It was almost a decade back, when I had taken my son to Husain Doshi gufa in Ahmedabad and to my pleasant surprise, saw mr.M.F.Husain there! That was the first time, I had seen him in person. He was sleeping on the floor, without any mattress, dressed in white and looked absolutely serene, almost like a sage. I was touched by his simplicity and was instantly in awe.
I have always admired Husain's vibrant colours and have been fascinated by his passion for art, cinema and life in general. Some of his works are breathtakingly beautiful and the whole experience of witnessing his sheer brilliance on canvas is exhilarating. But sometimes his work also has been absolutely bizarre!
There was a phase when he painted some Hindu Gods in extremely insensitive and very poor taste and many people were appalled by him stooping to such petty level. I was disheartened witnessing an iconic artist of his stature exercising "creative license" in a manner that was disrespectful towards Hindu religion and clearly indicated a hidden agenda! Despite my disappointment in him, I have always loved him, more as an inspiration for his ageless, vibrant demeanor with eternally youthful and nomadic spirit!
The news of his demise has deeply saddened me. Suddenly, everybody is ready with eulogies and the media and the art fraternity seems to be engulfed with "guilt" for not understanding the great artist while he was alive! I don't wish to analyze the controversies he created. Now that he is gone for ever, I would prefer remembering him as someone, who was so passionate about his art that he stood by it even when it meant leaving the country he was so very fond of and deeply rooted in. For Husain, his art was beyond boundaries and that is precisely why he never confined to any genre and created his own style.
There is a lesson to learn from Husain, about life. Watching his movies makes one notice how each frame is a beautiful painting of life! I salute him for his work, his ideals and the way he went about life. It is sad that he had to die in exile. Who is responsible for the exile? Husain himself, the art fraternity, that shun him when it could have offered unconditional support or the people labeled as "fundamentalist"? Let's not get in to that. I would rather remember this globally acclaimed artist as barefoot Baba who was so blissfully immersed with his art that nothing else really mattered! R.I.P Husainsaab. We are going to miss you immensely and the magic you created with colours, is etched in our hearts, forever.
