Aparajita Jain is a tough one to get hold of. After all, her plate is quite full – she runs multiple galleries, participates in varied philanthropic ventures, and balances numerous family commitments. Her expert juggling of these varied roles makes it evident that she is a passionate human being, with passions aplenty.
Even though she is co-owner and director of Nature Morte, one of India’s foremost galleries dedicated to contemporary art, Aparajita describes the art world as something “she stumbled upon”. As a young girl, she studied at the prestigious J. B. Petit High School and St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai but never pursued a formalised art education. It was her grandmother Kiran Kheruka who sparked the interest. “Apart from being a prolific writer with multiple books to her name, and a keen philanthropist, my grandmother also enjoyed collecting art. Fortunately, not studying art worked to my benefit, as I never assumed a way of seeing something. Even now, I see it as basic and raw. It just is what it is for me,” she shares.
In 2010, Aparajita founded the Saat Saath Arts Foundation, as a non-profit platform to spark dialogue between Indian artists and the international art fraternity. Its most distinctive feature to date is its Curatorial Research Grant program aimed at bringing international curators to India. This foundation was also responsible for the launch of India’s first public Sculpture Park for contemporary art in India, located in the Nahargarh Fort of Jaipur. Simultaneously, she ran Seven Arts Limited, a gallery that promoted young talent. In 2013, she became co-director of Nature Morte after buying a controlling interest in the gallery. Another prescient professional move she made was to open the tech art platform, Terrain.art in 2019 which focuses on art on the blockchain.
“I come from a family of distinguished people who are all value creators. Hence, the idea of value creation and giving back to community was very strong,” she explains. Her father, Pradeep Kheruka is the owner of glassware chain Borosil, and her husband Gaurav Jain runs a business. She met the latter at a wedding as a teenager, and they were married when she was just 19.
Art may be her calling in life, but she describes her two adult children as her biggest reward. Aged 22 and 19 respectively, Devashi and Udayaveer, are both artistically inclined and enjoy supporting their mother and visiting museums and galleries around the world as a family. Her daughter is all set to carve her own path in the art world, as she pursues a master’s degree in arts business management, having wrapped up her undergraduate degree at New York University. “I feel immensely proud of the fact that I could raise two wonderful and intelligent children even while working and battling constant mom guilt. Now, I encourage them to find their own paths in life,” she says.
Aparajita is also a self-confessed fitness fiend. She works out six days a week alternating between high adrenaline BoxFit classes, Pilates and yoga. “I’ve enjoyed being active ever since I was in school. I used to play squash but hurt my back and had to stop,” she shares.
She also enjoys meeting her friends and socialising, but constant travel for work makes it tough to do so regularly. “I’m on a plane every week!” says Aparajita describing her hectic art season schedule. She goes from the opening of her gallery in Mumbai, to Art Fairs across the country, Frieze London, Art Dubai and more. She also attended the biennale in Venice earlier this year.
Fortunately, Aparajita enjoys travelling. “It’s also one of the reasons I’m very grateful to be part of the art industry. Travel allows us to engage with the brightest minds and see many new things. It fuels our curiosity and helps us create an impact.” This summer she’s planning a work-free vacation to the Amalfi coast in Italy, but one of her most memorable holidays was to Kenya last year. “I learnt to appreciate the quiet and the fact that life is nature.”
To unwind from her hectic schedule, she enjoys a good binge watch. Crime shows are her preferred choice, but she happily watches romances like ‘Emily in Paris’ too, much to the chagrin of her daughter!
Another steadfast love of hers is fashion. Never one to fit into a box, she enjoys being experimental with her sartorial choices, transitioning easily from high street to luxe.
For busy work days, she names international high street brands like Helmut Lang, Theory, and Acne Studios as among her favourites, though recently she has also been enjoying Indian labels like Arohi. When it comes to glamorous evenings, she names Payal Khandwala, Gaurav Gupta, Suket Dhir and Rimzim Dadu amongst her favoured Indian designers.
She ends our chat with this sage advice, “Good art is about making history.” In Aparajita’s case, it seems a good life is about making history too.
Noor Anand Chawla pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com.