For art's sake: This couple built a gallery

GURGAON: It has been said often that there are not enough halls or galleries in the Millennium City for showcasing art. So what options do Gurgaon artists have? Either they stay satisfied with the limited space available or set an example by buying a bungalow in the heart of the city and converting into an art gallery.
If the second option sounds crazy, you certainly havent heard about artist couple Lekhraj and Devinder Kaur Gandhi.Residents of South City 1, this couple has converted a bungalow into Maharaja Academy of Fine Arts and Crafts Society (MAFACS) all at their own expenses solely with the aim of providing some more space to other artists. And that too, free of cost!
Lekhraj and Devinder, both graduates from Delhi College of Arts, now live for what brought them together art. She was three years my junior at college. By the time she developed a keenness for Batik painting, I had specialized in it. So she came to me for learning it. Initially, we were just friends, but as we discovered our similar passion for art and for life, we decided to marry, smiles Lekhraj.
After spending over 30 years sharing their passion for varied forms of painting, the couple decided that the time had come to do something for others who shared the same passion, but did not have the means to fulfill their dreams. In 2004, we came up with MAFACS. While we started off with the aim to provide a platform to our artist friends, we also decided to hold workshops and art classes here for the youngsters, says Devinder. The couple chose Gurgaon as the location for their art gallery because they wanted to promote Haryana as a destination of art and artists. In the 37 years that we have lived here, we have always heard that there is no art in Haryana. People used to say, artists from other places had migrated to Gurgaon because of the development of the Cyber City. It felt bad, so we decided to do something to prove that this state and this city do not lack in anything, reminisces Lekhraj.
Lekhraj has been awarded the prestigious Kalashree award by All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, while his wife, too, has been honored with various state-level awards in conventional style paintings. But they are not using their credentials to sell art in the state.
So even though purchasing the plush bungalow and converting it into an art gallery set the couple back by almost Rs 2 crore, they decided to make it an open-to-all space.
We are artists and art is our first love. So we keep this gallery open for workshops, exhibitions as well as any form of seminar, says the couple.