'Ganesh Pyne was the gentle master'

GaneshPyne was one of the most amazing painters of our time. I met him, saw his work, watercolours, tempera and incredible drawings and jottings, and was so impressed that I almost forced my friend Husain to go see his work the next time he was in Calcutta. Husain met Pyne in his charming old North Calcutta residence. He came back and told me that Ganesh was the best painter of his generation.I quoted that and it outraged his envious peers.
Then came the Timeless Art exhibition - held to mark 150 years of The Times of India - and the first Sotheby's auction that I put together in Mumbai. And before we knew it, Ganesh became a prized acquisition. I had many of his drawings which I gifted away to friends as I never saw art as something that needed to be traded. I saw it like books, to be shared with others who can appreciate it.
Pyne's craft was so meticulous and his imagination so expansive that he soon became the toast of the art world. I lost a friend but many collectors and gallery owners became hugely wealthy. He got caught in the whirlwind of fame and fortune. But I still remember the quiet, gentle and reticent man I once knew who painted few but memorable works.
He was the gentle master, as I had once described him in a cover story on modern Indian art. An absolute original.
(As told to Ratnottama Sengupta)