Bhabha birth centenary

On the occasion of the birth centenary of the late Jamshed Bhabha on August 21, 2014, the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA)’s current chairman Khushroo Suntook shared memories of his predecessor with readers of Hindustan Times (HT) of August 24, 2014. "NCPA was Jamshed Bhabha’s dream,” Suntook recalled. "Nothing was impossible, no idea was too futuristic and there was no creative ideal that could not be realized. Right until his death on May 30, 2007 he was full of the same energy that fuelled the founding of the NCPA in 1969.”

Tracing the birth of the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI), Suntook writes: "In December 2003 I heard the great violinist Marat Bisengaliev play in London. Soon after, I had a chat with him and suggested the idea of forming an orchestra in Bombay. He was rather hesitant and asked if we would be able to make the necessary arrangements.
"I came back to Bombay and spoke to Jamshed Bhabha about it. I said, ‘We have this beautiful theater at the NCPA, we should have an orchestra to go with it.’ He said something in Gujarati which roughly translates as ‘Are you crazy?’ I said yes, and you’re the only other person as crazy as me. He said let me think about it. A day later he came to me and said, ‘Fabulous idea. Let’s start the auditions.’
"Today, the SOI is nine years old — and Bisengaliev serves as its musical director.”
Suntook admits that "it was not always easy to work with him (Bhabha). He had sudden fits of temper that could leave everyone scurrying… (which) would quickly dissolve… But it was in the midst of disaster that you really saw the kind of man Jamshed was. When the Bhabha Theatre burnt down on New Year’s Eve, 1998… no blame was assigned, no complaining…
"Professionally, the biggest factor was Jamshed’s visionary quality… The grand staircase at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre… had been lying dismantled in a godown for 30 years before the Theatre was built. He got the staircase from his friend Sir Dinshaw Maneckji Petit. He had the foresight, and self-belief, to keep that staircase all those years, knowing that he would someday use it just as he had