"The South Asia Center's 2023 Arts Internship was a rewarding work experience that gave me the opportunity to immerse myself in the storied art community in Mumbai. At Pundole's Auction House, Devdyuti and I were guided by Mallika Sagar, India's premier auctioneer, and a generous mentor. Spending time in neighborhoods such as Ballard Estate, Fort, Colaba, and Kala Ghoda Arts District, we gained valuable insights into the expanding role of auction houses and the art market in the city's cosmopolitan art world since the 1960s. During my time at Pundole's, I felt incredibly privileged to come into contact with paintings, works on paper, and sculptures by prominent artists such as those of the Bombay Progressive Artists Group, and learn more about Mumbai's historic and cultural landscape from Mallika and Dadiba and Khorshed Pundole.
A part of our internship was also spent at the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation (JNAF), the modern and contemporary wing of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja Vastu Sanghralaya. I assisted curators and staff with exhibition planning and installation, wrote social media posts, assisted with artist workshops, edited wall texts in English and Hindi, and gave gallery tours to the public on weekends. JNAF's 'Mycelial Legacies II' exhibition highlighted works by modern and contemporary women artists who trained at the Faculty of Fine Arts at MSU Baroda and was a treat to experience as an art historian who is invested in feminist artistic practice in South Asia. In addition to working at the auction house and museum, Dev and I also spent some time working in the archives at Chemould Prescott Road CoLab assisting curator Shaleen Wadhwana on research for the historic gallery's 60th anniversary exhibition.
On a more personal note, I spent every summer/monsoon growing up visiting my Nani (maternal grandmother) in Mumbai for a few weeks at a time. I am grateful to have been back in the country after four long years, and to have made up for some lost time with family and old and new friends in the city over many, many cups of chai."
