Portrait from the past

Among the works housed at the National Art Gallery at the Egmore Museum complex in Madras is a portrait of Allamai (Aloo) Khareghat painted by noted artist Raja Ravi Varma, mentions The Hindu in an archival piece that was published on June 6, 2013 when it was announced that the then dilapidated Gallery was to be restored at a cost of Rs 11 crore.
The young Parsi girl from a well known Bombay family was rather an unusual subject for Varma "who was better known for his portraits of gods, goddesses, kings, queens and stunningly beautiful women,” the writer notes. Allamai is depicted as a shy girl, clutching a parasol while stepping out for a walk. The story behind this work is included in Rupika Chawla’s Raja Ravi Varma, Painter of Colonial India. The artist and his brother, frequent visitors to Bombay, had become friendly with the Khareghat family. According to his sibling, the artist greatly enjoyed conversing with Allamai who was "a very intelligent lady having a thorough English education.” One day, fascinated by a pose that the young woman struck while setting out for a stroll, the artist captured it on canvas.

Portrait of Allamai Khareghat by Raja Ravi Varma; (right): Allamai photographed beside the painting in 1952

In the words of the archivist: "In 1902, Allamai moved to Madras where her brother Meherwanjee Rustomji Khareghat worked for the PWD (public works department). She married Rustom T. Patel, a businessman of Ooty and made her home there. In 1926, the couple’s daughter Mary married Nogi P. Clubwala who came from a front-ranking Parsi family of Madras.
"Widowed early, Mary dedicated her life to social uplift, joining the Guild of Service, becoming an honorary presidency magistrate and remaining for life a magistrate of the Juvenile Court. Her contributions to the war effort earned her the sobriquet ‘darling’ of the Army from Gen (K. M.) Cariappa (who headed the Indian Army and was later promoted to the rank of Field Marshal).
"In 1952, she founded the Madras School of Social Work (MSSW) which is now recognized by the government as an institution of higher education. The MSSW pioneered several things we take for granted today — meals on wheels, health centers, bakery units and schools for the deaf. Mary Clubwala-Jadhav (she married again) was nominated to the Madras Legislative Council in 1946, serving three terms. All this is only a part listing of her contributions and achievements.
"In 1952, the Khareghats donated the Ravi Varma painting to the Government Museum. Allamai Khareghat-Patel was present in person as was her daughter. A photographer captured the old lady, standing beside her depiction in the first flush of youth.”