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A slide displaying the artist’s paintings welcomed people to the Experimental Theatre at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Bombay on January 19, 2024. "This is a tribute to the work of poet, playwright, painter, Gieve Patel (1940-2023),” read a signboard. The music of British Baroque composer Henry Purcell wafted through the air as Patel’s friends, admirers and colleagues waited to hear tributes to the late artist. Poet and author Arundhati Subramaniam was the evening’s master of ceremonies. Among those present were artist Atul Dodiya, author Sampurna Chattarji and Patel’s daughter Avaan who was all ears throughout the proceedings.

A trained medical professional who practiced in his Bombay Central clinic until 2005,Gieve’s experiences as a doctor are reflected in his plays even more markedly than in his poetry or canvases. But little was said about his medical career at the meet. The accolades alluded more to his ability to build enduring relationships; people and relationships were reflected in all three forms of art he was proficient in. This was particularly true of his three plays — The Princes (1971), Savaksa (1981) and Mr Behram (1987), mostly in a Gujarat setting. There were two readings from Mr Behram — one in English with three of the original cast members who had performed it over three decades ago and the other in Marathi, translated by writer Shanta Gokhale, which also featured the original actor. Mr Behram deals with the dynamics of a nuclear family where there is competition between father and son, brother and sister; love and the lack of it between husband and wife. 

Gieve’s plays and paintings are layered with the complexities of human relationships involving both gross and subtle emotions. He could look deep into the human heart to see viciousness, pain, covetousness, love.  "The language he used is not normal… There was an artifice to it… He kind of constructed this language which he used throughout the play. Every sentence had to be just-so. Cadences of Parsi Gujarati speech entered the language,” stated Gokhale in her introductory remarks.

As a proponent of the Green Movement, in his writings Gieve sought to protect the environment, voicing concern over man’s disregard for it. Nature is a constant in both his poetry and paintings. His three collections of poetry also dwell on the frailty of the human body, absurdities and social inequalities of class and caste. He depicted the Warli tribe of the Maharashtra-Gujarat belt in his poems and paintings. One of his best known poems, studied at the university level, is On Killing a tree. For over a decade he conducted annual poetry workshops at the Rishi Valley School, a three-hour drive from Bangalore. His command over Gujarati led him to translate the poems of the 17th century mystic Gujarati poet Akha Bhagat (known as Akho).

Artist and fellow medical practitioner Dr Sudhir Patwardhan said Gieve’s art can be divided into three sections — people; looking into the well; clouds and the sea. People are represented by workers, madmen, eunuchs, with attention to physical traits, skin, etc. Since childhood, the budding artist had taken sensual delight in looking into wells, almost a metaphor for looking within and reflecting, which was buttressed by his reading the Upanishads, philosophical religious texts that explain the fundamental tenets of Hinduism. Gieve loved his alone time and cultivated the art of being with a crowd while not being part of it. His paintings of stations and platforms reflect  his view of everyday life. 

Always alive to sensations like sounds, voices, music, smells and love of food, Gieve was particularly aware of the sense of touch which is evident in his plays either as a dominant theme (Savaksa) or lurking in the background. "He was termed a sensualist in the most positive sense of the word. Even his paintings are tactile which you want to touch — of skin, blood and even heads of the dead,” revealed Patwardhan. 

At times the artist lost friends due to his outspokenness, a trait illustrated in a poem that was read out at the meet. 

Whilst speaking on his special bond with Gieve, art historian and curator Ranjit Hoskote recalled an incident when he termed one of Gieve’s paintings misogynistic (prejudiced against women). Gieve sheepishly agreed. The contradiction of having deep bonds but also a streak of misogyny is what made Gieve what he was. British poet and artist Ruth Padel eulogized Gieve’s work and commented that "he addressed pain in poems, painting and theater.” Poet A. K. Ramanujan spoke of his advice always of "Go to your own life — it has all the potential material you need.”            Mehroo Kotval