If, to call Gajbar “realist” infers a pun on his chosen style as an artist, the pun is unintended. The “realist” Baba Gajbar had an enormous quality of judging the character and capabilities of a person! This very quality of this widowed father of two sons, made him popular as “baba”, the father.

The anecdotes and incidences of his fatherly help to many young talents of those days, were later manifested in the biographies and autobiographies of many better-known painters, film directors and actors.

The formative years

“Baba” could otherwise have remained Dattatreya Balwant Gajbar (Patil) . Born in 1886 at Kagal near Kolhapur, ‘ Datta’ Gajbar came to the capital city of the princely state of Kolhapur after having lost his father when he was barely 10 years old. His maternal uncle lived in Kolhapur, but his distant relatives Ghorpades were fond of ‘Dattoba’ and decided to keep him with them as their son-in-law, an heir to their property. But young Dattoba refused to these bestowed fortunes and instead decided to stand on his own feet. He did some odd jobs, as a concierge at one of Chhatrapati’s family halls, and also as one among the attendaents on the Royal camps.

Here, on one of these camps, Dattoba found his first lessons in drawing. A co-workman by name Shimpi tought Dattoba the ‘graph technique’ for the perfect copies of printed figures. Dattoba was more intersted learning to draw by oneself. This was only possible if he was admitted to the “Technical School” in the city, which seemed impossible for a young man who was alrady in the Royal service. He manged to show one of his paintings to H.H. Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, and the Chhatrapati not only consented to his admission in the Technical School, but also gave him a scholarship for drawing material, plus a consession in duty hours to attend the school.

The painting that made Datta eligible for a scholarship must have been impressively done in the Raja Ravivarma-like ‘academic realism’ style. The biographers only mention thta it was a figure of Lord Dattatreya, the three-headed incarnation of the Hindu Trinity. At the School Attending the Technical School and learning the skills under Mr. Karkhanis, Datta Gajbar proved that he is a bright student of art. For young Datta, whose first brush with drawing and painting was through devotion of Lord Dattatreya and Swami Nrusimha Saraswati, there was no dearth of devout consistency in learning the craft. Karkhanis the teacher now became the mentor of Dattoba, and made him appear for all the 3 drawing grade examinations. The 3 drawing grade certificates were a gateway to the ‘J. J. School of Arts’ in Mumbai. But family conditions made it difficult for Datta Gajbar. His craving for further training in Art and his laments for not getting it gradually soothed. Datta found ways to make a difference through art : made fashion plates for the most famous tailoring firm in the city. True, the Royals came here, but the gifted artist brothers : Baburao and Anandrao Painter (Mestry) also used to frequent this tailor’s shop as designers.

Years with Baburao Painter

Baba Gajbar is often referred to as “a brotherly friend of Baburao Painter”; while the latter is known as a doyen of feature film industry, and “kalamaharshi”, the great sage of arts. Baba, in his book about Baburao clearly writes that he was impressed by Baburao’s paintings and that “I had a lot to learn as an artist, from Baburao Painter. His style was such, that my laments over not being able to go to the Art School im Bombay were finally soothed”

Gajbar left his home after his wife’s death, and lived with his two sons in Baburao Painter’s Film Company for 12 years. This was the time when Gajbar had left his job as a gatekeeper and was now an art-teacher at the same “Technical School” where he had studied. In the film Company, Gajbar, the trusted fellow of Baburao Painter, handled all the accounts and the treasury single-handedly. Those were the days when publicity posters were designed and made within the Film Studios. It is interesting to note that Gajbar, even with the proximity he had with Baburao Painter, never aspired to become a poster-designer. Instead, he was content in admiring Baburao Painter’s designs.

As a Painter

It is ‘common knowledge’ that Baba Gajbar, as a painter, more or less followed Baburao Painter’s stylistic nuances. But a closer and comparative look at the duo will underline the differences. For this, one first has to understand what Baburao Painter’s style was. While others seem to have been awesomely impressed by “kalamaharshi” Baburao Painter and only wrote praises, one of the later-day painters, Mr. Baburao Sadwelkar has made an extensive account of what can be called the “Baburao Painter Gharana” in portraiture and Landscape-painting. Sadwelkar points at Baburao Painter’s ‘romanticist’ worldview, and makes comparisons with two of Baburao Painter’s exemplary contemporaries : Prof. Bhonsule and A. X. Trindade. Sadwelkar points out that, while Baburao Painter had made a sensuous use of transparent watercolour like Bhosnule; he also shows impressions of the ‘brown-school’ style of Trindade, which dwelt on tonevalue of a painting . Finally, Baburao Painter is adjudged by Sadwelkar as “ a painter who went far ahead of the technicalities of brown-school. He was a uncanny colourist, knew purity of colour, and attained ‘wholeness’ in his paintings by using deep shades”

Gajbar, on the other hand, had a somewhat different outlook for colour. His palette often seems dominated by a single colour. Gajbar’s expertise in maintaining the transparency of watercolour is almost comparable to that of Baburao Painter. But on the whole, flat light plays a greater role in Gajbar’s paintings. He seems to have remained unimpressed by the shadow-play and the manifestations of brownish, grey shades. Instead, he would rather find an “acceptably” bright light and show the tone-values within the constraints of this brightness! These brightly lit paintings may remind today’s apprehensive viewer, of the “calendar art”-like works painted with a commercial motive.

But Gajbar’s works have a different story to tell.

The portrait of Lokmanya Tilak, or Pt. Jawarharlal Nehru, were not even properly “commissioned”. Gajbar painted Tilak on the request of a young social worker in Kolhapur! Nehru’s portrait was done only for the urge, the ‘dream’ of this artist to meet the Prime Minister. Similarly, the large-sized portrait of Harikaka (with a musical instrument) was also done with sheer devotion... Harikaka was the spiritual guide to Gajbar, and Gajbar made this portrait as a gesture of reciprocation.

To conclude...

In today’s “art world”, Baba Gajbar (1886-1973) might seem a forgotten, or even unknown name. Mumbai and its J. J. school of art once constituted the ‘mainstream’ of this art-world some decades back, and this period saw the Kolhapur painters as a ‘sub-culture’ or ‘the other’ art-makers.

Pedestalizing Gajbar as an artist of eminence, as an “Indian Master” would not undo these attitudes... but it will certainly question them!

— Abhijeet Tamhane,

Mumbai,

November 23, 2002