Appreciating art is in Roshini Vadehra’s genes. Having Arun Vadehra, founder of one of the country’s most prestigious art galleries, for a father, has had an obvious effect on Roshini and true to her blood, the young lady has taken the gallery to greater heights ever since she took over the reins.
“As a child, holidays for me meant exploring places that boasted rich art and culture. An outing for me meant going to a museum unlike children today who can barely think beyond a shopping mall. My father would take me to the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain or the beautiful museums in Paris,” she says.
Becoming the director of the Vadehra Art Gallery, however, wasn’t something that Roshini had foreseen. She did her undergraduate course in finance from the University of Boston and art happened much later. “Since I grew up surrounded by art, it was an obvious turn of events I guess,” says the director of the gallery who was largely responsible for bringing Pablo Picasso’s art to India.
Having showcased some of the country’s most prolific painters and artists at the gallery, Roshini has fond memories of the art world’s who’s who. Speaking of M.F. Husain she says, “He was like a grandfather to me. He was extremely close to my father and treated me no less than a grand-daughter.” Recounting some of the best moments she shared with the late artist she says, “He designed a wedding card for me much before my marriage. While handing over the card to me he said, ‘This is no indication for you to get married, I want you to take this gallery to newer heights but as and when you do, I want you to remember me lest I can’t make it’.” The great painter, ironically, was in exile when Roshini got married.
Marriage hasn’t changed much for Roshini in terms of work. In fact, a supportive husband and a lovely eight-month-old child have made life a lot easier. “Even today, our family outings remain the same. We spent New Year in Naoshima, Japan; an island that boasts of fabulous art installations. As for my child, I have built a cosy nursery for him at the gallery, so he can also grow up amid rich art,” she adds.
When asked why she herself hasn’t dabbled in art, Roshini says, “I have been surrounded by great masterpieces all my life and wouldn’t want to shame them with my not-so-great artistic skills. I am better off running the gallery.”
Talking about her plans for the future, Roshini says that having an independent institutional space for the gallery is her focus at the moment. “Art in India does not have enough space to breathe. There is very poor infrastructure. I hope to change that.”