The other members of the Progressive Artists’ Group wrote to him often and among them Souza’s letters were the most frequent. There were playful discussions about women and domesticity.
“This one French girl we were so keen to meet and take lessons from happened to be with false eyes and what not. We had idealised her all the two days we spent in contacting her and we had in mind besides learning the language, many other sweet dreams. After the first meeting and consecutive disappointment we worried about getting rid of this beauty queen. It came easy as that evening she was with some friends too busy to bother about us and after half an hour’s waiting we left, even without a usual ‘Au Revoir’. We haven’t met her again and I hope we don’t.”
Souza would even joke about Akbar’s flings in the letters. “I hope Padamsee will start work with renewed vitality and energy. In a way, I was glad to hear from him that his Venus had vanished, before the little…