Tharoor recalls his theatre days, calls for better patronage

HYDERABAD: It was an unusually soothing summer evening at an open space with foliage and flowers, combined with art, artists, and admirers at Kadari Art Gallery, as parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor engaged in a conversation on varied subjects revolving around art, history, culture and aesthetics.

Tharoor was speaking at the preview of an art show titled ‘The Intersection of Art, Ceramics and Spirituality’ by Deepa Nath, in collaboration with Manpreet Nishter.

Endowed with a gift of the gab, Tharoor spoke about museums in the country, varying art styles in India and abroad, his personal interests in art and performing arts, theatre, and how as a society it was an utmost necessity to appreciate and support artists and their work.

Talking about the lacunae in Indian museums, Tharoor said, “I have been to a number of museums across the country and found that each has deficiencies. The most common is that most of them are very visitor-unfriendly and there is no attempt to organize things in a coherent manner. There is very little explanatory material. A bunch of things have been put in the museums. The condition of artefacts are deplorable. For example, we have the best collection of Raja Ravi Verma’s art in Thiruvananthapuram, which is kept in a gallery where the climate is taking a heavy toll. I feel we somehow don’t have a collective focus on preserving  our glorious past”.

Tharoor spoke about individuality in the west and collaborative artists in India.

“The collaboration system is certainly absent in the western world. There it is always individual artists and individual talents, in contrast to India, where we have collaborative artists”.

He recalled his stint in performing arts and theatre during his student days and the theatre classes under Pearl Padamsee in Bombay’s Campion School. Rishi Kapoor was his senior and he played a role in Meera Nair’s Cleopatra.

Recalling the time when he was offered a role in the Salman Khan-starrer Ek Tha Tiger by Kabir Khan and another role in a Malayalam film, Tharoor said he has always been associated with theatre, despite his busy political career.

Touching upon the subject of reading, Tharoor urged people to read for the pleasure of it. He showered lavish praises on MF Hussain and Kerala artist Namboodri.

Deepa Nath said that artwork was more of an inward journey for her as she explored innumerable possibilities within the medium of clay, which, the artist said, was more of a spiritual experience for her.

The event was moderated by Supraja Rao.