MF Husain passes away

Maqbool Fida Husain, who passed away in London, can be celebrated for many things. There were his paintings, but even for those not art-minded, he offered a lot. The prices the paintings fetched, for example, created an industry of auctions, galleries, glossy art magazines and art investment ‘experts’. There were the films he made, which coasted towards production on reams of newsprint on his devotion to the actresses involved. There were the stories of his early career as a film poster painter (in reality probably quite short, but as always with Husain, it made for good copy) and eccentricities like walking barefoot. There was his term as Rajya Sabha MP and the numerous honours he was given. And finally, near the end of his life, there was the shameful story of how he was driven into exile by religious bigots. All these themes though were perhaps encompassed by the largest theme of Husain’s life, which was the creation of the concept of an artist in modern India.