Dali’s surreal gift for the Maharaja

Capt MS Kohli (retd)

SUUREALIST master Salvador Dali, Spain's most prominent artist who died 28 years ago, hit the world Press recently when his moustache on exhumation of his body on courts' orders was found in perfect “ten-past -ten” shape as it used to be in his lifetime. Some 50 years ago, during my visit to Europe, I had discovered a union of world's two trademark moustaches  Dali's and the Air India Maharaja's, which had resulted in creating a rare art piece for Air India. 

In 1967, as a successful Everest leader, I was invited by the French government to the International Meet of Mountaineers at Chamonix (France). I had taken an Air India flight to Geneva, from where Chamonix is about 90 minutes' drive. My excitement knew no bounds when our plane flew over Mont Blanc. A few days later while climbing Mount Blanc, I discovered the remains of a plane which had crashed on Mount Blanc in 1966, killing Homi Jehangir Bhabha — the first Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India.  

On my return to Geneva, Nari Dastur, Air India's Regional Director Europe, invited over 1000 Swiss climbers and dignitaries to meet me at a fabulous reception. The following day, I met Nari Dastur in his office. He told me an interesting story about art collection by Air India which was making rounds in many social circles of Europe. It was based on an initiative taken by him. 

Nari, a legendary figure fully committed to Air India, was extremely popular throughout Europe. Nari visited Spain and approached the world-famous Surrealist artist, Salvador Dali, to design a special piece of art for Air India. Dali immediately agreed. Nari wanted to know the cost involved. Dali surprised him with his demand to get him "A live baby elephant from India." Nari thought he was joking, but Dali was quite serious! Big-hearted Nari struck the deal. However, Dali did not divulge what he had in mind. Air India flew a two-year-old elephant from Bangalore, accompanied by a mahout (keeper) to Geneva. The elephant, nick-named “Big Baby”, was trucked to Cadaquez (Catalunya) in Spain, where it was received by Manager Air India Spain and cleared through the customs. The mahout then presented the elephant to Dali, who took it home. There were wild celebrations in Cadaquez. The Mayor declared a three-day holiday to welcome the new arrival. The elephant was paraded for public viewing in the Plaza. Thousands of people arrived from the neighbouring towns. In honour of the elephant, there were three nights of fun, festivity, music, dance, wine and pink champagne (Dali's favorite). A new drink 'Sherpa Tea,' introduced by the Indian Tea Board, which I too was promoting at the request of the Indian Tea Board, was served to guests. It was a mixture of wine and tea chilled at the same temperature and mixed. An Indian astrologer was flown in from Mumbai to read palms and predict the future. The elephant was finally presented by Dali to the Barcelona Zoo in a ceremonial manner.

Dali kept his promise to Air India. He decided to create a unique piece of art, a “double image”. The magic of Air India inspired Salvador Dali to create what is probably the most-unusual ashtray in the world. The ashtray was composed of a shell-shaped centre, with a serpent twined around its perimeter. It was supported by two surrealist headstands of an elephant on one side and a swan on the other. These supports were based on Dali's double-image effect. The master explained to Nari in his own words. “The reflection of the elephant appears to be a swan and the reflection of the swan appears to be an elephant.This is what I have done for Air India. Thus the swan upside down becomes an elephant's head inverted and elephant inverted becomes a swan.”

 It was the first time that an artist of Dali's stature had designed an object d'art for an airline. JRD, Bobby Kooka and Nari Dastur were delighted. This unusual piece of art was presented to art lovers and friends of Air India globally. Nari was privileged to present one piece to Prince Juan Carlos of Spain. This ashtray became one of the most- important Air India pieces of modern Indian art. After Independence, the rajahs had ceased to have the means to fund artists and the art "market" had not yet take off. Air India filled the gap. The national carrier not only bought paintings but also commissioned works to adorn its offices in India and abroad, to print on its calendars, posters, covers of in-flight menu cards, timetables, exclusive giveaways and other publicity material.

Air India soon received international acclaim for its most fabulous art collection. Collected over six decades, from the 1950s onward, the works came from great masters of the world. Under the patronage of JRD Tata and Bobby Kooka, Jal Cawasji supervised this remarkable operation. Rajeev Lochan, Director of the National Gallery of Modern Art and an artist himself, remembers that it used to be a matter of pride to be in the Air India collection. Senior artist Paramjeet Singh remembers that Air India had picked up one of his paintings from his first group exhibition at the Jehangir Art Gallery. His wife, Arpita Singh's large canvas called “Flight”, however, finds pride of place among the 66 paintings and five sculptures chosen to be exhibited at the NGMA.

Many a time, Air India did not even have to pay for the paintings. As V Thulasidas, former Chairman and Managing Director of Air India, wrote in his preface to a book published in 2008 on the collection: “Often, a work of art was added to the collection in lieu of an air ticket to the artists because, during this period, art did not really have any commercial value.” MF Husain too has spoken about this to art-historian Yashodhara Dalmia: "They would take the paintings and give free air tickets in return. As a result, the artists could travel to Czechoslovakia, Hong Kong, Paris. I did about four or five trips.”

In 2012, when the fear of Air India going bankrupt brought the art collection valued at hundreds of crores into the limelight, the national carrier began to give thought to what to do with it. In March 2013, around 15 paintings of B Prabha, the leading woman artist of the 1950s and 1960s, travelled to Paris as part of an exhibition to commemorate the International Women's Day. 

The same year, for the first time, Air India's iconic collection of artworks by Indian masters MF Husain, SH Raza, B Prabha and Anjolie Ela Menon, among others, housed in its various offices across the country were brought together at an exhibition, “Air India salutes Indian Masters” in the National Art Gallery, New Delhi. As the talk of the Maharaja being sold is becoming louder and louder, the government and those who are aware about India's art treasures, should make an all-out effort to retrieve these gems and build a museum.

The writer was the leader of the record-breaking Indian Everest Expedition in 1965.