The Autobiography of Indra B. Tamang

Told as much through images as through words, a young Nepalese man's globe-spanning relationship with "the father of American surrealism" changes the course of his life and gives him a new set of roots.

In 1973, poet, photographer, collage artist, and sculptorCharles Henri Ford convinced ayoung Nepalese waiter at his hotel in Kathmandu to come work as his all-purposehelper. Nineteen-year-old Indra Tamang, who spoke minimal English, was soonenjoying an education and a life he could not have imagined. He quicklygraduated from cooking and running errands to attending social engagements withCharles, to accompanying the artist on his international travels, eventuallybecoming his collaborator, and more of a son than an employee.

Charles was a magnet for creative people, and during the '70s,'80s, and '90s, Indra found himself at the center of seemingly every fantasticlittle universe in New York, Paris, Crete, and Kathmandu, often as a quietobserver taking photographs and making mental notes. There was Studio 54, AndyWarhol's Factory, the teas that Charles would host at the Dakota, attended byregulars such as Tennessee Williams, Quentin Crisp, Patti Smith, and HenryGeldzahler; there were special dinners at the United Nations; visits to MaryMcCarthy and Leonor Fini; and chats in the elevator with neighbors like Johnand Yoko and Lauren Bacall. Charles gave Indra a second upbringing, one thatIndra absorbed with tremendous curiosity and enthusiasm. In turn, Indra broughtCharles into his family's village in Nepal, introducing him to a world that notmany Westerners were privileged to see, especially then. Indra managed to shuttlebetween these two vastly different worlds, marrying and having children inNepal, though not revealing this to Charles for quite some years.

In 2010, Indra Tamang became the object of globalfascination after inheriting two apartments from Charles's sister, the actressRuth Ford. The story in the Wall Street Journal described a Nepalese "butler"who "grew up in a mud hut" and ended up owning property in one of New York'smost famous buildings. The attention that followed inspired Indra to write thisricher and more accurate account of his life. Illustrated with more than 100 photographs and ephemera from the private collections of Charles and Indra,some never before shown, andgathered together for the first time,readers will discover that nothing about Indra's "curious years" with Charlesand his friends was ordinary or predictable in anyway.