Page 12 - Seniorstoday March 2023

collector who has been led by the heart in
I was at a soiree a few days ago, hosted
by a good friend who also happens to
be a well-regarded gallerist. Amid the
eclectic mix of guests from the business
and the corporate and the society world,
there were a few close collector friends as
well. One of them, a collector of vintage
cars and clocks, was lamenting the fact
that his children are not interested in his
collections and he is wondering what
to do with his humongous collection,
assiduously built and cared for over the
years. I could not help cheekily telling him,
‘welcome to the real world’. Essentially,
his children are living abroad and well
placed in life and have no interest in his
collection or the passion and time for it.
They have suggested to him to sell off his
collection over a period of time and leave
cash behind. At one level, a very practical
and blunt suggestion, and at another level,
unemotional and unempathetic. I could
sense the disappointment and hurt in my
friend.
He was facing his moment of truth and
it resonated with me. Frankly, I too am
grappling with it myself. While my
family loves and appreciates my small,
but diverse collection, some of them on my
walls and some in showcases, none of them
are interested in looking after it or wanting
to get involved with it. They too have
suggested that I ‘get rid’ of my collection
and go liquid or do whatever else that
I wish. Not exactly music to my ears, a
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putting them together over decades.
As a novice student of Vedanta and
spirituality, the underpinning meaning of
these beautiful words are not lost on me
- “क्या तू लेके आया है क्या तू लेके जायेगा , तूने तो कमाया है वो
दूसरा ही खायेगा, खाली हाथ आया है खाली हाथ जायेगा”
A belated realisation of the moment of
this truth has seen several estate sales and
auction sales. It is a good thing to happen,
given that art becomes a conversation with
the newer and next-gen collectors who in
turn will encourage and give the artisans
a reason to live and sustain their skills.
Many art and art forms are dying out due
to the lack of support and absence of art
conversations and platforms. One of the
responsibilities of conscious citizens is
to nurture and support art, as was being
regularly done in the past, but sadly
scantily now. Every collector has a role to
play in that.
Truism and poignancy apart, there
need be no disenchantment with
collecting. Collectors also, in their own
way, promote and preserve art and
heritage for the future generations to
understand and appreciate the ancestral
cultures and histories and stories that
make living enriching and meaningful.
Imagine what the world would have
been without fantastic museums like the
Salar Jung Museum or Tate’s or Fricks or
Guggenheim and so many others, private
and public across states and countries. All
of these started off as personal collections,
eventually getting housed in permanent
museums. Love your collection, but stay
detached – for life is not worthy without
either. “One for sorrow, two for joy” it may
be for magpies, but for the art magpies,
it could as well be “One for joy, two for
sorrow”, a moment of truth.