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Aditi De

Many invest in art simply to possess the best and few see it as an investment to be traded.

Naozar Daruwala of Crimson the Art Resource, Bangalore.

The Indian art market has undergone a palette change since the 1960s and 1970s, when artists often led a hand-to-mouth existence, teaching art or joining advertising to survive. Today, with professional galleries handling art as commerce, with the art auctions of the 1980s revamping price structures, with overseas collectors like Chester Horowitz, Charles Saatchi and Masanori Fukuoka acquiring Indian art, the picture is shaded differently.

Bangalore may not be quite the investor's hub as Mumbai is, but it does reflect the ups-and-downs of the contemporary art market just as accurately. Naozar Daruwala of Crimson the Art Resource, explains, "True art investors, as I understand the term, can be counted on your two hands. The resale value of paintings varies dramatically from artist to artist, from painting to painting, as there is still no real secondary market in India. Returns would depend on when investors bought the work. Was the artist already well known? Is the painting considered one of his good ones? Returns within a three-year period are not great. However, between three to five years, they could double. New websites like SaffronArt.com offer a good opportunity for resale."

"We don't have clients who buy a work they don't like just because it is a good investment," expands Sunitha Kumar of Sakshi gallery. "Our younger patrons in their 30s and 40s like buying younger artists. They are willing to take risks and are not confining themselves to a canvas or a sculpture"

How do collectors reflect on their treasured acquisitions? Abhishek Poddar — the young scion of a family that is engaged in the tea, shipping, travel agencies and explosives business — recalls his first foray into art as a 15-year-old at the Doon School: "I was lucky to be born into a family fond of art. But what got me interested seriously was ... hunger." A boarding school story unravels — short on funds, low on food, restricted outside access.

To meet the printer was a good excuse to go to town, so they decided to publish an art journal

And actually had Satish Gujral, Bendre and Anjolie Ela Menon writing for it! From chance encounters with Indian artists grew a collection of Indian contemporary works that stud the sprawling Poddar mansion. Paintings by Jamini Roy and Jogen Chowdhury, Satish Gujral and Anjolie Ela Menon, Manjit Bawa and Bendre are among his prized possessions.

Does Abhishek regard his collection as a passion or an investment? "When I buy a work of art, I never think: Will I be able to resell it? Or, what will its worth be so many years down the line. I don't see any harm in doing that, but that's not how I buy art," he says. But occasionally he has swapped art.

How does Harish J Padmanabha, who manufactures industrial products, relate to his collection of over 250 contemporary works acquired since 1985? Recalling the first Christie's auction at Mumbai, where he rubbed shoulders with the Tatas and Goenkas without making a bid, he says, "Art has a secondary market in India, especially over the last two to three years. Liquidity in the art market is slow, compared to other forms of investment. I'm not in a hurry to liquidate my collection. I may sound old-fashioned, but I feel some of the works I possess have a halo around them."

Smiling, he recounts how his longing for a Bikash Bhattacharya original led him to the artist's house in Kolkata, only to draw a blank. Walking down Chowringhee, he later found a figurative, surrealistic armless man by the artist at the Calcutta Art Gallery. As for Omana Eappen, this business entrepreneur has collected over 50 works down 20 years. "My family has been interested in art for more than a generation, so I grew up with art around me. My aunt, who ran the Kala Yatra gallery, let me buy works on an instalment basis. That helped," she says.

Omana, who lists an arresting oil of an old man by K. T. Shivaprasad as among her favourites, describes market changes thus: "Art has become far more expensive. The first painting I wanted to buy was a Bikash and it cost Rs 1,800; I think they now sell for Rs 1.25 lakh! I think it has become more feasible to make a career in art than it used to be 20 years ago."

She has never viewed art as an investment and has never tried selling it. "But as far as I know it isn't easy to sell from your collection. So, it's not exactly a liquid investment!"

How has the current lack of buoyancy in the financial markets affected art investments? "Most clients, who possess a few paintings, feel they do not `require' more. Possible first-time buyers are playing a wait-and-watch game, as their money is in short supply. And artists have not reduced rates, though they may do so privately," confesses Naozar.

"The Indian art investment market has been steadily rising. It still has potential that one can explore. If one has a good gallery or consultant, instances of the work depreciating are quiet rare," stresses Sunitha. "But at the end of the day, you should buy what moves you."

What's the ultimate test? Abhishek — who counts Manjit, Ramkumar and Meera Mukherjee among his friends — shares an experience: "Once, I fell totally in love with Journey in the River Nile, a large work with trays of engine oil by Vivan Sundaram, that I saw at a Mumbai gallery. I wanted to buy it, but someone else seemed interested. I asked the gallery to dissuade the buyer. We were building a house at that time. I knocked off a door, walled it up, to make space for the work. I was pretty sure I'd get it. But I didn't. I had to restore the door to the wall."

Art investment in India appears to have dimensions beyond mere lucre. It summons up images of Manjit playing his flute for Abhishek's family. Or Yusuf Arakkal trading granite sculptures and some oils for Harish's old, golden-hued Fiat. The human face throbs at the heart of art transactions here, no matter what business sense dictates.

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