CM Master, LV Sathe and GM Bhuta, together laid the foundation of the firm Master Sathe Bhuta in 1932. Graduates from Sir JJ School of Architecture, the first and only Institute in India accredited to RIBA, they were the only all Indian firm to operate in India. At JJ, under the mentorship of Claude Batley, Master together with GM Mhatre were introduced to Art Deco and Streamline Moderne through Batley. Works of both Mhatre and Master Sathe Bhuta, have resonance and reflection of Art Deco as well as Batley’s knowledge and stylistic choices imparted to them.
The firm had a clear division of works between the three members, administrative works, contracts, surveys and valuation came to Master. Designing, detailing and public relations to Sathe and Bhuta to get current trends in designs and materials as well as bringing projects to the firm. Before dissolving in 1957, the trio is accredited for many stunning modern buildings specially for banks and insurance companies. According to the firm’s profile, 70% of all upcoming buildings in India in the 1950s were by Master Sathe Bhuta or their associates. Notable ones include the New India Assurance Building, Bombay, Laxmi Insurance Building, Bombay, Reserve Bank of India, New Delhi, Residence for the Maharaja of Kota, New Delhi, Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay and Mafatlal Park housing, Bombay. Buildings associated with the firm represented Art Deco style in their form and mass as well as motifs and ornamentation. For some projects, they adopted and deciphered the ‘Swadeshi’ arts and incorporated them with the style, making a harmonious visual creation of Indo Deco. Along with architecture, the firm also commented upon arts and sculptures as in the case of RBI Delhi, where GM Bhuta was member of the committee to install a sculpture outside the main gates.
Architects such as Charles Correa and Arvind Talati are known to have worked at the firm, while contractors Shapoorji Palanji and suppliers Bharat Tiles have commissioned many of their projects.
A member of the firm and Mr Master’s relative, NK Kothari, moved to Delhi in 1946, branching the firm further from Bombay. In 1956, the firm was split as Master Sathe Kothari and GM Bhuta and Associates. NK Kothari is credited for bringing Bombay style bungalows to Delhi, famously at PUSA Road, and for handling projects like Shankar Terrace at Chandni Chowk, Golcha and Delite Cinema Halls and later a few Embassies along with foreign partners, on behalf of the firm.
Eventually by the 1980s, the firm was split as Master and Associates, Kothari and Associates and GM Bhuta and Associates.
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References : 'India', Peter Scriver and Amit Srivastava, 2015;
Acknowledgements : Mr Srikant Sathe, Mr Shirish Joshi