Sometimes, when a group exhibition is strung together, many riveting vignettes associated with artworks remain untold, often fading into oblivion in the dark crevices of the creator’s memory. But these stories need to be told and shared for the viewer to ‘know’ the artist or the subject. And, if the artist in conversation is multifaceted M.F. Husain then the topic itself becomes engaging. This happened recently during a talk where Parthiv Shah and S. Kalidas shared several anecdotes about artist M.F. Husain and presented a fascinating portrait of one of the finest Indian artists.
The talk titled Sadak.Sarai.Sheher.Basti: M.F. Husain - The Recurring Figure borrowed its name from Parthiv’s show which is part of the ongoing exhibition, ‘Stretched Terrains – A String of Exhibitions’ at Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in Delhi that features works of seven artists including Parthiv’s. The talks touched upon several aspects of Husain’s life ranging from his down-to-earth personality to his fascination for expensive cars.
While Parthiv was showing some of the photographs from the exhibition to the discerning audience, he stopped at one picture which he had clicked at the Nizamuddin Basti. In this monochromatic frame, Husain is seen outside a wooden door. The photograph doesn’t signify much, looks more like a random picture. But then Parthiv regaled the audience with his story. “One day both of us went to the Basti and reached this house. He knocked at the door and then we walked inside. It was a mechanic’s house and I was wondering what we were doing here. But then I was surprised that the two of them sat and the mechanic started reciting poetry,” he recollected.
Seeking people
Since Husain’s love for Urdu poems and poetry is known, Parthiv shared how the artist had a unique personality of “seeking people”. “He would always seek those with whom he shared similar interest. And, he always encouraged younger people. He was a people’s man.”
Parthiv has had the fortune to share quality time with one of India’s prolific artists.
What exactly brought them together was not the love for photography, but the quality of being early risers. It so had happened that one day when Husain was in the city, he got a call early morning from him asking Parthiv to come over to the five-star hotel where he was staying. Parthiv candidly admitted that the prospect of not having to prepare breakfast and getting to gorge on a lavish meal delighted him.
But, all his dreams shattered when he saw Husain eagerly waiting for him outside the hotel. ‘He said, ‘chalo thoda Dilli ghoomte hai’,” recollected Parthiv. Then Husain took him to artist Ram Kumar’s home, who wasn’t at his house and had gone out for a walk. They both managed to find him at a park and Parthiv invariably became a witness to their conversation which he has captured intimately in his photographs.
Shedding light on friendship between Ram Kumar and Husain was Kalidas who recollected how during Indian’s first largest exhibition of Indian classical sculptures in the Capital, the two had met. “Husain came to Delhi for this but he didn’t have a place to stay. He met Ram Kumar during this show and they became friends and he shifted to his house.”
He had this peculiar habit of painting everywhere. As many critics remarked that he painted so much that a lot of this art was passable, said Kalidas, adding how he would paint in tea shops in Ahmedabad and even walls of the houses.
“Husain had many women admirers and there is a case when a woman fought a case against her landlord because Husain had painted a wall of her barsati in Jor Bagh and she won’t let go off the wall easily. The landlord finally compensated her,” he said.
“These examples, to me, highlight the fact that the process of making art was an act of reading and breathing for him. Not everything that everybody does is of great significance, but what Husain did is a matter of great significance,” he added.
Another fascinating aspect of Husain’s life, which many people know, is his fascination for luxury cars – he had many in London and Dubai. But, what many don’t know is that these cars became his house after his wife’s death. “By the time he crossed 70, he stopped having a house of his own, especially after his wife’s death. He had cars in whichever city he went to and they were always stocked with all kinds of paints, brushes, and canvases,” said Kalidas.
In fact, he pointed out, “He used to say that every evening I decide which of my friends or children I am staying the night with. And, if he stayed more than one night or two at their place, he would present a work to them.”
The audience broke into laughter and applause at the same time. There were many such anecdotes that kept the audience in good spirits and introduced them to the humble side of Husain.