MF Husain

MF Husain , who died in London yesterday aged 95, was a former billboard artist who rose to become India’s most famous painter before going into self-imposed exile after receiving death threats from religious hardliners for his nude images of Hindu icons.

Maqbool Fida Husain: The maestro’s token

 

Inside Karachi Press Club’s (KPC) conference room, a large abstract painting in blue, grey and white hues is mounted conspicuously on one of the walls. To some, the composition might give the impression of galloping horses. Yet the quintessence of the work lies in its ambiguous form; the narrative of the painting succinctly captured in the lyrical words in the painting: “Hum perwarish lauh-o-qalam kertay rahain gay (Forever will I nurture pen and paper).”

This masterpiece is by the legendary Indian painter Maqbool Fida Husain, famously called the Picasso of India, who passed away on June 9, 2011.

On September 10, 1992, Husain visited the KPC on the request of Saleem Asmi, who was the club’s president then. The famous painter entered the club bare-foot (he usually preferred walking sans shoes) and painted this masterpiece. The art work remains a powerful lingering memory of the Indian artist’s visit to the KPC.