FILM
The Art of the Cat
“In many Indian art forms big cats are venerated,” says Paul Abraham, the founder of Sarmaya, in The Art of the Cat, the third instalment of our Herding Cats film series. From the canvases of indigenous artists collected from across India spring tigers, lions and myriad wild animals representing power, reverence, divinity, royalty and the interconnectedness of all things. The diversity of styles on display—Mithila, Warli, Gond, Pattachitra and more—bear testimony to the deep relationship these artists and communities have had with big cats for untold generations, and their unique power in capturing their wild, majestic essence. In this meditation on the relationship between artists and big cats, Paul questions whether the survival of one depends on the other, and the urgency of this question given the vulnerable status of big cats.
All the paintings in this film are part of Sarmaya’s collection.
Herding Cats is part of Cataplisms, a project that seeks to explore the world through a feline lens via the work of conservationists, anthropologists, artists, writers, researchers, and more. These films are visualised by Faraway Originals and produced by Dark ‘n’ Light.
About the narrator
Paul Abraham grew up in a different Delhi. A gentler one that allowed children the run of its wild and ancient sprawl. When he was 12, Abraham’s father gifted him a Vaseline bottle filled with old coins. These were like ten coded messages delivered across time from the erstwhile state of Travancore to the history buff in him. Where were they minted? What did those emblems mean? Who issued these coins?
It was partly to relive and share this long-ago sense of wonder that Abraham started Sarmaya, which is Urdu for a collective or shared wealth. A passion project for him and his late wife, Tina, Sarmaya started as a virtual museum to make the family’s vast private collection of historical artefacts and Indian art accessible to everyone and start exciting conversations and fuel the imagination. Today, the organisation is shaped by the vision that both Paul and his partner, Pavitra Rajaram, share — to make this rich collection more accessible to the public, and offer a critical and compassionate framework for young Indians to discover their cultural inheritance. In late 2024, Sarmaya opened a public-facing archive, gallery, and event space in the historic Lawrence & Mayo building in Mumbai’s Fort area.
Alongside his passion for art and history, Paul is also the President of Hinduja Foundation, a member of the governing board of Sanctuary Nature Foundation, and was previously the Chief Operating Officer at IndusInd Bank.