‘In this digital era you can’t build walls’

As one of his Indian friends asks him how many bookmarks he should pack for him, Ilay Cooper says that ten should be fine. Affectionately, the friend says he’d pack 20 for Cooper, who was flying back to London in a few hours. The Briton quipped, “Lagta hai tumhe Hindi nahi aata hai.” Not only is he a celebrated author and art historian, but he’s also known for his wit and wisecracks. But how good is his Hindi really, we ask. “It’s a bit unorthodox but you can’t blame me. I learnt it in the bazaars of India,” he says.

Cooper has explored some rare 17th century mural paintings in Rajasthan after having spent over 15 years in India observing heritage buildings travelling by cycle, bike, bus and hitchhiking. He was recently in Delhi sharing his travel stories with art lovers at the Jaipur Rugs Store. “I actually found it very easy to ride or cycle around in North India as it was largely a plain terrain,” he says, and follows up with an anecdote. “In 1975, I set off on my motorcycle, reaching Istanbul before the bike was stolen. That bike journey, an unfinished business, was postponed till 2000 when I returned from Churu to Purbeck on a motorcycle,” he recalls.

In 1972, he cycled from Haryana through Rajasthan, MP and UP to end the journey in Bihar. During this journey he entered the Churu district and stumbled upon the painted havelis of Shekhawati region of Northern Rajasthan. He found the paintings very vibrant and distinct and decided to explore their origins. Soon he was documenting Shekhawati’s buildings for Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). A local teacher, Ravindra Sharma (Rabu) assisted him and together they documented 2,260 buildings.

These projects were followed by a series of scholarships for further research to study wall paintings in India and Pakistan. “I was all set to battle the Pakistanis after having spent a considerable time in India but frankly, they won my heart in 24 hours. All common folk, irrespective of nationality, hate extremism,” says the man who first visited India in 1965, when the Indo-Pak war about to begin. The septuagenarian has written many published articles for Indian and British periodicals, five published academic papers and five books.

Raised in Purbeck in South England, Cooper graduated from London University in 1966. Between studying and later taking up the role of a teacher, he travelled widely in Asia. He studied both Zoology and Geology. The 74-year-old recalls, “In North India, I could never figure out if the person was telling me if he studies Zoology or Geology as he would tell me, ‘Sir, I too studied Jo-logy and Jo-logy and pronounced both words alike!”  

His “angrez” parents and several relatives were based in different parts of India during the British rule and Cooper grew up listening to several anecdotes related to India. “When I decided to travel, my parents thought I was wasting my time, but in those days, I worked, saved some money and could afford to travel around and I did,” he says. “My mother had bought a camera by betting and winning money at derby races in Calcutta and she later gifted it to me,” the author says about how his family inspired him to take up photography.

But why did the man who studied paintings never try his hand at the art form himself? “When there was no camera, I had drawn the images to document them. I wasn’t good at it but I later realised that my drawings told something more about the paintings than the photos revealed,” he says.

Lastly when asked about Brexit and Donald Trump becoming the US President, Cooper labels them both a “mistake” but thinks the impact won’t be “long-lasting”. “In this digital era, you can’t build walls,” says the man who has no interest whatsoever in cricket, a sport that both India and England love.