We have our own space to define what we are doing — so there’s no room for jealousy if the other one is doing better. In fact, it’s a matter of pride.

"I’m noisy and messy, while she is organised and calm. From time to time, my hyperactivity gets to her and she politely smiles and shuts the door." - Jitish Kallat

Darlings of the art and media circle, their youthful exuberance belies the maturity of their social and political concerns. Unafraid to take a stance, their collaborations make a telling impact on society. Spirited painters both, husband and wife, Jitish and Reena Kallat speak about their different strokes and colourful coexistence to MARIA LOUIS.

They have grown together as students on an artistic journey, spent the last decade of their lives sharing their thoughts and emotions, crossed the oceans together in pursuit of their dreams and lived as man and wife for the past four years. He is an artist who is a talented writer, she is an artist who is a trained dancer…and the choreography of their lives is synchronised with the rhythm of their hearts. They work hard…but party equally hard. They are the darlings of the art and media circle in the city of Mumbai, where their artistic collaborations have made a telling impact — most recently visible in the 15ft x 59ft billboard mural of the Colour Ghoda exhibited in the Kala Ghoda precinct. Meet Jitish and Reena Saini Kallat, young artists who live together, sometimes work together… and always look good together!

I observe them at Velvet Lounge, the new discotheque designed by Reena’s architect brother, Rajiv Saini, at the Renaissance, Powai. For a minute, they appear drained from working against the clock towards new local and international exhibitions…and sit down to nurse their drinks. Then suddenly, Jitish perks up and leads Reena on to the dance floor. Her face brightens and she willingly follows him. Uninhibitedly, they sway and move to the pulsating beat — a rarity among the city’s normally restrained breed of artists. But these are youngsters on the threshold of turning 30…and their youthful exuberance belies the maturity of their social and political concerns.

But mature they are as evidenced in their prolific outpourings of the past decade. Jitish’s anger against the communal divide and its attendant ills is almost palpable in the way he scratches pigment, burns it and even deforms his images with the unconventional tools of his painterly practice…. Reena’s angst at the social and political situation is evident in the images of swords and copulating snakes that run like a leitmotif throughout her work. "The responsibility of an artist is enormous. Your views of politics and religion are reflected in your work. Art has the potential to change society," she maintains. "I would prefer to be an active contributor to change rather than a passive recipient." They are both unafraid to take a stance, making strong but silent statements of their beliefs through ephemeral, but impact making, installations during artist workshops within the country and abroad.

Highlighting issues has been second nature to Jitish ever since his student days at the Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai, where he staged a couple of impromptu happenings and pinned up posters under the pseudonym ‘Potato’. If anyone asked, "Why Potato?" he’d say, "That is because I have eyes." Here was a student who wanted to shake the institution out of its lethargy and draw attention to what was happening in the contemporary world of art. "He felt that it was time for change," explains his indulgent wife today, but she was aghast at his impudence then. "As part of the performance I did in front of one of my early installations, I was deliberately rude to everyone, my teachers and my fellow classmates," recalls the rebel without a pause. "I was being intentionally subversive, to test the limits of transgression." Reena found his insolence ridiculous…and there ensued an argument.

Jitish laughingly and appropriately describes it as "Love at first fight" for "the argument ended in an unstated agreement — a matrimonial MOU (Memorandum of Understanding)"! This was soon after they met in their third year of art school…and the bond they forged then has lasted for a decade now. "The comfort level was so enormous," recalls Reena. "There was emotional bonding, we related to each other’s work, grew together in terms of ideas — articulating them, giving talks and presentations. Those were very fertile days. Eight or nine of us would study together and have group discussions."

The duo had their first two-person show while still in college. Each one presented an independent body of work, which was shown in the foyer. It was to be the first of many such collaborations. "The real bond is the way we both pursue the collective challenges of being an artist," maintains Jitish. "We continue to exist like classmates — reading, conceiving or making art late into the night while everyone else is fast asleep."

The artist couple is constantly urging each other to perform better; and, though there is no rivalry, there is a healthy competition between the two. "The competition is to see who motivates better," observes Jitish, while Reena adds, "He has a gift, so I will push him to flourish. It’s about energising each other. We have our own space to define what we are doing — so there’s no room for jealousy if the other one is doing better. In fact, it’s a matter of pride!" The Kallats have overlapping collectors, and some of them have become their personal friends over time. But fame, pricing and popularity do not sway them from their primary goal. As Jitish puts it succinctly: "While it is a pleasure to have more bandwidth for one’s work, the real challenge is to remain grounded and focused on one’s art…and let all the peripherals fall into place."

Though they share common views and concerns, Reena and Jitish come from different backgrounds. While she is a Punjabi, he is a Keralite. Thankfully, the North-South divide did not prove to be an issue with them or their families. "I grew up in a middle-class family that valued education and encouraged an all-round development. Since I had a mixed group of friends from varying backgrounds, it laid the ground open for different influences in terms of music and other interests," discloses Jitish, who decided to open his solo show at the suburban Prithvi Theatre with a rousing performance by the rock band, Pentagram.

Reena feels she owes her artistic leanings to her mother. "We lost our mom to cancer when I was eight (Rajiv was older), but she was the one who introduced me to various disciplines — drama, dance…she would even write down the steps for me to learn! She was very creative — she made toys, did embroidery. Though she was not a professional artist, I inherited those genes from her," says Reena, while giving her dad credit for his unstinting support. "We were privileged to have a father who is a great example of dedication and commitment. His predilection for making constant inventions and innovations must have rubbed off on us. And he has been very supportive…I wanted to be a doctor, but dad encouraged me to think differently."

So well did he do his job, that thinking differently comes easy to her. Reena has seamlessly adapted to a culture that was completely alien to her — she is now a walking advertisement for South Indian delicacies. The first time I met her, she had cooked up a refreshingly wholesome and lip-smacking array of chutneys, idlis and vegetables for a table setting she and Jitish designed for a home interiors publication. She was enthusiastically extolling the cuisine’s healthy qualities while generously sharing the recipes she’d learnt from her mother-in-law. Jitish, by his own admission, is no good at cooking. "Reena chips in more than me in the kitchen," he says. "On the house front though, the division of labour is 50:50."

The duo has very divergent styles of working. While Jitish loves having Reena around, he observes that she is much more guarded with her work-time silence. "Temperamentally, we are very different," agrees Reena. "I need to shut doors and be by myself, while he can accommodate everything around him. He enjoys the buzz of the city and thrives on it." Not that the city does not inspire her, but the difference is that Jitish can have the television set beaming stimuli at him even while he thinks! Reena revels in the constant exchange of ideas between them, though she does not always share her thought process. "It is not open to discussion till I have defined it for myself, but Jitish will bounce even his crappy ideas off me!" she laughs.

Both artists work on very large formats, so it wasn’t long before they began stepping on each other’s toes…literally! "Very often I would slam the door… and then he would slip chits under it, saying ‘Hi’," smiles Reena, for whom art is synonymous with life — almost like breathing. "I try to understand the workings of society and articulate what I feel. You want to correct the errors you see, and you can do it through art," she feels. Since the last few months, as the scale of his work is ‘consistently exploding’, Jitish has got himself a new space — though he does not always stick to it. "I land up every once in a while with small paper works that I make in her space," he admits. But he understands why his wife often shuts him out so abruptly. "I’m noisy and messy, while she is organised and calm. From time to time, my hyperactivity gets to her and she politely smiles and shuts the door," he says fondly.

Reena finds it enriching to live and work with a person who has a common interest. "You grow with the atmosphere, and never stop thinking of art. Sometimes there is an overlap, because of shared ideas," she discloses. "Jitish’s criticism is very constructive, and he is a tremendous source of support. I may choose to disagree with his opinion. It is challenging, as it helps me define things for myself." And while he may have found himself a separate studio space, Jitish cannot imagine living with anyone other than Reena. "Just weeks after our marriage, I had a solo show in New York — so I was painting late into the nights as well as completing a large essay for an art journal. Those days I would sleep for three to four hours, and Reena would make tea and give me company," he remembers. And 18 hours after their marriage, with mehendi and two dozen bangles on her hands, the new bride was helping her husband by doing photography in the afternoon sun!