Critically viewing and evaluating the body of his work is like experiencing an "intuitive order" in a "metaphoric chaos". Originating from realised everyday realities with a pinch of quirky macabre orchestration of people, experiences, and happenings around....and all this with a sense of objectivism satire and humour...often pungent and penetrative. These experiences extremely personal and experiential in nature have been transported with a lyrical poetic objectivity accompanying skilful execution. They transport the self into another worldly experience...true yet mythical.

Jaidev’s refreshing experimentation did not limit itself to a medium but utilized any suitable medium or mode of expression that suited the requirements of its realization. These included drawing, painting, printmaking, writing and illustrating books along with working in ceramics, stained glass and multi material and media sculptural objects. The common thread that bound them was their intriguing quality along with refreshing experimentation on one side and a crystallization of inherent contradictions on the other. In his own words, “It has a lot to do with plain common sense, and the guts and the rugged instinct of survival against all odds.” … truly a non- conformist in every sense of the term both in terms of his ideas, ideologies, and their realization.

Jaidev, a senior graduate from the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda also taught for a short while at the faculty of which he was also an alumni. He remained a bohemian believing “Art is not about being a good student because many good students who graduate are not still confident to face the world as artists.” This statement truly exhibits his personality along with the approach to his art practice… not conforming to established norms and notions of life as well as his practice. His pun satire and humour made him quite a flamboyant thief of many hearts during his youth. Interesting to recall that eminent artists of our time including well known personalities like Laxma Goud, Mrinalini Mukherjee, Nilima Sheikh along with many others were either his immediate contemporaries or friends with immense mutual admiration. He remained grateful to senior artists and teachers like Jeram Patel along with Gulam Mohammed sheikh who amongst others encouraged him to obtain his diploma which he had almost given up.

Jaidev during his creative journey exhibited extensively and participated in various print biennales organised at the national and international level although avenues and possibilities of exposure were far too few as compared to today’s times although his works were being noticed and collected in important collections of those years as part of his recognition. The great variety of his experimentation, playful and satirical exhibit amusement with a freshness and innovation. Variation in approach which often viewers associated with Jaidev’s persona and his diverse experimentation and can also be called as ‘images in transition’ in the context of his body of works. He strongly felt “at times it gets too much to be continuously interpreting the dominant theme, so one needs some variations.” A complete body of work where playing with paper, scissors, and recalling the childhood memories and their intrinsic freshness in the game of creating something new and diverse… “variations have so much to do with creativity” he believed in creating a ‘different one’ from the ‘real one.’

He was an equally gifted writer who wrote and illustrated his own stories. Attempting to deeply read between the lines one realises that the content emanated from the everyday realizations and happening in his life and revolved around people that surrounded his everyday existence. This ranged from humans, birds, animals along with otherworldly creatures…theriomorphic or anthropomorphic in image but human in their revelations that he created. Many of such path breaking adventures have although remained unfinished and unpublished but what is evident is his keen and critical observation of life and its deep and multiple layers with a great farsightedness and appeal when objectively reviewed today. All this was achieved with a sense of freshness and appeal not with pain or anguish and without a sermonising patriarchal approach in-spite of having dealt with several untimely tragedies and happenings during his lifetime.

Recalling some of his writings which include “Tiger tales” along with “The BHIL Story,” “The alphabets decided to have a party” just to mention a few of the many … the unconventional and unpretentious but witty world of Jaidev Thakore’s imagery opens a playful world of its own.” Painting is not a very burdensome responsibility nor an elitest flirtatious ride with the current social issues” … for Jaidev “art should be simple, lucid, and enjoyable even by a child.”

“A fun-loving guy… Jaidev almost always succeeded in bringing in the element of humour in his work. “Droll Stories and Related Paraphernalia” were a series of rather unfortunate ‘unfinished’ leisurely journey episodes of his life, in the true sense, which would most certainly, if completed, have told the story of his entire life in amalgamation. He loved to re-live these” real life” experiences (all 25 of the collection) that spanned over decades, pouring his heart in and out.  Clearly the man was in no hurry.  A prized collection that gives a complete insight into the man’s psyche, it nonetheless serves as delightful memorabilia to those (his contemporaries) who still live to enjoy these narratives.”   – in the words of Nita Thakore Jaidev’s artist partner who lives and continues to practice in Baroda.

Art and artistic expression in many ways has the ability to transcend beyond representation of its physicality and experience and express those recesses of one’s existence which is not accessible to common logic but only to instinct and intuition. Jaidev had the capacity to ‘Laugh’ and make ‘his work laugh’ without being loaded with the burden of a social or a political comment. 

It is unfortunate that the journey ended much too early but reveals the yearnings of a mind that was seeking something in the materialized reality...that this world offers...with a smile and not with pain and anguish.

Prof. (Dr.) Rajeev Lochan

Former Director, National Gallery of Modern art