Peacocks and progress

What's our national bird doing in the middle of India's commercial capital? Gieve Patel's work has a larger tale to tell

- HEMANT GAVANKAR

Most art students face a dilemma at some point in the course of their studies. They are confronted with questions about the very nature of art and creativity, and finding one’s artistic voice. When I went through this phase, I sought out the works of some of India’s greatest artists. In that process, I discovered Gieve Patel.

Patel, who passed away at 83 in 2023, was the kind of artist who over the decades, seamlessly switched from painting to poetry, from sculpture to theatre. He was, until he retired in 2005, also a practising doctor. While realistic urban landscapes and human figures formed the subjects of his earlier works, the abstract and symbolic took over much of his later ones.