My Curious Years with Charles Henri Ford
The Autobiography of Indra Tamang
By: Jessica Robinson - Oct 31, 2024
My Curious Years with Charles Henri Ford
In 2010, the world was captivated by the extraordinary story of Indra Tamang, a Nepalese hotel waiter brought up in a village without running water who unexpectedly became the heir to two luxury apartments in New York’s iconic Dakota building—one owned by actress and socialite Ruth Ford and the other by her brother, surrealist poet, painter, and photographer Charles Henri Ford. As The Wall Street Journal reported, the "Nepalese butler" who "grew up in a mud hut" had suddenly found himself in possession of prime Manhattan real estate.
But Tamang’s life is far more complex --and fascinating-- than the headlines suggested.
In his newly released autobiography, My Curious Years with Charles Henri Ford, co-written with Romy Ashby, Tamang tells, in candid detail, how a chance meeting in Kathmandu in 1973 with Charles Henri Ford – then in his sixties – changed the course of his life. This encounter, at a hotel where nineteen-year-old Tamang was waiting tables, transformed his existence in unimaginable ways.
Soon after meeting Ford, Tamang was invited to become his butler, to shop and cook and collect the mail. But over time he became his travel companion, assistant, confidant, collaborator, and ultimately the heir to both Charles and Ruth Ford’s entire estates (she cut her daughter out of her will, details on this are included in the book.)
The memoir unfolds like a surrealist odyssey, tracing Tamang’s extraordinary journey across continents. It vividly portrays Kathmandu in the 1960s and ‘70s, when the city was a hub for spiritual seekers and hippies, drawn by the promise of enlightenment and the availability of legal marijuana and hashish. The city became synonymous with free-spirited living, blending spirituality and Transcendental Meditation with the laid-back vibe of smoking pot. This mixture of spirituality and countercultural hedonism made Kathmandu a magnetic destination for artists, musicians, and free-thinkers from around the world, setting the stage for Tamang's fateful meeting with Ford.
“Practices like Transcendental Meditation and following spiritual leaders was all the rage," Tamang recalls. "Even iconic figures like the Beatles made the Indian Maharishi Yogi very famous.”
This chance encounter would propel Tamang into a life far removed from Kathmandu’s hashish shops and spiritual retreats, leading him into the vibrant world of avant-garde art in New York, Paris, and Crete.
Among the many adventures Tamang describes in the book, one I am particularly envious of is when Ford, Tamang, and a friend rode a Volkswagen minibus (dubbed the “magic bus”) from Istanbul to Katmandu via Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. “It’s hard now to imagine Iran and Afghanistan as peaceful, open countries,” Tamang writes, “but at that time they were.”
My Curious Years with Charles Henri Ford is filled with over 100 photographs from the private collections of both Ford and Tamang, offering both a visual and narrative history of some of the 20th century’s most fascinating cultural figures. These images - many never before seen- include luminaries such as Cecil Beaton in the 1930s, William Burroughs in the 1960s, Allen Ginsberg and Patti Smith at the Gotham Book Mart in 1977, Andy Warhol in the 1960s, Debbie Harry, Grace Jones at Studio 54, Holly Woodlawn, and many more. These photos bring to life the extraordinary circle of friends and collaborators that surrounded Ford. Tamang’s sharp recollections, coupled with the visual archive, paint a vivid portrait of a singular time in modern art history.
Yet My Curious Years with Charles Henri Ford is much more than a history of famous writers, artists and glamorous parties. At its heart, it is about Tamang’s own evolving role from a simple soul without a formal education and no knowledge of English, into a trusted member of the Ford family’s inner circle.
Tamang’s account highlights intimate details of life with the Fords, including their frugality. Despite their fame and fortune, they lived modestly, as Tamang recounts in the chapter titled Living on a Shoestring in a Palace. Here Tamang describes learning the art of bargain hunting and how to stretch a dollar—details that paint a portrait of a surprisingly grounded existence behind the luxurious facade of the Dakota.
Tamang’s role went far beyond that of an assistant—he was a surrogate son, taking care of both Charles and Ruth as they aged. When Charles’s health began to decline, Tamang became his caregiver, attending to his every need until his passing in 2002.
Afterward, Tamang assumed the same role for Ruth, who had become blind and frail in her final years. His devotion to her care—from grocery shopping and preparing simple meals to ensuring her comfort in her last days—speaks to the depth of his loyalty. Ruth lived to the age of 98, with Tamang by her side until her death in 2009. She left him her entire estate.
Ultimately, My Curious Years with Charles Henri Ford is a tale of transcending boundaries—cultural, geographical, and class-based—and embracing the unexpected possibilities life offers. It’s a testament to the power of human connection and loyalty, as well as the generosity with which one man embraced a world far from his own.
Today, Tamang lives in Queens with his wife and daughter, Zina, who was born in New York, and his two daughters by a previous marriage live nearby his country house in the Catskills. From a humble village in Nepal to the heart of New York’s avant-garde art scene, and inheriting a fortune along the way, My Curious Years with Charles Henri Ford is one amazing tale.