PVPF 2024

Interview with Ashwini Bhatnagar, Author of Amrita and Victor

The book is one hundred per cent factual. It flows directly from written records. I have taken no artistic liberties. I have imagined or reimagined nothing.
on Jul 26, 2023

Frontlist: I am curious about the inspiration behind the emotional and psychological aspects of the couple's relationship explored in this book. Can you share your insights on how you developed them?

Ashwini: Prints of Amrita Sher -Gil paintings were a part of my father's art collection, so in a way, I grew up appreciating her art. Much later in life, when I was with The Tribune newspaper in Chandigarh and moved in art circles, I learned a lot about her art and lifestyle choices. The conversation in art circles there invariably turned to her "bold relationships" , whether with famous names like Jawaharlal Nehru, diplomat Tyabji or with British high profile journalists Muggeridge and Collins. In the spaces between these relationships and several others, the name of her Hungarian cousin Victor Egan also figured sometimes, especially over her sudden dead shortly after her marriage.

I was greatly intrigued by Victor and the long stable association he had with her. I started researching about him to find out what was the emotional need that drew Amrita to Victor and vice versa? Amrita wrote a lot to him. She expressed herself to him fully via letters. Most of them are in public space. But Victor's replies to them have been destroyed, either by Amrita's mother (who disliked her nephew-turned-son-in-law intensely) , or by Victor himself. Despite the handicap of their unavailability, I could fashion an authentic narrative of their long, sensational, at times traumatic, and ultimately, tragic relationship.

If you read the book, the emotional draw will become very clear to you. You will fully explore the foundations on which it rested for over 20 years despite the setbacks and family-societal pressure.

A big issue before me when I started writing the book was to choose a point of view from which the narrative should flow. I toyed with Amrita or Victor's POV for some time , and even considered telling the story from Amrita's father POV.

Ultimately, I chose a third person narrative because I wanted the narrative to be non judgmental, neutral and factual so that it leaves the reader free to form his own opinion or sentiment on this unique love story between an intense artist and her companion who had all interest in her person but not in her art.

Frontlist: To what extent is the content of this book based on actual events?

Ashwini: The book is one hundred per cent factual. It flows directly from written records. I have taken no artistic liberties. I have imagined or reimagined nothing. There was, in fact no need to conjure up scenarios. Everything about Amrita and Victor was so fascinating that it required no intervention. I had to only work on sequencing the narrative in a manner that a lay reader becomes emotionally involved from the first sentence onwards. Once I had the structure working, the book wrote itself with effortless ease.

Frontlist: Do you have a specific reason for gravitating towards biographies, such as your love for the renowned life stories of Meena Kumari, Operation Khatma, and Agent 304?

Ashwini: I am a journalist who is done with his professional career. But through my long stint, I have been a witness to history. I have also had associations with people who have shaped contemporay history. So, I am trying to chronicle contemporary history from the snail's point of view, put on record or narrate lives and events of which I had a ring side view or intimate knowledge. Operation Khatma is one example of events in Kashmir that I had witnessed as a journalist. The Lotus Years, a political biography of Rajiv Gandhi, is about a political life I was exposed to as a professional. I did not know Meena Kumari, she died when I was a kid, but had access to people who followed her career passionately. My new book with colleague R.C Ganjoo titled Farooq of Kashmir is a rivetting chronicle of Kashmir' s recent history. Its, in a way, a biography but it is much more than just a single focus story.

Frontlist: What initially drew you to the story of Amrita Sher-Gil and Victor Egan, and what aspects of their love story fascinated you the most?

Ashwini: As I said earlier, Victor fascinated me because of his quiet understanding of an intense artist like Amrita. He understood her needs completely, sexual as well as artistic. He supported her through her battles with identity whether they were personal, national, artistic or sexual identity. It is indeed remarkable that he was an anti thesis of the typical chauvanistic male. He was rather the Sensitive New Age Guy who encouraged his lover to explore all options. He was a very confident man. His confidence in himself and his love for his girl fascinated me greatly.

Frontlist: Do you see similarities between the main character in your previous biography, Meena Kumari, and Amrita?

Ashwini: Though they came from greatly different backgrounds ---Meena Kumari was poor and deprived even of a proper education while Amrita was from landed gentry with the benefit of best schooling in art --- their ambitions were similar. Both craved love, soulful companionship and a life in which their art was recognized and appreciated. Both of them won high level of recognition in their respective fields, both died young under tragic circumstances. Neither Amrita nor Meena shied away from openly making lifestyle choices. They defied convention throughout their respective lives. For me, they were very strong women whose stories had to be told objectively. They were, in fact, what most women in present times dream to be but never become because they lack the intensity and the commitment to themselves

Frontlist: Your novel highlights the lesser-known aspects of Amrita Sher-Gil's life and her relationship with Victor Egan. Were there any surprising discoveries or revelations during your research that you found particularly intriguing or impactful?

Ashwini: I hadn't expected Victor to come out as a full-bodied robust character when I began putting the research together and writing the book. Another revelation was the enigma that Umrao Singh, Amrita's father, was. Her mother, Marie, startled me too with the intensity of her dislike for Victor and her rude behavior. In a way, the writing was a journey that came with dramatic surprises along the way and I have carefully played out the nuances of each of these surprises.

Amrita is, of course, the focus of the story and I particularly engaged with the way she put down a fellow artist when he raised his eye brow on her streaking on the beach. Or the manner in which she discusses a nocturnal meeting with Nehru with her father. In each of these episodes, Amrita's candidness is striking. It will open up a whole new vista for readers that goes beyond just liberal lifestyle. Her art actually was her life and her life unrolled itself as art. And, it was Victor who spread out the canvas for her art to run riot. They were an incredible couple.