“We wanted to be sure about the quality of works we were getting and that required some effort,” smiles Singhania, who is chairman of the table this year. “The aim was to get veteran and well-established artists, as well as youngsters who are gradually gaining recognition,” adds Rajnish Gupta, Managing Director of BSBK Ltd.

The selected works are now up on the walls of The Shrine Gallery at Friends Colony. Comprising 195 creations by over 120 artists, the proceeds from the exhibition will go to Akshay Pratishthan, a children’s NGO. “This way we hope to do our bit for the cause and also promote art,” says Anurag Rathi, director of Rathi Steel.

While MF Husain’s untitled acrylic on canvas from the Kerala series is one of the highest priced at Rs 1.35 crore, other notable works include Anjolie Ela Menon’s Eden (Rs 50 lakh), Jogen Chowdhury’s Bird (Rs 24 lakh) and FN Souza’s untitled acrylic on canvas (Rs 65 lakh).

The decade-old table may have been organising charity events for long, but the members made a foray into art only last year. “ Several people have started looking at art as an investment and the prices have also steeped,” notes Gupta, who himself has several artworks in his personal collection.