Flashback: A friend recalls Henri and his Gujarat

It's a French connection that has endured. The friendship of painter, photographer and designer Dasharath Patel and French photographer Henr...

It’s a French connection that has endured. The friendship of painter, photographer and designer Dasharath Patel and French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson spanned half a century and several countries till the death of the latter on August 4.

The French photographer was fascinated by Ahmedabad and Kutch and often told Patel he would like to be born a Kutchi woman in his next life. ‘‘Their bright dress reflects their spirit and their zest for life. In my next life, I would like to be born as a Kutchi woman who travels miles to fetch water, sings songs for every occasion, embroiders every possible design and lives life on an everyday basis,’’ Patel, founder-member of National Institute of Design, recalls Cartier-Bresson’s words.

The photographer travelled extensively in Gujarat and visited Ahmedabad at least thrice as ‘‘it has a distinct flavour for life and the Gandhian lifestyle is magnetic’’. Patel says his last meeting with the photographer, however, was different. Talking about the earthquake and riots in Ahmedabad, he told Patel: ‘‘Damn, it seems the city has lost its flavour.’’

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‘‘He was 94 yet spirited. I also met his wife Martina, a young photographer. He took me to an old restaurant for lunch,’’ says Patel. Many sof his acquaintances were surprised to see Cartier-Bresson because he had long stopped going out of his house due to poor health, adds Patel.

For Patel, it was the end of a friendship that began under gallery lights. ‘‘Henri came to see my exhibition in Paris in the 1950s. Admiring my work, he said, ‘Young man you see well’ and encouraged me to take up photography,’’ says Patel.

Cartier-Bresson first visited Ahmedabad in the 1960s. ‘‘He stayed at my home and loved eating theplas and pooris with my mother Kamla and performed Bharatnatyam for her in the evenings,’’ reminisces Patel. He stayed in Ahmedabad for three months, learned to fly kites, wear a lungi and also purchased Gandhi topis for his family. Cartier-Bresson also used to sketch scenes around the Sabarmati. ‘‘He would just get into any bus and go wherever it took him. There was no specific assignment,’’ says Patel.

At times, Patel accompanied his French friend on his expeditions to Kutch, Rajkot and several other places. The one thing Cartier-Bresson hated was being on the other side of the camera. ‘‘He used to tell me, ‘I do not want people to know me, they should know my work’. I was one of the few who actually got to shoot Cartier-Bresson. Ours was a deal, he let me click it on the condition that I would to print those photos only after he stopped photography,’’ says Patel.