Citizen of the World

Born on September 17, 1915 in Pandharpur a temple-town in Maharashtra, Maqbool Fida Husain was not only an enduring artist with an enviable body of work but was also a remarkable Indian.

Starting life as a painter of banners in Mumbai, Husain's childlike simplicity in his talk and manner were noticeable by anyone who met him. Easily approachable, the man loved the female form and said so sometimes with mischief and humour but never with malice. He was always alert to what one said, and used his enormous talent to chronicle society's contemporaneous ills and misgivings. By sheer numbers and his enduring presence in the art world, Husain brought Indian contemporary art to the world stage.

In 1947, around the time when India got its independence, The Progressive Artists Group was formed by artists - Francis Newton Souza, S. H. Raza and K. H. Ara and Husain was an early member. Among his early supporters were American well-wishers. Around the 50's he started focusing on colour and lines, motivated by European painters as also temple art in Hindu temples. In the subsequent two decades his reputation grew as an artist and so did his confidence.

In the 50's and 60's, Husain had the moral and financial support from the likes of art collectors - Chester and Davida Herwitz from Massachusetts, and Thomas Keehn(also 96) from Queens, New York, who between 1952 and 1961 used to work for Nelson Rockefeller in Delhi. Keehn, who is very close to the Husain family said," few years ago when Husain visited New York, the artist had produced 'Two Horses' within just 75 minutes with about 20 people watching."

Not many people are aware that among the doyen's masterpieces is a series of 27 paintings that he completed in 1971-72 for the 11th Sao Paolo Biennial on the epic Mahabharata. This 'Mahabharata: The Battle of Ganga and Jamuna' sold at a 2008 Christie's auction for $1.6 million.

Madhuri, the Maharashtrian Muse

He has mentioned that actor Madhuri Dixit was the inspiration behind his 2000 film - Gaja Gamini that also starred Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah. He directed Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities starring Tabu, Kunal Kapoor with Raguvir Yadav playing a Nawab and A.R. Rahman providing the musical score. However, his first film, Through the Eyes of a Painter, made in 1967 won a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

Husain, a Qatari citizen since 2010 was forced to leave India in 2006 following communal disturbances, but never carried any rancor or revenge. He and his wife Fazila Bibi had six children: four sons and two daughters.

The art industry and the legion of art-lovers spread across the world will miss this giant of a man not only for his versatility in creating canvases and films but for his flamboyant, free spirit.

(A New York based independent trend writer, Raj S. Rangarajan reports on the art market and auto shows and reviews films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; and India.)

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RAJ S. RANGARAJAN