In an interview revealed in Illustrated Weekly of India in March 1990, artist Madhvi Parekh talks about Manu Parekh, her husband and fellow artist, describing, amongst different issues, his capability to elucidate numerous facets of life to her. “There is one thing which I find very nice about Manu, and that is his ability to explain things in a very simple and lucid manner. Also,” she provides, “in spite of having lived in cities all his life, he is very aware about village life and the compulsion of villagers.”
Village, for anybody acquainted with her work, holds a central place in Madhvi’s artwork. It is the heartbeat of her observe — the village and its individuals being the mainstay of her work over the past six a long time. Recognised as one in every of India’s influential artists, Parekh is a pioneer within the realm of folks modernism, drawing deeply from reminiscences of her childhood in a village in Gujarat.
“Though confident as a person, Madhvi was unsure about art in the beginning,” says Manu, who’s recuperating from a extreme leg damage. Meanwhile, Madhvi is busy within the kitchen, getting ready masala chai and snacks to go along with our dialog. “She’s always happy to avoid interviews,” laughs Manu, including, “I have to do all the talking on her behalf. Ask me about the dimension of any of her paintings, and I will tell you everything in detail,” he says. Madhvi, on her half, reiterates, “I don’t like to talk much. I have done my work, you can decipher what you have to,” she laughs, urging us to eat nicely.
Sitting within the couple’s residence in South Delhi’s Chittaranjan Park is a relaxing expertise. On the partitions of the home hold work made by the artist-couple who’ve been married now for 66 years. “I was engaged to Madhvi when I was 12 years old and she was 9 — [she was] a real village tomboy, full of high spirits, and a rebel at heart,” he’s quoted in a 1992 piece revealed in The Times of India. In one other piece, Manu recollects how they exchanged letters earlier than their marriage — Madhvi, he notes, took six months to answer.
Artist Madhvi Parekh
| Photo Credit:
DAG
He has no clear reminiscence of their first assembly nor does she. But each agree that, over time, they’ve constructed a rapport — a quiet and unassuming assist system in one another. In a world the place the establishment of marriage typically faces pressure — marked by rising complexities in relationships, disconnection and irrevocable breakdowns — Madhvi and Manu have navigated their journey with a simplicity that feels more and more uncommon to search out and observe. “Who doesn’t have problems?” Madhvi says matter-of-factly. “You have to cope; can’t just leave.” Manu acknowledges the complexities of relationships, particularly within the occasions we stay in. In his view, what issues most is a person’s capability to recognise a lady’s pehchaan (identification), her expertise — acknowledging her past the standard roles of a spouse, mom, daughter or sister, letting them actually thrive. Just as a lot as he might have guided her, he admits that she, too, has been a grounding power in his life and has stored him targeted.
Art and marriage
Madhvi Parekh with her artist husband Manu Parekh.
| Photo Credit:
DAG
Having hung out with them over a few conferences, it’s not tough to note how they information one another effortlessly. Whether it’s rising used to one another or having a shared rhythm, they’re clearly one another’s residence. Back in 1994, The Hindu started a sequence titled Artist Couples: How They Cope with Art and Life. In the opening piece, author Anjali Sarkar gave a number of examples of such {couples} from the western world who had each benefited and been ravaged emotionally by their respective companions. “Dorothy Pearlstein gave up her painting career in order to support the ambitions of her husband Philip Pearlstein. Edward Hopper’s wife, Jo, did the same,” states the piece. “Spouses and friends have also proved vital in the continued activity of many artists. Almost the entire Abstract-Expressionist movement of the 1940s and ’50s was supported by the wives of the major artists… Mark Rothko’s wife worked as a model to support him… it was a tradition for artists to marry working women.”
Sitting in his room, Manu says with a way of satisfaction, “Even today, when we speak to each other, I am interested in her point of view. What is she thinking about her work, her art, as a woman? I like to engage, and so does she.” He additional provides, “That’s why our relationship is going so strong.” According to him, it’s at a really cerebral degree — and but with utter simplicity — that they speak to one another. “We are artists interested in each other’s work, and our talks are about everything related to our lives together and whatever comes with it,” he says. On her half, Madhvi agrees that Manu is a mentor, pal and husband who first noticed her potential as an artist. “I still feel, I would’ve been a good teacher,” she laughs. While Manu shakes his head laughing, “See, she can gain all the recognition as an artist, but she still wants to be a Montessori teacher.”
Decades in the past, after they lived in Bombay — having moved to the town within the early Nineteen Sixties — Madhvi took a course in Montessori educating. She cherished her interactions with youngsters and was utterly taken in by the innocence of their artwork. Interestingly, her artwork, whereas mature in execution, continues to retain a way of childlike innocence. Fascinated by the artwork she noticed, she started to doodle in her free time at residence. “I was the first one to spot her talent,” says Manu, including that her questions on artwork throughout their visits to varied exhibitions and galleries — particularly within the early years of marriage — fascinated him. “It was the beginning of our deep bond as husband and wife, and art was a major factor connecting us,” he displays.
Together they’ve travelled the world over, attended artist residencies and skilled life whereas managing the day-to-day affairs of home life. Through all of it, Madhvi credit her husband for guiding her by way of the quite a few lanes and bylanes of varied streets in unknown areas. “By myself, I don’t like going out at all,” she says.
Distinctive strokes
Manu firmly believes that what retains their marriage sturdy, even after so a few years, is the real curiosity they proceed to soak up one another’s lives. This is particularly significant, on condition that each of them are artists. While they don’t power their respective opinions on one another’s work, they provide steering with out interference. “Mere dimmag mein, aadha main hoon, aadhi vo (In my mind, I’m half and she’s [my other] half,” he says, acknowledging the depth of their relationship. He admits he by no means imagined that Madhvi’s recognition as an artist would attain such heights. In his view, she was filling the hole of a people modernist — there was nobody recognised for that capability after Jamini Roy. “I knew her work was different, and I knew that she’d always have my support. What we both didn’t anticipate was how far she’d go and how much appreciation her art would garner,” he says.
Paintings by Madhvi Parekh
He’s observant of her methods, quietly glancing at her when she is working round the home, giving directions to the workers or simply bringing him medicines, notebooks or his sketchbooks. “Freedom,” he says reassuringly, “is so important in any relationship. You can’t tie anyone else [down] according to your whims and fancies. Look at Madhvi,” he continues, “she’s such a strong, confident person. Now imagine, tying a person like her down, taking away her talent. What good would it do to any man if he stifles his partner’s creativity?” Madhvi, too, agrees, that the one fixed steering Manu has provided her over all these years is to maintain exploring her particular person inclination and pursuits, a motive why her work continues being so distinctive.
Manu claims that he has no formal understanding of feminism: “Maen kuch zyaada bol nahi paoonga (I won’t be able to say much)… all I will say is that men should stop being scared ofstrong and confident women. They’re excellent company. Also, a woman should have innumerable chances — just like a man does — to prove her worth to herself over and over again.Just back her, she’s already capable of achieving anything on her own.”
Madhvi Parekh: Remembered Tales is on view until August 23 at DAG, New Delhi.
Excerpted with permission from Remembered Tales, a group of essays revealed by DAG.
