An Evening of Celebration

At the centenary celebrations of the CSMVS, musicians of the SOI enthralled a distinguished foreign delegation from the J. Paul Getty Trust.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) is celebrating its centenary this year. The museum has been serving as an important custodian of the country’s cultural heritage since it first opened its doors to the people on 10th January 1922. In the last 100 years, wars have been fought, pandemics have raged, artists have been discovered, and the city has transformed over and over again. The museum, however, has stood as a testament to the changing times, as relevant as it was for generations before us. The NCPA has closely collaborated with the museum over the years, bringing to the people of the city a formidable combination of the visual and performing arts.

A series of celebratory events and lectures took place last month to commemorate the milestone, starting with the 1st Centenary Lecture by the eminent art historian and former Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor. The festivities continued with a special dinner hosted by Dr. James Cuno, President & CEO, J. Paul Getty Trust, and Mr. Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Director General of CSMVS, to celebrate “A Decade of Art and Ideas”, which saw participation from the NCPA. The evening honoured Dr. Cuno completing ten years as CEO at the J. Paul Getty Trust. The world-renowned Getty Foundation supports institutions and individuals committed to advancing the greater understanding and preservation of the visual arts worldwide.

This year also marked 100 years of CSMVS’s collaborative journey with the Tata Collection that was generously donated to the museum by the Tata brothers, Sir Dorabji and Sir Ratan Tata. The exhibition, Enduring Memories: Anusmriti, inaugurated on 18th March, celebrated the longstanding bond. Dr. Cuno was the guest of honour for the evening, which concluded with an enthralling performance by the SOI Chamber Orchestra. The programme for the evening included Mozart’s Grande Sinfonia Concertante, Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, and excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. The performance was well appreciated by the dignitaries and audience.

Mr. Khushroo N. Suntook, Chairman, NCPA said:

“A heartening development is the close collaboration between the CSMVS and the NCPA. We hope to cooperate to the best of our abilities to bring to the people of Mumbai the finest combination of offerings from both these organisations. An example is the orchestra playing at the museum for the distinguished foreign delegation and Indian audience, as also the close cooperation that is taking place between our Indian Music department and the museum.”

This piece was originally published by the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai, in the April 2022 issue of ON Stage – their monthly arts magazine.