Tsuktiben Jamir
Satish Gupta is a multidisciplinary artist, renowned in India as a painter, sculptor, poet, printmaker, writer, talented draftsman, designer, muralist, ceramicist, and calligraphy. In his state-of-the-art outhouse studio in Gurgaon, Gupta immerses himself in work in a Zen and Shivam-inspired ambiance. He had purchased a specifically constructed, expansive, cool studio in Gurgaon that is bordered by a serene garden and adorned with lotus symbols in their many colours and forms.
Gupta was on a flight back to India from London after an operation, and the devastating news he received was far from welcoming. Burglars had broken into his studio in Gurgaon and stolen valuable and personal artwork; the robbery had occurred over the course of five days. On the 9th of May 2023, while he was at the London airport, the robbery of the antique sculpture ‘Ganga’ was reported to him by a help. The sculpture was stolen from the veranda. Thanks to CCTV footage, a timeline of the robbery could be ascertained.
The second robbery occurred in the wee hours of the 10th of May, where six more sculptures from the veranda were stolen, all of which were heavy sculptures. This was reported to Gupta who received another gut-wrenching news as he landed in the Delhi Airport. The burglars struck again on the evening of the 12th of May where they stole the sculptures of ‘Ma Kali’ and ‘Monk.’
Courtesy: Satish Gupta.
After this, Gupta tightened the security at his property; “We were very shocked and so we posted extra guards on the veranda. Two guards were posted inside the house and one was patrolling outside,” Gupta told Apirpothi.
As if this wasn’t enough, on 13th May, the burglars came back during the night and using a ladder that was on the property, climbed to the terrace of the first floor where Gupta’s beloved Zen Forest was stationed. They stole the rock on which the Monk was sitting earlier. This was discovered on the afternoon of the 14th. Gupta recounted that the burglar tried to remove all the bamboos that were adorning the Zen Forest as well but was not able to remove them. He was able to yank one open, that was behind the figure which he took with him. “It was a nine-foot pole and the rock is about thirty kgs. To carry it over the terrace and bring it down to the ground and to carry it in a vehicle that must have been a tempo parked on the road, and they carried them off. So, we were really shocked at this whole incident,” Gupta said.
On 16th May, they were back again. At about 9:30 AM, Gupta was working inside the house. By now, there were a lot of people on the property on high alert. This was when they heard a sound and looked up at the terrace of the studio. They saw a pair of feet walking over at the terrace. Initially, they thought it was another worker who was cleaning the terrace, but it was not so. One of Gupta’s workers shouted and the thief jumped from the terrace, a fifteen-foot drop to the ground, and started running. A chase ensued; however, the burglar got into an autorickshaw that was waiting for him and sped away. Gupta’s workers at this point had chased after them, one of them even hailing a motorbike to catch up to the burglars. But too much time had passed in between and they got away. It happened so quickly that they were also not able to note the number plate of the rickshaw.
Courtesy: Satish Gupta.
However, through CCTV footage, the face of the burglar has been captured and Gupta is currently working with the police in apprehending the culprits as well as to retrieve his treasured sculptures. Among the stolen items was one of Gupta’s copper sculptures that was unfinished. It was in the garden and was half buried in the ground. But the burglars managed to unearth it; “It was an unfinished sculpture that I was working on.”
Through the footage, it was ascertained that the burglars mainly operated through the empty plot next to Gupta’s property. There are barbed wires sitting above the walls separating the two properties; they had made a small opening through these barbed wires and crawled inside. One of them would climb in and remove the sculptures from their position and carry it to an accomplice who was waiting in a vehicle. This is truly a saddening incident and we can only hope that the culprits are apprehended as soon as possible.
Satish Gupta, who was born in New Delhi in 1947, attended the College of Art in the city to study art. After receiving a scholarship to study graphics, he relocated to Paris in 1970 and spent his next two formative years there. Works by Gupta are renowned for their distinctive contemplative quality. As a spectator, you get the impression that the artist is both an active participant in his own life and an objective observer of it. Many of Satish’s works are enormous and are on display in hotels, airports, and museums.
