Preface
The following blog post is about the painting you see above which my wife and I commissioned and bought in Mumbai, India. This painting caused quite a stir in our family. Here’s the story.
Chapter 1 – Becoming Adults
In 2014, a lot changed for us—we bought a house, welcomed our daughter, and soon after, our son crashed into our lives with the force of a drunken linebacker. We call him our last born, because never again.
With all this chaos-at-once, decorating the house took a back seat, and our family room became the “rage-cage,” where we put up doggy gates and let the children go full Hulk Hogan in that space. As they grew older though, we realized it was time to embrace adulthood, finally buying real furniture and thinking about how to fill our bare walls.
Chapter 2 – The Agreement
We came up with two simple rules for acquiring art: 1) support local artists and 2) The piece has to mean something to the both of us. The last thing we want is a stock painting of a sailboat from HomeGoods.
Thus began our journey of finding meaningful pieces of artwork. We started building a small collection by following artists on Instagram, which has now led to traveling around the world to remote places, visiting galleries and studios, and commissioning larger pieces. Our walls have slowly taken shape with art that speaks to us and is rooted in our family adventures.
Chapter 3 – Mumbai
Our family took a trip to India this summer. It was a big trip since covid really put a pause in our travels to that side of the world. Although my wife and I have gone back several times independently for work, we hadn’t been back as an entire family since 2018. There were several family members who hadn’t even met our kids. So before embarking on a whirlwind three-city tour to reconnect with family, we decided to kick off the trip with some much-needed vacation time in Mumbai.
Mumbai is an awesome city. It was my first time there and I fell in love with it instantly. It’s such a modern metropolis. The coffee and food are incredible, the people are pure, and the vibes are *chefs kiss*. It’s my newest favorite city.
Look at this delicious cortado from a cafe, Subko Coffee Roasters.
Chapter 4 – Eye Spy
During our stay, we learned that there was an art gallery right next to where we were staying called The Jehangir Art Gallery. It’s a pretty well-known and reputable gallery, so we decided to visit right before dinner on our second day there.
The gallery is free, and anyone can just walk in. It features exhibitions from a diverse range of artists—painters, sculptors, craftspeople, and more. The space also regularly hosts lectures and workshops, filling the halls with vibrant artwork and a lively arts community (my fellow weirdos). Some pieces are truly jaw-dropping, and the gallery perfectly captures the colorful, spectacular essence of India. If you’re looking to overwhelm your senses in the best way possible, I highly recommend a visit. Plus, the building has air conditioning so it’s a perfect oasis to battle the Indian summer heat.
Here is a quick video showing one of the spaces:
We could have spent hours there, but right on cue, the kids started getting hangry. Plus, they were jet-lagged, so I tried to make the experience fun by engaging them in different ways. I was leading them down an aisle, playing eye-spy, when we heard a little SCREAM from my wife who was tailing behind us.
Chapter 5 – The Painting
We turn around and hurry back to make sure my wife is okay. She’s just standing there, looking at the following painting, saying “oh my God, oh my God.”
The kids and I had already walked by this painting, and I was struck by its intricate detail and remarkable use of light, but it obviously spoke to my wife on another level and activated her neurons. She just kept repeating “I need this painting!”
We were all thoroughly confused and began asking her a flurry of questions, but she suddenly, and quite angrily, put a finger up and told us to wait as she scrolled through her phone. So we stood and waited awkwardly.
Chapter 6 – The Core Memory
After a minute, she handed me her phone. I looked at it and saw these pictures pulled from her iCloud memories:
This is a photo of my daughter when she was a little blueberry muffin back in 2018 while visiting my wife’s grandmother (my daughter’s great grandmother) in Hyderabad, India. We called her Thathama.
Thathama had turned her kitchen pantry into a makeshift temple, and every morning, my daughter would join her for morning prayers. She would follow along, sit patiently, and try to participate. My daughter would wake up at sunrise and run and sit next to her Thathama, eager to be her little helper.
Here is another photograph with my son, who instead of helping, would bulldoze the rituals and ask for ladoos (Indian sweets made from flour, clarified butter, and sugar).
On a sad note, Thathama passed away last year, so seeing this painting opened the memory floodgates for my wife, whose childhood was seen through her own daughter, and now right in front of her through this painting.
To take it a step further, the title of the painting was Laxmi—Thathama’s real name! Hello serendipity.
So a lot started happening at once. First, I thought my wife was going to pull an Ocean’s 11 heist, rip the painting off the wall, and do a backflip out the door. At the same time, the kids began to melt down. So I quickly jumped into action.
I told my wife that she should come to the gallery early the next day with her Mom to talk to the curator, while I take the kids to the hotel pool. She could spend some quality time with her Mom but also find more details about the art and artist. She agreed.
Chapter 7 – The Next Morning
The next morning, my wife and her Mom go to the gallery while I take the kids swimming. She goes to the painting and sees a group of people who look like curators. Turns out, one of the people is the artist himself, Deepak Patil.
She immediately tells him she loves his paintings and asks how much that specific one costs. Turns out, it had sold just a few days prior. He sees her deflate and he tells her that this specific painting is part of a series, where he is depicting the passing of traditions to generations. My wife pulls out her phone and shows him the photo of my daughter and Thathama. If you believe in kismat, it was at The Jehangir Art Gallery that day.
So they chat and he agrees to create a custom painting just for us. They exchange numbers and details. A few weeks later, we have ourselves the newest addition to our art collection.
Here is a quick pic of my wife posing with the artist, Deepak Patil that day.
Chapter 8 – Feels and fuzzies
Art is a deeply personal experience, and that’s what makes it so captivating. Two people can look at the same painting, hear the same music, or read the same poem, yet walk away with entirely different thoughts and emotions.
For me, it was just another intricate oil painting in a sea of talented artwork, but to my wife, it was—and still is—a vivid experience. And now, it’s all captured in a frame in our house for us to look at for years to come.
Thank you, universe.