Kekee Manzil
At the cross road of progressive arts and secular politics of India
This blog is inspired by the film “Kekee Manzil- A House of Arts”. The documentary film made by Behroze Gandhy, depicts the life of her parents Kekoo and Khorshed Gandhy. As I watched the movie I realized that Kekoo and Khorshed Gandhy represent a rare combination of traits amongst those closely associated with the history of independent India- they were closely associated with the independence movement, the evolution of secular politics in India and at the same time their contribution to the promotion of progressive arts and artists remains unmatched to date.
I first met Kekookaka and Khorshed aunty at their Chemould Gallery, then located on the upper floor of the Jahangir Art Gallery in Mumbai, with my mother when I was very young. My mother, herself a graduate of the JJ School of arts, would take me frequently to visit various arts exhibitions in the city. The Jahangir Art Gallery was one amongst them. When at Jahangir she would often walk upstairs to meet the Gandhys. At the entrance to the gallery was a display of colorful picture frames. I would be intrigued by the number of variations that were possible with just a simple picture frame. I was also beginning to learn the importance of a picture frame in enhancing the appeal and meaning of the picture itself.
While watching the documentary I learned something new. Kekoo Gandhy had the option of going into his father’s tobacco business, but instead his curiosity and entrepreneurship led hm to recognize that “India has several thousand gods and goddesses and that there was a readily available market to surround the images of these gods and goddesses in high quality beautiful frames. There was an untapped opportunity to be harnessed.” I also learned from this documentary that Kekoo and Khorshed Gandhy’s factory was the largest picture frame factory in Asia at the time.
Though in my early childhood I had an impression that Kekoo kaka was a pictureframewala, much later in life I became aware that my parents’ friend Kekoo Gandhy was a well known philanthropist and an art collector. He supported many of the famous progressive artists during their years of struggle.
Kekoo and Khorshed Gandhy took pride in being followers of Gandhian and secular ideologies. They had genuine empathy for those who suffered fighting the cause of the progressive arts or social justice.
I will never forget the day after Mrs Gandhi’s assassination. I was traveling on a train from Mumbai to Delhi. All along we saw brutal massacre of Sikh passengers. My father stepped out of the train every time the train was stopped by frantic crowds and raised his identity card issued to him as a member of parliament up in the air and asked the police to intervene. Kekoo kaka and khorshed aunty were traveling on the same train. We later learned that they also tried to intervene and save lives.
The movie is as gentle and graceful as the lives the Gandhys lived. It juxtaposes tumultuous events of history in Indian politics, the role they played in championing secularism and protecting democracy and in promoting the Progressive Arts Movement in India. The title of the movie is drawn from the home they lived in.
Kekee Manzil is a Mangificent home in Bandra which became a launching pad for famous artists such as K. H. Ara, S. H. Raza, and M. F. Husain and a shelter to the political activists to conduct their underground activities during emergency.
In her movie Behroze has beautifully captured the inseparable connection between the arts and politics. It reveals the relationship between imagination and change. Kekoo And Khurshed were gentle in their mannerism, creative in their vision and firm in their beliefs. They never compromised their convictions even when they were on the other side of the political establishment. They had to sacrifice their friendship with dear friend MF Hussein when he supported the autocratic emergency regime, yet they were magnanimous in supporting his freedom of expression when hounded by religious fanatics for hurting their feelings.
They courageously visited riot torn communities of Mumbai to calm down communal unrest after the demolishing of the Babri Masjid. Kekee Manzil, where a part of Mumbai’s history was made, stands today as a temple of progressive art and secular politics.
While, Kekoo and Khorshed Gandhy have passed away, their family stands committed to the values, ideals and imagination of India their parents pursued.
Tears welled my eyes as I sat watching the movie. Though I knew of them and their friendship with my parents, this movie made me understand the role Gandhys played in nurturing the creative conscience of India. Thank you Behroze for your contribution to preserving an important part of India’s history.
