Journey of artist Nilesh Mohite from peon to solo art show at Taj Art Gallery

Artist Nilesh Mohitersquos life is filling up with colour quite literally The artist stands on the cusp of his first ever solo art exhibition to be held at the Taj Art Gallery at the iconic Colaba hotel from September 24 to October 2 For Mohite a humongous moment recognition and proof of triumph over adversity and public acknowledgement of his artistic meritMohite 29 whose nickname is Sonu was born in a village in Raigad district His father left the family when he was 5 and his sister was 1 The children along with their mother eventually came to Mumbai where she worked as a maid in different homesMohite stated ldquoI enrolled in Colaba Municipal School but my motherrsquos deteriorating health made me leave school when in Std IX I then entered a night school ldquoIn the mornings I used to work as an office boy at Nariman Point for two hours and then report for full time work elsewhere after which I attended night schoolrdquo He added ldquoI would freelance as a waiter at night celebrations and dinners earning Rs 150 for a stint so I had to miss school My dream was to see that my mother need not do house work and stay at home for health reasonsrdquoChallenges loomldquoOur 8 by 8 shanty in Machimaar Nagar Cuffe Parade could hardly accommodate my paintings I would sit on a street corner or within the little lanes near home in the slums and paintrdquoMohite said as he needed money for art supplies ldquoI started working as a waiter at Cricket Club of India CCI a few years ago Once I was serving tea to an older gent and my supervisor caught me drawing on a paper napkin Even as he admonished me the guest asked to see what I was doing I gave him the drawing He was pleasantly surprised and asked what are you doing as a waiter He introduced me to certain wellknown persons who wanted some art work donerdquoThat tea anecdote literally translated to lsquothe cup that cheersrsquo for Mohite who bagged a few art assignments ldquoI got paid more than I thought I would for those worksrdquo said Mohite ldquoSome industrialists did offer me money to elevate my financial situation which was still precarious I had to take up work in a Consulate in SoBo to support my family Art alone was not enough Yet I used to always say give me avenues for work not moneyrdquoAlso Read Mumbai BMC confident of opening Delisle bridge by April 2023Ratan TataMohite who is married and has a fouryearold daughter claimed ldquoI was always struck by Ratan Tataji his dignity and service to the nation I used to stand near his office often to get a glimpse of the great man I stood on the road for a year but was too intimidated to approach him I had sketched him getting into an aircraft Then through some local political leaders and Colaba connections I got a chance to meet Mr Tata in 2019 It was such a stirring moment I presented my sketch of him as a lsquobirthday giftrsquo He asked about my family and when I told him my background he gave me a very generous amount that would even help me get a bigger home in Mumbai I said though Mr Tata I will not accept money I want avenues for workrdquo That was the start of some interactions with TataLifetime opportunityThis has led to Mohite being offered a sterling opportunity ldquoAn exhibition at the Taj Dreams do come truerdquo said Mohite He has worked on 21 paintings for the show ldquoI have been helped by so many good Samaritans on my journey My family of course my mother Lata wife Meenakshi and my little daughter Ananya are my support So many others helped me fund art supplies given me money for frames introduced me to wellheeled and influential people who gave me work The list is so long I feel blessedrdquo he saidJyoti Badekar general secretary Mumbai Janata Dal Secular party said ldquoEven though his journey has been uphill he helps the lessprivileged who have art talent to pursue their passion I wanted to help a person like this He is unable to afford a topnotch art college and yet paint as well as those graduates because of his huge talentrdquo Colaba local Cynthia DrsquoMello said ldquoMohitersquos big break is the culmination of hard work and resiliencerdquo Marzy Parakh founder Live To Give Foundation who has helped Mohite said ldquoWhat moved me most was that Mohite said no to Mr Tatarsquos cheque and instead asked for some work That shows his spirit dedication and ethicsrdquo