The Secret World of Mehlli Gobhai - The Man Who Found Art Everywhere
by Jerry Pinto and illustrated by Kripa
“The Secret World of Mehlli Gobhai - The Man Who Found Art Everywhere” by Jerry Pinto and illustrated by Kripa. Published by Pratham. A beautiful book about the journey of Mehlli Gobhai who is one of India’s foremost abstraction artists.
The theme of the story is that art teaches one to see the world in a new way. Each one of us form our own perceptions about what we see around us. The book starts off with the author Jerry walking with his friend Mehlli Gobhai in the hills around Gholvad in Maharashtra. It was just after monsoon and everything was green. While Jerry found it lovely, Mehlli felt that it was too much green and the shapes of the trees were not not apparent. When they were bare, one could see the geometry underlying them. This discussion stayed in Jerry’s mind and he saw a new world unfold in front of him when he went back to the same place in the peak of summer.
Jerry then takes us on a journey through Mehlli Gobhai’s early life in Mumbai in a well to do family and how he ended up pursuing the study of art. He spent time working in London and the United States. He began to do illustrations for children’s books. When he didn’t like some of the things that he was offered, his agent suggested that he should write his own books which he did! His love for Mughal miniatures and Rajput paintings influenced his work quite a bit.
Jerry talks about how Mehlli decided to come back to India. He goes on to describe how Mehlli was so different in his working style. He and Mehlli had discussed about a range of topics like art, mistakes in art and abstraction. All these come up in the narrative and we get a peek into the life of this inspiring painter.
My eight year old loved reading this book. He was fascinated by some of the explanations that Mehlli had about art. We had already read two of Mehlli Gobhai’s books which are still in print and loved them. “The Legend of the Orange Princess” and “Lakshmi, the Water Buffalo Who Wouldn’t”. The artwork in both of these books had stood out for us. So this book was a treat for us as it gave a glimpse into the life of the great artist. Much of the reference material for illustrations in this book came from the retrospective at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai which was held in early 2020. The narrative as well as illustrations are top notch and the book is therefore a MUST READ!
Recommended Age
The book is level 4 and apt for children aged 7/8+.
Reasons to Read
The book gives a glimpse into the life of an Indian artist and provides a fresh perspective to look at and appreciate art.
Where to buy from?
The publishers Pratham Books here.
An independent indie bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.
P.S - The book can be read online on story weaver here.