No, he just wants to paint,' his wife replied."
Filmmaker Arun Khopkar., who made a film on Sabavala in 1991, described how he became interested in the artist after seeing a landscape by him at Jehangir Art Gallery. "There was fear, uncertainty and fragility in the beautiful landscape. It made me want to know who the creator was," said Khopkar.
"The last two years were not easy for Sabavala, since he was fighting lung cancer," said Adi Jehangir, Sabavala's nephew. "All his doctors always said that even in those trying times, his upbringing and grace did not fail him."
{{/usCountry}}"The last two years were not easy for Sabavala, since he was fighting lung cancer," said Adi Jehangir, Sabavala's nephew. "All his doctors always said that even in those trying times, his upbringing and grace did not fail him."
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