On his 109th birth anniversary, we remember the artist in Homi Bhabha the scientist

Apart from being an able scientist, Homi Bhabha was also a painter and a classical music and opera enthusiast. He was an avid art collector and has in his collection landmark works of great Indian modern art masters. On his 109th  birth anniversary, Team CY explores the artist that resided in this renowned nuclear physicist.

“Arts were what made life worth living” – Dr. Homi J Bhabha

The world remembers Dr. Homi J Bhabha (1909 – 1966) as a nuclear physicist and he is fondly called the ‘Father of Indian Nuclear Programme’. Making India a nuclear power was his life’s mission and he has achieved the unthinkable in a short span of time. On his 109th birth anniversary, CreativeYatra pays tribute to this brilliant scientist and a great human being.

However we shall take this opportunity to share a little known dimension of Dr. Homi Bhabha. Apart from being an able scientist, Bhabha was also a painter and a classical music and opera enthusiast. He was an avid art collector and has in his collection landmark works of some of India’s great masters of modern art like Jamini Roy, MF Husain, NS Bendre, FN Souza, B Prabha, VS Gaitonde and many others. His collection is available at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai. TIFR is among the only science institution in the world, with such priceless collection of art under its roof. This was made possible due to the artistic vision of Dr. Bhabha.

Bhabha himself was fond of sketching, and has made beautiful sketches of luminaries that he has had the privilege of interacting with. Be it Sir CV Raman, scientist Niels Bohr, Pipsy Wadia or Shergill, Bhabha has made tender compositions of these individuals.

JRD Tata, the then scion of Tata group of Industries, a benevolent entrepreneur himself, once famously said, “Scientist, engineer, master-builder and administrator, steeped in humanities, in art and music, Homi was truly a complete man”

Truly a rare gem of a person. Seldom do we come across personalities as  Homi Bhabha, who are evolved across the entire spectrum of human manifestation, be it science, arts, literature or music.

Today, on October 30, 2018, his 109th birth anniversary we remember the great human and wish that the world sees such gems more often.

Image Source : Google Arts & Culture