He’s sometimes called the ‘Iron Man’ and he’s one of the country’s most prolific sculptors. But Arzan Khambatta trained as an architect and his fascination with the metal goes back to 1982 when he first began turning it into different shapes. He has done innumerable solo and group shows in Mumbai and is now planning to head abroad.

His most famous works include a figure of Amitabh Bachchan called Humble Bee, which he presented to the superstar. The sculpture was originally made for MTV but presented to Bachchan on his birthday in 2004 because he was so enthusiastic about it.

Right now, Arzan is busy with his next show and he’s experimenting with bronze and brass.

Arzan’s wife Khushnuma acts as her husband’s unofficial secretary and administrator. She takes care of running Arzan’s workshop in Sewri. That includes looking after everything from his investments, taxation problems and making sure that Arzan has everything he needs to carry on his work. Khushnuma says she doesn’t particularly like the work, but it’s essential and someone has to do it.

ARZAN:

I met my wife in December 1984 in the Parsi colony, Dadar where I stay. Since our community is small, we more or less know almost everyone. I used to cycle about near her house and one day I spotted her standing on the balcony. Slowly, I got to know her through a common friend and invited her to my workshop. Initially, she used to drop in with her friends. Gradually, we started liking each other’s company and that’s how it all started. We had a long courtship period and finally in 1993, we tied the knot.

We both are diametrically opposite people ? she’s very straightforward, I am very diplomatic. But our tastes match and we have similar interests in art and culture. What I like about her is that if she doesn’t like something, she’ll tell you straight to your face. Another very striking quality is that she is a good administrator and knows how to run the house. Since I am very poor in money matters, my wife takes complete care of that.

I remember once she was quite upset with me during our courtship days. We had an argument and we stopped meeting. Her mom got very angry and immediately called me up saying that there was no need for me to go to their house. I took her mom’s words seriously and didn’t go to her place, which infuriated her all the more. She expected me to go to her house and beg and plead with her.

But having been married for so many years now, we have matured a lot. I pamper my wife and make sure that she is happy. Since she spends a lot of time today working in our workshop, I have put in a TV there to keep her entertained. I always believe that if you can make your family happy, you can lead a fulfilling life. In fact, I encourage her to go out shopping.

I also take her suggestions in terms of design. Often she has given me valuable inputs in my work. Whenever we have an argument over the practicality of a design, she always corrects me and points out where I am going wrong. She has a very strong sense of honesty and yes, it sometimes puts me in a spot. But I must say that whatever I have achieved today is because of the unstinting support of my wife and family.

KHUSHNUMA:

I first met Arzan on my birthday. He was cycling near my house with his friends and I just happened to pop out of the balcony. In the colony, everyone used to call me ‘Baby’, and later I was even introduced to Arzan through common friends as ‘Baby’. By that time, he more or less knew my daily routine and whenever I used to go to college, I’d see him standing there with his bicycle. Although at first I was not interested in him, I slowly realised that whenever I saw him, my heart used to skip a beat.

Gradually, we became friends and I used to visit his workshop with my friends. This went on for weeks and it was during that period that we realised we liked each other’s company. Finally, our parents intervened and fixed our marriage date. So that’s when we really thought of tying the knot. Had it not been for our parents, we would have continued like that.

Since I have seen him grow as a sculptor, I know that he is extremely passionate about his work. He loves to experiment and come up with newer and fresher ideas. What I like about Arzan is the fact that he is a very simple man with simple needs. But what I dislike in him is that he always says ‘OK’ to everything. I strongly believe that if you agree to any and everything, people will try to take advantage of you. Once in a while, you should know to put your foot down. Another very striking thing about Arzan is that he will not take monetary help even from his own relatives.

I don’t remember Arzan giving me precious gifts during our courtship. Not that he didn’t want to pamper me but the fact was he could not afford to. At the most, he would take me to Sardar Pao Bhaji corner at Tardeo where he would treat me to a juice or pao-bhaji.

He was a struggling artist then and had no money left to pamper me. Nevertheless we enjoyed that phase of our lives together very much and even today, I treasure those memories. Today, we can afford to go to a discotheque but back then, we really cherished the time we’d spend together at his workshop.

The birth of our kids ? Pezanne and Tianna has only served to cement our bond. Arzan is a loving and caring father and we have separate household duties. He’s very sensitive towards the kids and takes an interest in each and every aspect of their lives. I am very proud to be his wife and hope with all my being that he does well in the future.

Photograph by Gajanan Dudhalkar