"WHEN THE "IT'S IN THE MAIL" EXCUSE FOR MISSED DEADLINES HAD NOT GONE EXTINCT!"

Girish Shahane reminisces about how he marshalled the magazine to explore contemporary art.

- Girish Shahane

The ART India team in 2000. (Left to Right, Bottom to Top): Sangita Jindal, Ranjit Hoskote, Mangala Chandran, Roma Roy Choudhury, Girish Shahane, Nikita Mehta, Ayesha Soonawala, Severina D'Souza, Rajalaxmi M.D., Samira Sheth, R.K.Sharma, Ajay Shah. Photograph by Prakash Rao.

Looking Back

By the time Anupa Mehta, who steered ART India in its earliest days, handed over its editorship to me, the magazine had an office of its own and two full-time staff. In addition, Ayesha Soonawala had come on board as designer and Ajay Shah managed layout and production. Ranjit Hoskote joined as consulting editor at the start of my stint, and Samira Sheth completed the editorial unit.

This team was cohesive and collegial, staying intact through my two-year tenure with little friction. We shifted our design meetings to Ayesha's home when she had just had a baby, and she in turn stayed committed and worked with full focus through that period. One of my fondest ART India-related memories is of receiving Ranjit's copy of the draft printout, filled with helpful annotations and emendations, on the day of his wedding. I had assumed he would be too distracted to look over the copy before we went to print.

Girish Shahane. 2022.