This exhibition of select works from the Air India collection is ‘fit for a king'

Salvador Dali's specially designed ashtray, MF Husain's monumental canvas featuring horses, B Prabha's stunning portrayal of Indian women—these are some of the offerings up for display later this month at Mumbai’s NGMA.

In 1956, a young artist straight out of art school (later known as B Prabha) visited the Air India office at the Bank of India building in Bombay (note: the iconic Air India Building at Nariman Point was completed only in 1970), carrying a collection of her watercolour paintings that portrayed Indian women clad in traditional costumes from various regions of the country. Impressed by her work, Air India purchased six paintings and displayed them in their London office while it was being refurbished as well as reproduced them on menu cards that were used to serve passengers aboard their flights. These initiatives received positive feedback, prompting Air India to acquire a few more artworks. And thus was born the iconic Air India collection.

For decades, this treasure remained a prestigious curiosity, but after some delay and much anticipation, the trove will finally be revealed to the public at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in Mumbai later this month in an exhibition aptly titled Maharaja's Treasure: Select Works of Art from the Famed Air India Collection. The show will bring together a selection of significant masterpieces, sculptures and other objects that were once owned by the 'king of the skies.'

Salvador Dali meets Husain

The Air India collection suddenly became a focus of public attention after the Tata Group's landmark acquisition of the national carrier from the Government of India last year. Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Civil Aviation and NGMA, Air India's cultural assets were formally handed over to the latter which will now "work towards its maintenance and preservation," assures Nazneen Banu, NGMA's Mumbai director.

News of items as rare as MF Husain's monumental painting of galloping horses and an ashtray designed by Salvador Dali becoming accessible to art lovers for the first time has generated considerable buzz. Sushmit Sharma, deputy curator of NGMA, discloses that these two objects—created by two of modern art's most maverick figures—have been paired together and prominently displayed on the ground floor. "You can't miss it, [they are placed] as you walk into the museum," he tells The Established. Dali's ashtray is itself a work of art. It was made using the reverse technique. "It's a very interesting artefact," acknowledges Sharma. "By flipping it upside down, it transforms into a swan, while swinging it in the opposite direction gets you an elephant." 

When Dali demanded a baby elephant

The story behind the making of the ashtray and how the surrealist master Salvador Dali was roped in to design it is even more fascinating. Uttara Parikh, who worked at Air India from 1967 until her retirement in 1999 as deputy commercial director, advertising and special promotions and product development, recounts an intriguing tale. "One day, some of our Geneva executives were at a leading New York hotel where Dali happened to be present. They approached him and he agreed to design something special for Air India. That is how the reverse-technique ashtray came about." Only a few hundred special-edition ashtrays were custom-made by skilled artisans in Limoges, France, specifically designed for distribution among Air India's important clientele. True to his iconoclastic nature, Dali requested a baby elephant in exchange for his services. Parikh was tasked with the unusual request of delivering the calf to Geneva, from where it would travel further to Dali's native Spain.

"There were no baby elephants at the Bombay zoo but we found one in Bangalore. He was flown down and comfortably accommodated in the zoo in Bombay," Parikh recalls vividly. "It took a few days to complete the necessary travel documents. A special cage was built, and we had to ensure that the calf was well-fed and cared for." When the adorable elephant finally arrived in Spain via Geneva, "Dali was, of course, overjoyed," Parikh says. She adds with a chuckle, "The elephant was a huge hit in Dali's hometown in Spain. He was paraded on the streets and a holiday was declared there for three days."

A galaxy of women

MF Husain's imposing acrylic canvas Horses, painted in 1977 and rechristened as 'Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda' by the Air India executives, is one of the highlights of the upcoming exhibition. On the ground floor, visitors can also view paintings and sculptures by other iconic masters like NS Bendre, KH Ara, B Vithal and B Prabha. Meanwhile, the first floor will focus on 'women power,' showcasing works by Arpana Caur, including Night (1997), a stunning portrait of a construction worker carrying a metal bowl on her head but has been painted to resemble a gleaming crescent moon. There are B Prabha's three paintings that depict Indian women of different ethnicities and AA Raiba's fisherwomen. Explains Banu, "This is a very powerful segment, as the thematic selections shine a spotlight on the diverse roles and identities that women are required to fulfill within both their domestic and social spheres."

The exhibition also includes works by GR Santosh, Shanti Dave, VS Gaitonde, Anjolie Ela Menon, Badri Narayan and SH Raza (one of his abstract creations from 1977 that pays homage to Ali Sardar Jafri's poetry), thus offering a glimpse into the significant role played by Air India's patronage in the rise of modern art in India between the 1950s and 1990s. Apart from modern art and traditional sculptures, Air India also acquired textiles, lithographs, miniature paintings, reverse paintings on glass and traditional arts and crafts. These items were used to embellish Air India's offices around the world and for reproduction on calendars, diaries, inflight menu cards, picture postcard sets and sets of painting reproductions. Parikh explains that acquisition of art was a planned activity at Air India: "At some point in a few years a budget was allocated for it. All items were photographed, labelled and entered in registers."

Thinking differently

Parikh adds, "It is a matter of pride that Air India was among the first corporate art collectors in India and perhaps, the only public sector organisation to own an art collection. Its genesis goes back to a time when Air India was facing intense global competition. In the words of Mr Bobby Kooka, our commercial director, 'we have to be different to be noticed.' And what better way than to embrace our Indianness which no other international airline could adopt. Therefore, Indian art became the vehicle to promote Indianness." An exhibition called Air India Salutes Indian Masters featuring Air India's art collection was held at NGMA in New Delhi in 2013. "I am sure that NGMA, being a distinguished art museum, will responsibly maintain the collection that many Air India employees have spent decades building from scratch," Parikh says, adding, "I am happy that the collection was successfully preserved and is now being offered to the public." For now, Banu promises that following its Mumbai debut, Maharaja's Treasure's will travel to other cities so that it reaches a wider audience. 

Maharaja's Treasure: Select Works of Art from the Famed Air India Collection will be on view at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in Mumbai from May end until 2 July 2023.

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