Maqbool Fida Hussain- A Tribute Submitted by admin4 on 9 June 2011 - 4:29pm Art/Culture Articles Indian Muslim By Shehzad Pooanwalla,

Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his p ictures. ~Henry Ward Beecher These lines aptly describe Maqbool Fida Hussains iconic career as an artist and m ore importantly his journey as a humble pilgrim, who walked barefoot in the sand s of love and creativity. Born in the Pandharpur, Maharashtra in 1915 Hussain did not age ; he only grewas an artist and as a human being par excellence. And this is why he never retir ed from painting- for him painting and expressing himself was like breathing. Hu ssains paintings went on to fetch huge sums of money yet his art was unblemished by commercial considerations. He continued to be a simple nomad, for whom the jo urney of discovering the meaning of life through art, was itself, his destinatio n. Much like his art, Hussain himself was a product of global culture which cann ot be contained within man made boundaries of nationality and religion. Yet Indi a and Indians occupied a special place in his heart.

[Photo Courtesy: tribuneindia.com] In the 1940s Hussain, who had been trained at the J J School of Arts, started off by joining the Progressive Artists Group, founded by Francis Newton Souza. He went on to paint some of the most remarkable works which earned him several acco lades like the Padma Vibhushan and a nomination to the Rajya Sabha amongst other s. He dabbled in cinema as well which included unconventional films like Through the Eyes of a Painter, Gaj Gamini and Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities. Controversies always courted Hussain. In 1996, his paintings originally painted in the 1970s were interpreted as anti-Hindu. In 1998 Husain s house was attacked by groups like Bajrang Dal and his art works were vandalised. The Shiv Sena end orsed the attack. In 2004, the Delhi High Court dismissed the complaints against him yet in February 2006, Husain was charged with hurting sentiments of people because of his nude portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses. Organizations like the VHP backed with the tacit support of the BJP made life difficult for the artist by virtually killing his artistic spirit and subjected him to a spate of legal c ases and death threats. Following this he was on a self imposed exile from aroun d 2006. In January, 2010, he was offered the citizenship of Qatar, which he acce pted. But there can still be no doubt on his Indianness and his contribution to the resurgence of art in India. But did he get his due from his own motherland i s a question that begs to be answered? The Prime Minister has aptly described M Fs passing away to be a national loss. But to me, his passing away in London away from India, is a reflection of the trium ph of hatred over tolerance, of mobocracy over democracy and of right-wingism ov er secularism. Perhaps we can collectively redeem ourselves of the grave sins we have perpetrated on this great soul by not only awarding him a Bharat Ratna pos thumously but also dedicating a huge memorial and art gallery in his memory that will symbolize this nations resolve to promote liberal arts and to ensure that r ight wing fundamentalism will not claim one more Hussain in this country. This m uch we owe to Hussain and our Constitutional commitment to secularism.

There are several messages that one gets from Hussains life and art. Hussain was a perennial vagabond and his art reflected that- it was always in the search of new horizons but never gave an impression of loss of hope. His life and art alwa ys reflected optimism never defeatism. He celebrated difficulties, never got wor n out by them. He was truly secular in his approach and mindset but was unfortun ately branded by political motivated groups who wanted to capitalize on his popu larity and run their narrow minded political agendas. They managed to take Hussa in out of India but never managed to take India out of Hussain. Hussain always carried a paint brush along with him. He was always in search on a new canvass where ideas and colours could flow. Those who cheered when Hussain was forced into exile must sit back and analyze the colossal damage they have d one to very constitutionalism in India. And ironically while they did manage to silence his brush, they ensured that his ideas and his spirit become immortalize d. -The author is law graduate from Punes Indian Law Society and political activist. Share