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The fine art of business
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Prakash Aswani deals with the greatest artists of all time and channels his passion for music to host his own radio show. But behind these artistic pursuits is a hard head for business
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Prakash Aswani: `I sell MOMA prints and have Disney lists as well.' — Photo: Murali Kumar K.
PRAKASH ASWANI has piles of Van Goghs and Renoirs stacked away in his tiny office space. Renoir's sprawling picnickers in Luncheon of the Boating Party rub corners with the agitated lines of Edvard Munch's Scream. Classic film posters share space with black-and-white photographs. Aswani is an art dealer — of sorts. He's not dealing with the originals of course (if he was, he'd be sitting on a gold mine and never mind the missing Munch), but with prints instead. "I have a ball, surrounded by great art," he says. "We can't afford an original Van Gogh, but you can get the same pleasure from a print at a fraction of the cost."
Individuals and corporate houses can choose prints from over 4,000 paintings, photographs, and posters in Aswani's brochure. Many of them are with him right here in Bangalore, but if you happen to choose one that isn't, Aswani will import it.
Many requests come from other cities as well, since Aswani retails through FabMall. He plans to have his own website up soon, with all 4,000 prints displayed. His range includes Impressionist masters as well as Modernist and Post-Modernists — Whistler, Picasso, Andy Warhol.
At the moment, the catalogue has no Indian painters, but there are some Asian prints and he wants to encourage Indian painters to send in their work. The artist earns some money per print sold, says Aswani, so it makes sense for them as well.
Chance encounter
Aswani only got into art a couple of years ago while hunting for paintings to put up on the walls of his own home. Unable to find anything suitable, he "got on the Net and found a company with a fantastic catalogue," he says, adding that he saw a huge business opportunity, and became the only dealer in India for the New York-based company that sends him the prints.
He held an art show at home for family and friends and over the years, the business has been growing, mainly through word of mouth.
"Different tastes are catered for," says Aswani about his catalogue, "I sell MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) prints and have Disney lists as well." He recently did up the Oracle office, with an Impressionist theme; Renoir and Monet prints on the walls gave it a cheerful feel, and the software engineers loved it, says Aswani. He was asked for prints to decorate the Army Officer's Mess as well, for which he chose more regal prints — coronation ceremonies and images of royalty. But he shies away from assuming the role of art connoisseur.
Basic instinct
"Some people are very clear what they want," says Prakash. "For them I help choose the right prints, while with the other half of the people, we sit together and decide what might look good on their walls." So don't expect Prakash to tell you that the lady gazing at the lapdog in Luncheon of the Boating Party is actually Renoir's wife or about Van Gogh's friendship with Gauguin. He does know what kind of art he likes, personally (John Singer Sargent and old black-and-white photographs) but says, candidly: "I sell 4,000 images, but wouldn't like to sit and discuss technique. If you look at a picture and it looks good, well that's what it's about."
He also offers framing for the prints he sells, to save customers the bother of scouring Shivaji Nagar to settle on the perfect frame. So you can buy the print and order the frame and have it delivered to you, all at one shot. He's a hardheaded businessman, dealing with what he loves, he explains. "It's like being blessed with the fact that your work is not a pain. If no one buys on one day, you're not depressed — I've turned my hobbies into work. On the other hand, if you want to be a successful businessman, you have to keep abreast... of the latest frames, of who's selling what prints," he gestures at specialist magazines he's subscribed to, "I'm very confident that I can take this far and make lots of money."
Music lover
Before he stumbled into dealing in prints, Prakash had a music store, with piles of CDs and dealt in the family business of electronics. But the business was wiped out unexpectedly one day, and as Prakash chanced on the idea of importing prints — a business which took over the other.
The piles of CDs and the love for music didn't go waste, though.
Radio Indigo, the Bangalore-based international channel on WorldSpace radio, approached Aswani to host a weekend show.
He was really keen to host it, but being confined to a wheelchair following an accident in 1984, couldn't make it up to their studio on the first floor. So one side of his office has become a mini DJ console, with mixer and mike, from where he hosts Weekend Classics, playing his favourite music from a formidable CD collection, burning the ads and then delivering the CD to WorldSpace.
Aswani is now looking to supply art to a restaurant that will work around an art theme, rather than plaster a few prints on the wall for good measure. Since he began his business, lots of people have woken up to the fact that selling prints is good business, he says, adding: "But I'm just happy I can sell a Van Gogh for 1,000 rupees!"
You can reach Fineprint on these phone numbers: 23412066, 23418459, or 98452-14321. You can also e-mail musicmagic@vsnl.com.
HEMANGINI GUPTA
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