The National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai is undoubtedly one of Asia's top-
ranking cultural institutions. With five world-class venues, each meticulously designed to enhance the quality of live shows in every possible art form, backed by a strong curatorial team, it is unrivalled as a performance arts complex in the country. As the NCPA celebrates its 55th anniversary, we spoke with Chairman Khushroo Suntook, who has guided the institution’s journey for the past 25 years.

1. Man’s World: Could you tell us about the origins of the NCPA, its inception, and the significant contributions it has made to the cultural scene in Mumbai?

Khushroo N. Suntook: Well, the idea first originated in the mid-1960s. Several people were involved, thinkers such as Mr JRD Tata, Dr Jamshed Bhabha, and Dr Homi Bhabha. Their idea was to create a location in South Bombay where performance art could flourish in an integrated manner in the city. Several halls existed in the area at that time, including Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Hall, which was used for boxing matches and symphony orchestras, Tejpal Auditorium and Sunderbai Hall, for annual general meetings and concerts, etc. The problem was that none of these places had good acoustics. In addition, the founders also wanted to create a space where students could learn music, as none existed in Bombay at that time. There were no institutions in the city like the Royal College of Music or the Lalit Kala Akademi. That is how the idea was born. And if you see the names on the first board of the NCPA, you will be amazed by the kind of people who were on it, names like Yehudi Menuhin, Satyajit Ray, Ravi Shankar, Vilayat Khan, M.S. Subbulakshmi, Kesarbai Kerkar, Andre Malraux, and many others.

Work began with an endowment from the Dorabji Tata Trust. It took them eight years to find the land. Dr Jamshed Bhabha, who spearheaded the project, approached the then-Chief Minister, Vasantrao Naik, requesting eight acres of land. And the CM jokingly said, 'Why don’t you take it from the sea?' Dr Bhabha replied, saying, 'I'll take it.' And thus, the plan to reclaim eight acres of land from the sea off what is now Nariman Point was born. Every year, they would fill the sea, and it would sink; then they would refill it. It took eight years to reclaim the required land. Meanwhile, NCPA had already started operations from a small, rented auditorium and office on Bhulabhai Desai Road. Then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi inaugurated the first performance in December 1969.

2. MW: How did the Tata Theatre come to become one of the best auditoriums for music concerts in the country?

KNS: JRD, in his usual style, instructed Dr Bhabha to hire the best architect in the world, so we secured the services of the renowned American architect Philip Johnson to design the complex. Then he asked, 'Who is the best acoustic engineer in the world?' So, we got Cyril Harris, who had designed sound for halls like the Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera, and the John F Kennedy Center. The foundation stone for the Tata Theatre was laid by JRD and Jamshed Bhabha in 1976, and Mrs Gandhi inaugurated it in October 1980. Having created the country's best acoustically designed performance venue, Cyril Harris had told Dr. Bhabha, ‘Don't let anybody interfere with the acoustics.’

For years, the Tata Theatre was renowned for being a hall where one could hear a whisper from the last row. Gradually, the practice of using loudspeakers and amplification emerged. Once, an acclaimed musician told Dr. Bhabha that, since he was a bit too old and lacked the strength to project his instrument’s sound, he wanted to use the microphone for some enhancement. Dr. Bhabha replied, ‘No, we can’t do that. My hall is perfect; whatever you play will be projected with the same fidelity everywhere.’ The virtuoso responded, ‘In that case, Dr. Bhabha, I may not be able to play.’ Dr. Bhabha refused to back down, saying, ‘Of course, here's the door.’ Soon after, though, Dr. Bhabha felt terrible and called him back. Over a cup of tea, he talked him out of using the microphone. Gradually, however, we had to give in to the practice of using loudspeakers and amplification.
 

Once the Tata Theatre was built and completed, work resumed at a rapid pace. The
Experimental Theatre was completed in 1986, the Godrej Dance Theatre in 1987, and the
Jamshed Bhabha Theatre in 1999.

3. MW: Can you elaborate on Dr. Jamshed Bhabha’s role in shaping the NCPA into what it is today?
 

KNS: Jamshed Bhabha had a grand vision of what Bombay should have from a cultural perspective. He envisioned a symphony orchestra, an Indian music section that rivaled the finest guru-shishya traditions, and a renowned ballet school, among other notable endeavours. There was no limit to his ambition, but we didn’t have the means after the construction of the Tata Theatre. That is when he thought of building an apartment complex on the extra land we had at the northern corner. It was built with 20 flats. And we raised Rs 82 crore at that time by selling the apartments. He used that money to build the NCPA's modern Opera House.

Once it was completed, he wanted to call it the National Opera House. But all of us, including me, told him that you've conceptualised and steered the building of everything. It should be named after you. He was vehemently against it. However, we prevailed upon him, and it was then named the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre. However, in 1997, two months before its opening, it was destroyed by a fire. I remember that I was in Mahabaleshwar when he called, saying, ‘Khushroo, my Opera House has burned down’. Just like that, matter-of-factly. I said, ‘Oh God! Should I come back?’ ‘No, I never interrupt holidays, and besides, you're not employed by us. How can I tell you to come back?’ He told me. He rushed to the site, saw the devastation, and the next day, without any recriminations or blame, began the process of rebuilding it. The theatre was rebuilt over the next two years and inaugurated in November 1999.

4.MW: One of Dr. Bhabha’s big dreams was to establish an Indian symphony orchestra. With the success of the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) over the last two decades, do you think you have fulfilled Dr Bhabha’s dream?
 

Well, I'm trying to. SOI came about by chance. NCPA council member Brinda Khatau and I were once in London, passing by a church where the Kazakh violin virtuoso Marat Bisengaliev was playing with a group of musicians. We didn't have anything to do, so we bought a ticket and went in. The high standard of the music surprised us, and after the concert, we went backstage and asked him, ‘Why don't you come with your ensemble to India for a performance? We have a new hall’. He said, ‘But what's in India? Why should I play classical music in India? We convinced him and he came and performed. Dr Bhabha liked them, and we had a few meetings. Then he came again with the Kazakhstan Symphony Orchestra, which was very good. After that, one day while chatting with Marat, I said, ‘Why don't we start an orchestra?’. He was surprised and replied, ‘Are you crazy? Do you know what it means? It will take 10 years, because that's how long it will take if they start from scratch.’ I told him, ‘Why not try?’. He reluctantly agreed. But I had one condition; I told him I should have some Indians as well. The plan was to establish both a teaching academy and a Symphony Orchestra.

We began with a string orchestra, and over the years, Marat, who became SOI’s founding Music Director, developed it into India’s only professional symphony orchestra. I recall the first set of auditions at the Little Theatre, conducted by Marat and his fellow musicians from the world’s top violin schools in the former Soviet Union. Hundreds of musicians came in, but with no formal training in Western classical music available in India, Marat kept saying ‘nyet’ to each one of them. And I said, ‘How many are you going to reject? Finally, we took about eight or ten musicians from around the country.

The orchestra achieved rapid international fame, performing not just at home but also in
international venues like Hall of Columns, Moscow; the Royal Opera House, Muscat; the
Emirates Palace Auditorium, Abu Dhabi, Tonhalle, Zurich, Victoria Hall, Geneva, as well in cities like London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Guildford, and Edinburgh, and garnering rave reviews. We have also worked with many great guest conductors like Zubin Mehta, Sir Mark Elder, Martyn Brabbins, Carlo Rizzi, Augustin Dumay, Yuri Simonov, Jacek Kaspszyk, Charles Dutoit, etc., and soloists like Maria João Pires, Augustin Dumay, Simon O’Neill, Cédric Tiberghien, Alina Ibragimova, Stephen Hough, Barry Douglas, Angel Blue, the late Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer, Béla Fleck, etc.

In 2012, we established the SOI Music Academy, the first of its kind in India, for advanced-level learning of Western classical music. Since then, the Academy has evolved into a distinguished institution in its own right. In 2018, the students went on their first international tour, performing two concerts in Abu Dhabi. Several of them are now pursuing further studies at music conservatories abroad, and we look forward to seeing them return to join the SOI.

5. MW: By most reckoning, you have over the last two decades turned NCPA into one of the great cultural institutions of Asia. What goes into building an institution like this?
 

KNS: Building an institution is like building one’s character. It takes a long time. You can’t simply build a great hall and claim to have established an institution. Of course, it's a great advantage, but to get the spirit of creating music, you can't do it by buying shows. It took us a long time. The most important thing is to have the right leaders for each genre of performing arts that you offer to the audience. We have been lucky in that sense. Marat, for example, is not only an excellent musician but also a builder who helped shape our Western classical music genre.

Then we have Dr Suvarnalata Rao, who heads our Indian music programming. She knows all the people in the music world. And through the years, we have had legends like Ravi Shankar, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Zakir Hussain, Girija Devi, Kishori Amonkar and many others who have been involved with NCPA. Our Dance programming is headed by another fine leader, Swapnokalpa Dasgupta. We also have a dance committee, which includes renowned dancers Malavika Sarukkai and Aditi Mangaldas as members. Similarly, we have equally capable leaders for our other genres, including Bruce Guthrie for Theatre and Film, Farrahnaz Irani for International Music, and Bianca Mendonca as General Manager of the SOI and Western classical music.

After I took over the NCPA, I divided the programming into genres, making it easier to manage. We now have a system where we hold a meeting for each genre every week, and then once a month, we all meet to review our progress. Then there is the overall corporate body which oversees everything. We structured it in a way that it can be managed like a company.

We perform nearly 500 shows annually, making it a substantial task. Finance is always our
biggest challenge. Unlike in other countries around the world, we don’t receive any assistance from the government. Dr Bhabha left us his house, which has been of great help financially.

6. MW: You complete 25 years at the helm of NCPA this year. You were a corporate leader. How did you end up running one of India’s premier cultural institutions?

KNS: Not by choice. I come from a family of lawyers. My grandfather was a judge. My father was a senior partner in the solicitors’ firm of Mulla & Mulla. I am also a lawyer. However, I didn’t enjoy practicing law. I didn't like treading on people's miseries and serving notices of this and that. Anyway, JRD knew my father and asked me to come and work at Tatas. I then worked with TOMCO and Lakmé, and eventually ended up on the board of several Tata companies, including as the chairman of Tata Services and Tata Sports Club. I used to work under Dr Bhabha. My parents were friends with him. And slowly, he began involving me in the work of NCPA. He first appointed me to the NCPA Council.

Then, on my last day before retiring from Tatas in the year 2000, Dr Bhabha told me, ‘You're retiring from Tatas this evening. Tomorrow morning, go to the NCPA. Your room is ready.’ I said, ‘Give me a break. I want a holiday. He said, ‘No, tomorrow morning.’ I was designated as the Vice-Chairman. After joining, a lot of advice came my way, and you listen and then do what you think is best for the organisation.

7. What was the highlight of your last 25 years, besides the SOI? And what is your vision for the next 25 years?

My high point is our academy. We have some incredibly gifted students among us. Then there is the library that we have built. The NCPA Reference Library is one of the only specialised performance art libraries in India, with a mission to preserve the country’s cultural heritage. In addition to our extensive collection of books, we also maintain an archive of 6,000 hours of music recorded by us since our inception. We also have the Stuart-Liff collection, which was generously donated to us by Mr Vivian Liff in 2009. It comprises 6,000 books and 11,000 LPs, all of which are rare and highly sought after.

As for the next 25 years, I'm not sure I will be around for such a long time. However, everything ultimately depends on the money we receive. It will help us remain independent of any external pressure and allow our artistic desires to come to fruition. One wish I have is to stage a performance of the entire Wagner Ring, spanning 18 hours of music at the NCPA. And I can do it. I know the people who’d do it. But it's costly.

8. You will be 90 this year. But you seem to be still as energetic as ever, still powering away at full speed?

Yeah, too much speed. But it's fun. When you enjoy something, you don't get old.