Bhupen Khakhar: The Accountant Who Painted Modern India
In the hallowed halls of Indian modernism, a space often dominated by formally trained artists wrestling with Western abstraction and indigenous traditions, Bhupen Khakhar (1934–2003) was a glorious anomaly. He was not a product of the prestigious art schools in the conventional sense; he was a chartered accountant from Bombay, a man of numbers who found his true calling in colour and canvas. Khakhar emerged as a central figure of the Baroda School and a pioneer of a uniquely Indian Pop Art, but his most profound legacy lies in his courage. With wit, vulnerability, and a vibrant palette, he painted the stories of ordinary people and, in doing so, became one of the first Indian artists to openly and tenderly explore the complexities of homosexual identity, forever changing the landscape of contemporary Indian art.
Early Life & A Different Path
Bhupen Khakhar was born on March 10, 1934, in Bombay (now Mumbai) into a Gujarati family with a background in craftsmanship. While this heritage might suggest a latent artistic inclination, his early life was charted along a far more pragmatic course. Following a conventional middle-class trajectory, he studied Economics and Political Science at Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics. Heeding the practical demands of his time, he qualified as a chartered accountant, a profession he would continue to practice for many years, even after his artistic career took flight.
This dual identity—the meticulous accountant and the expressive artist—was not a contradiction but the very foundation of his unique vision. His work as an accountant kept him grounded in the rhythms and realities of urban, middle-class life: the small shops, the mundane offices, the quiet anxieties, and the hidden desires of the common man. This world, so often overlooked by the grand narratives of high art, became his primary subject.
The turning point came in 1962 when, at the age of 28, Khakhar moved to Baroda (now Vadodara) to join the Faculty of Fine Arts at the prestigious Maharaja Sayajirao University. Significantly, he did not enroll as a painting student but to study Art Criticism. This move immersed him in a vibrant intellectual environment, bringing him into the fold of what would become known as the Baroda School of art. Here, he formed a deep and lasting friendship with the artist Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, who encouraged his self-taught practice. The Baroda School, with its emphasis on figuration and narrative painting, provided the perfect incubator for Khakhar’s burgeoning artistic sensibilities, a stark contrast to the abstract expressionism that was then dominant in the Bombay art scene.
Career: From Kitsch to Confession
Khakhar’s artistic journey began in the 1960s, heavily influenced by British Pop Art, particularly the work of David Hockney and R.B. Kitaj. He embraced the visual language of the street, incorporating popular kitsch—calendar art, commercial labels, religious icons, and lurid posters—into his early works. He used collage and enamel paint, materials associated with commercial sign painters rather than fine artists, deliberately challenging the established hierarchy of artistic materials and aesthetics.
His early canvases, such as 'Portrait of Shri Shankerbhai Patel' (1971), depicted local figures—a watch repairman, a tailor, a factory worker—with a deadpan sincerity. He rendered them not as heroic figures but as individuals occupying their own small, significant worlds. His style was distinct: a flattened perspective reminiscent of Indian miniature painting and early Sienese art, combined with a raw, almost naive, application of bright, often jarring colours. This deliberate awkwardness was a rejection of academic polish, a visual language that felt more authentic to the lives he was depicting.
His most celebrated works from this period are narrative tableaus that function like short stories. 'Man with a Bouquet of Plastic Flowers' (1976) is a poignant portrait of middle-class aspiration and alienation. The painting’s subject, stiff and solitary, holds a cheap, artificial bouquet, a symbol of manufactured beauty in a mundane world. Khakhar’s genius was his ability to imbue these seemingly simple scenes with deep psychological complexity and a quiet, empathetic humour.
A Courageous Coming Out on Canvas
The 1980s marked a pivotal and courageous shift in Khakhar’s work. He began to use his art as a vehicle for self-revelation, becoming one of the first Indian artists to openly address homosexuality. His 1981 masterpiece, 'You Can't Please All', is widely regarded as his 'coming out' painting. The work is a complex autobiographical statement, referencing a fable from Aesop. A naked, self-portrayed figure stands on a balcony, observing a domestic scene below where a father and son are criticized for how they ride a donkey. For Khakhar, the fable was a metaphor for the impossibility of satisfying societal expectations. By placing his own vulnerable, nude figure at the center, he was publicly asserting his identity and claiming his space in a society where homosexuality was, and remains, a deeply taboo subject.
Following this, his works became more explicit in their exploration of queer desire and intimacy. Paintings like 'Two Men in Benares' (1982) depicted male companionship with an unprecedented tenderness and normalcy. He painted men embracing, holding hands, and sharing moments of quiet intimacy, set against quintessentially Indian backdrops. He refused to sensationalize or politicize his subjects; instead, he humanized them, presenting same-sex love as a natural and integral part of the human experience.
Later Years: Confronting Mortality
In his later life, Khakhar was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and this profound battle with mortality became a central theme in his work. His paintings from this period are raw, visceral, and deeply moving. Canvases like 'Yayati' (1987), which references a mythological king who exchanges his old age for his son's youth, became powerful allegories for his own struggles with a failing body. His final series of watercolours, created in the last years of his life, are hauntingly beautiful explorations of sickness, suffering, and the fragility of human existence. Even in the face of death, his artistic gaze remained unflinchingly honest. He passed away on August 8, 2003, leaving behind a body of work as courageous as it was colourful.
Legacy & Influence
Bhupen Khakhar’s legacy is multifaceted and profound. He fundamentally altered the course of modern Indian art by proving that an artist could be self-taught, professionally employed, and still create work of immense power and originality. His life as an accountant gave him a unique vantage point, allowing him to become the definitive painter of India's provincial, middle-class life.
Pioneering Indian Pop: He was not merely an imitator of Western Pop Art. He indigenized it, creating a visual vocabulary that was uniquely Indian. He found art in the everyday, beauty in the kitsch, and significance in the mundane, thereby broadening the very definition of what could be considered a worthy subject for art.
A Trailblazer for Queer Identity: Khakhar’s most courageous contribution was his open exploration of homosexuality. In a deeply conservative culture, his work was a radical act of visibility. He provided a visual language for queer love and desire, paving the way for future generations of artists to explore themes of identity and sexuality with greater freedom. His paintings were not just art; they were acts of affirmation.
Today, Bhupen Khakhar is celebrated as one of India's most important 20th-century artists. His work is held in prestigious collections around the world, including the Tate Modern, London, and The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The major retrospective of his work at the Tate Modern in 2016, titled 'You Can't Please All,' cemented his status as a globally significant figure. He is remembered not just as a painter, but as a storyteller, a social commentator, and a quiet revolutionary who, with a brush in one hand and a ledger in the other, painted his truth onto the canvas of modern India.