Vivan Sundaram

Gifted by the artist, Baroda, circa 1980s

Vinodini and Satyapal Mayor moved to Baroda in the 1950s. Vinodini, a professor of Mathematics at the MS University of Baroda, and Satyapal, who worked at Satyadev Chemicals, were well-connected to the city's social and contemporary art scene. In the 1960s, Vinodini established what would become the famous Artist's Colony behind their home, Kamal Cottage, in the grounds of the Shiv Mahal Palace. The colony hosted a number of young artists from the 1960s through the early 1990s, including Gulammohammed Sheikh, Vivan Sundaram and Jyoti Bhatt. Bhupen Khakhar, one of the colony’s most famous residents, spent a decade living and working from there. Bhupen and the Mayors became great friends, and the artist would often frequent their residence at Kamal Cottage.