Ratan Tata, the artist, and his collaborative painting at the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai | India News

NEW DELHI: The late Ratan Tata once dedicated himself to art to raise funds for a good cause and the painting has pride of place in the lobby of the iconic Mumbai Taj Mahal Palace. The year is 2006 and paintings that were supposed to be a collaboration between a famous Indian business personality, a sportsperson or actor and a renowned painter were to be auctioned.
“Ratan Tata had a great relationship with the painter for decades Lakshman Shrestha and the two worked together. According to the painter, Tata had approached him and asked when he should contribute his one brush stroke to the painting,” people in the know said.
However, Shreshta insisted that Tata would have to spend “significant time and effort” to complete the painting together. “Tata worked nine hours a day for a few days to complete this masterpiece. During this time, Shreshta also taught him the different brush strokes of painting. “There is a line hidden in this painting that was painted exclusively by Tata himself and is therefore affectionately called “The Tata Line,” they add.
Finally, the event collected some “extraordinary prizes” for charity. The value of this painting was around 75 lakh rupees. The Taj Mahal Palace has several priceless paintings, including those by MF Hussain at the reception.