INDIA INC'S ART CONNOISSEURS

Apart from scripting successful business strategies, corporate India also has an eye for art

- NEVIN JOHN AND AJITA SHASHIDHAR

The Bajaj headquarters at Akurdi, Pune, opens into a larger-than-life installation of M.F. Husain. The more than 30-year-old painting depicts the significance of Bajaj’s iconic scooter brand, Chetak, in the life of an average Indian in the early eighties. According to art curators, the painting is insured for multiple crores of rupees. The Bajaj family is known to have a deep understanding of art and has a huge collection.

Bajaj is not alone. India has a legacy of strong family-run businesses that have survived the test of time.

The country’s richest man and Chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Mukesh Ambani’s home, Antilia, has a spectacular collection of paintings and sculptures from across the world, personally curated by none other than Nita Ambani (Founder and Chairperson, Reliance Foundation). A significant amount of the Ambani family’s art collection also adorns the walls of their offices and Reliance Foundation’s hospital in Mumbai.

The newest addition to the group’s initiatives is the Reliance Art Foundation, committed to showcase the best of Indian art on global platforms. The art foundation is under the supervision of Gen-X of the Ambani family, Isha Ambani, Director, RIL. Isha wants to create a museum to showcase art forms from across the world. Reliance Foundation has also been associated with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, better known as The Met, since 2016, where it has put up works of renowned Indian artist, Nasreen Mohamedi. The presentation was the first retrospective exhibition of the artist’s work in the US, and also one of The Met’s inaugural exhibitions. In 2017, the foundation entered into a partnership with The Met to support exhibitions that celebrate art works of India.