Thursday, February 23, 2012

RIP Markand Thakar

[Photo by Thomas D. Ward]

The folks at Sophie's and Mona's passed along the sad news that Markand Thakar, a longtime regular at the bars, died this week. He was 82. We don't have a lot of details at the moment about a service or any possible celebrations of his life.

His artwork adorns the walls at both bars. He was a regular at the popular Tuesday night jazz sessions at Mona's. You've probably seen him there. And you'd remember having a conversation with him.

You can read about his life and work and view his art at his website, The Skunk Museum & Library. (We particularly like his oil paintings of bar scenes from the 1970s and 1980s.)

Part of his life, in his own words:

I've been asked, on numerous occasions, to explain the origins of my name and of my antecedents - and, just how did my parents, being of such different backgrounds, manage to meet? It has become obvious, that in this day of the American hyphenate, merely stating that I was born in New York City, on the 4th of July, in the fateful year, 1929 — and being the sixth child of a father born in India, and a mother born in Belgium, makes for an insufficient life history...

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After the drafting, during WWII, of my three older brothers, I began working as a gofer at a haberdashery that furnished the uniforms for Columbia's Navy ninety-day-wonders, then worked as a soda jerk — during which time I dropped out of High School. On July 18, 1946, shortly after I turned seventeen, I enlisted in the Regular Army and served for about a year in the post-WWII occupation of Japan. As a result, I joined my three older brothers as WWII veterans (all of us having served during WWII's emergency years).

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After my discharge, and over the years, I used up my GI Bill schooling allowance — during which time I worked at numerous jobs: soda jerk, bank page, RR dock worker, apprentice machinist, model maker — all the while, and from then on, I was more or less involved in the making of art. Then, from late 1953, before selling my business in 1974, I supported my wife, Betty Huber (a German Baptist, born in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1926, who was in the process of obtaining a Ph.D.) and our three children as a licensed customhouse broker and registered foreign freight forwarder. My wife of over half a century (now deceased), after obtaining her PhD. carried much of the burden of supporting the family — from 1974 on.

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We featured Thakar in a post this past Dec. 22.

[Photo by Thomas D. Ward]

8 comments:

  1. Really sorry to hear this. He and Howard used to spend hours on either side of the bar at Sophie's, I think it was one long single conversation that lasted them years. Maybe they can pick it up where they left off.

    RIP

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  2. thanks for letting us know about this local artist.

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  3. RIP.

    Not sure if he even had a NY accent, but you can almost hear it come through that section of "his own words"

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  4. And New York loses another unique artist and individual. Thanks for this post and the links to his artwork, it's amazing. R.I.P.

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  5. in my early 20s i used to while away hours at sophies on the weekends, depressed and lonesome and just in need of some conversation with someone, anyone. i met mark one afternoon and was elated that not only was there someone incredibly creative, articulate and friendly to talk to - but he was also half indian and half european, just like me!

    i never saw him again in my other visits there, and i've moved on and away now. but i won't forget those few hours we spoke and bonded over art, life and our unique backgrounds.

    rest in peace.

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  6. WOW...looked at some of his Bar Scenes and was suddenly reminded of Puffy's over in Tribeca. I wasn't a regular there (too far), but I vaguely do remember meeting Markand at a wedding reception there given by the owner of Puffy's, Frank Demarco, when a friend of mine married the barback. That was around 1984-85. Didn't know that he started hanging out in the EV. I have nothing else to add to what Marty said.

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  7. Damn, this is really sad. My heart goes out to Markand's friends, family, and everyone at Sophie's and Mona's.

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