Smt. Madhuriben Desai (1910-1974) was born in Ahmedabad and was a close relation of Lalbhai family. Her father-in-law, Shri Bhulabhai Desai, was a renowned lawyer and a staunch nationalist. Her husband, Dhirubhai, was independent India's first ambassador to Switzerland. Their house in Mumbai was a centre of intellectuals and leading politicians. Madhuriben herself had studied history and economics, besides painting and both, Indian as well as Western music.

In Mumbai, she is remembered for the Bhulabhai Memorial Institute, which she established in memory of her father-in-law and husband, probably in the year 1953. The objective of the Institute was to bring together all artists from all branches of arts, viz., painters, sculptors, dancers, musicians, dramatists, etc. Madhuriben donated the huge bungalow with spacious lawns for this purpose. Her original idea was to have a rapport between all the artists which will help to enrich their art. There were more than 70 studios in the Institute. These were given for a nominal rent (rupee one for one day) to the artists. Painters like V.S. Gaitonde, Baburao Sadwelkar, Mohan Samant, B. Prabha, Prafulla Joshi (Dahanukar), Harkrishan Lal and Madhavrao Satavalekar, and sculptors like Karmarkar, Pansare, B. Vithal, Ram Kamat used to come here and work.

In addition to sculptors and painters, a number of dancers like Sachin Shanker had their dance classes in the Institute, who subsequently became very famous. Ebrahim Alkazi, Vijaya Mehta, etc., had their training classes and rehearsals of dramas here. Ravi Shankar's Kinneri Society activities also were held there. Moreover, the concerts of Yehudi Menuhin, Kesarbai Kerkar and Moghubhai Kurdikar were arranged here. Even Yogi Ayyangar conducted his yoga classes there. The Institute continued to function until Madhuriben's death in December 1974. It helped the artists from various fields to enrich their art. It played an important part, not only in the art of Maharashtra, but in a way, in Modern Indian Art.

The Institute also had a publication programme, beginning with the famous map of Indian monuments (c.1960). The well-known British Art historian, Douglas Barrett, was associated with this programme, who was the author of the prestigious book on Chola bronzes. It is possible that the wonderful set of Chola granite sculptures were acquired under his advice.

About the Collection:

Madhuriben had a vast collection of ancient Indian art including sculptures and paintings. A large number of these sculptures were donated by her family to the L.D. Museum, having been impressed by the L.D. Institute of Indology, and having full faith for their preservation as well as availability for enjoyment of art lovers.

The Madhuri Desai collection holds special importance in the sculpture gallery of the LD Museum.  Exhibited are a wide variety of sculptures narrating the artistic fervor of different styles and various periods.  The exhibits range from Buddha heads from Gandhara, stone statues of the Gupta period, and large Jain bronzes from Sirpur and Ghogha, to fine examples from Mathura, Nalanda, Tibet and Nepal.