When they were younger...

Contrary to popular belief, The Progressives was not the sole group endeavour of Indian artists in the 20th century. There were others: Astitva, Painters with a Camera, Group 1890 and even the country's first all-women artist group – Four Women Artists, comprising Nilima Sheikh, Arpita Singh, Nalini Malani and Madhvi Parikh.

"What one hears is that The Progressives only held one formal show while Four Women Artists had four. They travelled in trains, carrying their paintings with them to exhibitions," says Shilpa Gupta, who resurrected such gems from India's art world in her show 'That Photo We Never Got'. "The project looks at memory as a living process, and at archives as not finite," says Gupta, alluding to the FOCUS photography festival's theme, memory; 'That Photo...' is a part of the festival.

'In That Photo...', Gupta brings to light charming anecdotes told to her by artists about their nascent or flourishing art practices, 'addas', collectives, friendships and intense involvement in the politics of the day between the 60s and 80s. To arrive at these findings, Gupta dipped into Asia Art Archives (AAA), a Hong-Kong-based organisation that documents regional art histories. The result: a bookshelf and vitrines of photographs, letters, manifestos, old art magazines and personal art books with reference markings.

The art world's multifarious relationships can be discerned from a frame on art historian and critic Dr Geeta Kapur. One photograph catches her in a tense moment with Dr Mulk Raj Anand, the then chairperson of Lalit Kala Akademi, possibly about the institution's workings as evident in her protest letter framed nearby. Another photo of Kapur, Mulk Raj Anand and Vivan Sundaram at an Amrita Sher-Gil show, though resonates with the warmth of friendship.

There are small miracles: Group 1890 artists writing to gallerist Kekoo Gandhy to host their exhibition and successfully buttering up Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to inaugurate it.

Then there are memories of a younger age: Atul Dodiya reminisces about his 18-year-old self, who threw a party for Swiss-German artist Paul Klee's centenary, in which photocopies of "baby Paul Klee to old Paul Klee" photographs became party decorations. Yet another frame has photographs of scrawny, hipster-looking Baroda artists, including Bhupen Kakkar, Gulam Mohammed Sheikh and a certain person called 'Chhatpar', atop a chhat (roof), flaunting their paintings and sculptures. "Someone at the exhibition instantly recognised Chhatpar as his teacher. The archives show how practices came forward, while others retreated," says Gupta.

One quote – "We both took this photo from the same angle" – has an interesting back story. It is attached to two identical photographs of zigzag lines – one taken by Nasreen Mohamedi and the other by Gulam Mohammed Sheikh. While this pattern evolved into Mohamedi's trademark, Sheikh's version makes a debut in this show, which, Gupta says, brings to the fore the nature of "chance, accidental overlap and coincidence".

Gupta was also glad to find traits in artists that echoed her own. For instance, J Swaminathan, shown in a sweater knitted by his Norwegian wife, oft repeated his clothes. "I repeat my two pairs of shoes."

Some details, however, require prodding. For instance, artist Shakuntala Kulkarni mentions 'milk-bar' as the 'adda' they'd congregate at before heading out to SoBo art shows. Gupta is unsure whether 'milk-bar' was a cafe or just an Amul milk shop. Perhaps a sequel exhibition to unravel this mystery?

'That Photo We Never Got' is on at Chemould Prescott Road, Mtill April 22