MF Husain was forced into exile; now his work finds permanent home in Qatar

3 days ago 8

Doha, Qatar – In the 1930s, a young Maqbool Fida Husain, hardly successful his 20s, arrived successful the Indian fiscal superior of Mumbai, past known arsenic Bombay, from Indore metropolis 600km (370 miles) away.

His imagination was to marque films. But struggling to past successful the city, helium started coating billboards for the emerging Bollywood movie industry.

Lawh Wa Qalam: MF Husain Museum inaugurated

Last month, Qatar inaugurated a stunning caller museum, Lawh Wa Qalam (meaning the committee and the pen), dedicated to Husain’s beingness and works that spanned much than six decades.

“Maqbool Fida Husain is simply a legendary creator – a existent maestro whose creator works transcend borders and link cultures, histories, and identities,” Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the seat of Qatar Foundation, said during the museum’s inauguration.

The caller museum, located successful Doha’s sprawling Education City, features the celebrated artist’s last works commissioned by Sheikha Moza, on with his different works, including photography, films and poetry.

At slightest 35 paintings, which were completed arsenic portion of his Arab Civilisation bid earlier Husain died successful 2011, are connected show successful the building.

Among them is The Battle of Badr, for which Husain utilized calligraphy and the Arabic script, and fused them with his bold modern benignant to seizure the value of the aboriginal Islamic subject victory. Arab Astronomy, different painting, honours scholars who mapped the heavens.

Seeroo fi al ardh (meaning “travel done the earth”, successful Arabic), a multimedia creation installation that opened successful 2019, present forms portion of the museum. The installation chronicles the travel of quality civilisation done the lens of the Arab region.

“From the outset, 1 of the biggest questions for america was however to correspond the scope of Husain’s signifier without reducing it to a elemental linear communicative astatine Lawh Wa Qalam,” Noof Mohammed, depository curator, told Al Jazeera.

“We wanted to absorption chiefly connected presenting the works helium made successful Doha, which correspond 1 of the astir ambitious periods of his precocious career. Projects similar Seeroo fi al ardh and the Arab Civilisation bid amusement him moving connected a standard and clarity that merit to beryllium seen together, and that shaped however we approached the narrative.”

Spread implicit 290 quadrate metres (3,000sq ft), the depository besides houses his idiosyncratic belongings, including Indian passport books that helium relinquished successful 2010.

“We were fortunate that Husain made Qatar his home, wherever helium was capable to nutrient a batch of artwork that is portion of the postulation successful the museum,” Kholoud Al-Ali, enforcement manager of assemblage engagement and programming astatine Qatar Foundation, said.

Qatar Foundation’s Education City is location to starring acquisition institutions, including Georgetown University, Northwestern University and Weill Cornell Medicine, and is besides a hub of modern Arab art. The field boasts much than 100 nationalist creation installations, including those by Damien Hirst and Faraj Daham.

“This depository is going to beryllium an summation to the Education City ecosystem, a spot wherever students, researchers, anyone funny successful creation tin find fundamentally what they’re looking for,” Al-Ali told Al Jazeera.

Hounded retired of his home

By the clip Husain had moved to Doha, helium had agelong secured his spot arsenic 1 of the world’s biggest figures – and arsenic a lightning rod for disapproval from the Hindu far-right successful India.

Through the 20th century, his paintings broke auction records, with his enactment featuring astatine planetary exhibitions, including the 1971 Sao Paulo Biennial successful Brazil alongside legendary Spanish creator Pablo Picasso.

Husain was a versatile creator moving crossed aggregate mediums: Films, photography, tapestry and poetry.

He made an experimental film, Through the Eyes of a Painter, successful 1967, which won the Golden Bear astatine the Berlin International Film Festival. He besides directed Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities and Gaj Gamini, starring his muse, Bollywood prima Madhuri Dixit.

For decades, Husain was a fashionable nationalist fig loved by the press, attaining a celebrity-like presumption with his ain idiosyncratic benignant – helium walked barefoot. The Calcutta Club, an elite British-era societal nine based successful the Indian metropolis of Kolkata, erstwhile came successful for dense disapproval erstwhile it refused Husain introduction for not wearing shoes.

Attack from Hindu right

But by the mid-1990s, Husain’s portrayal of nude Hindu deities, immoderate of them drawn successful the 1970s, stirred controversy. He was accused of sacrilege and insulting Hindu sentiments.

Multiple transgression constabulary complaints were filed against the creator aft a magazine, Vichar Mimansa, published his coating depicting Hindu deity Saraswati successful the nude successful 1996. Eight years later, a coating of Bharat Mata (Mother India) arsenic a bare pistillate brought a caller barrage of lawsuits. He apologised, but that did not deter the torrent of hatred and ineligible cases.

Hundreds of constabulary complaints were filed crossed the country, apprehension warrants were issued, and his Mumbai location was ransacked successful 1998. His exhibitions were vandalised successful India and abroad, forcing Husain, successful his 80s, to permission India successful 2006 for safety.

In 2008, India’s Supreme Court quashed the cases against Husain, saying the Bharat Mata coating was a enactment of art. India has a contented of graphic intersexual iconography successful temples, the apical tribunal reminded petitioners.

Yet Husain did not consciousness harmless returning to India, wherever anti-Muslim rhetoric was connected the rise. He died successful 2011 successful London astatine the property of 95.

The attacks connected Husain were not isolated. The close to state of code and look successful India has been declining since the emergence of the Hindu close successful the 1990s.

Several filmmakers, authors and artists person faced increasing attacks from Hindu nationalist groups. Bollywood prima Aamir Khan faced boycott calls from Hindu groups implicit his enactment and past media interviews, during which helium expressed concerns astir rising spiritual intolerance.

FILE- A Muslim antheral looks from his location aft a store was demolished during a Hindu spiritual procession that turned convulsive successful New Delhi, India, April 20, 2022. Authorities riding bulldozers razed a fig of Muslim-owned shops earlier India's Supreme Court halted the demolitions. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, came to powerfulness a decennary ago, dozens of Muslims person been lynched by Hindu vigilantes, hundreds of houses person been demolished arsenic portion of alleged “bulldozer justice” without owed process, and respective ineligible and organization measures person been implemented, affecting the number assemblage negatively.

In January this year, a Delhi tribunal ordered the seizure of “offensive” paintings by Husain. And months later, Hindu groups threatened to disrupt the auction of the precocious painter’s enactment successful Mumbai. The lawsuit yet went up without incidental nether choky security.

“His formation from India is simply a tragedy, and successful galore ways was an aboriginal motion of the benignant of censorship and repression of speech, of look that has go overmuch much pervasive – successful fact, normalised successful galore ways,” Sonal Khullar, an creation historiographer from the University of Pennsylvania, said.

Khullar, who featured Husain successful her 2015 publication Worldly Affiliations: Artistic Practice, National Identity and Modernism successful India, 1930-1990, said the onslaught connected Husain was owed to some his Muslim practice and the secular ethos that informed his work.

“I deliberation it truly came down to this artist’s presumption successful India, and what helium represented, whether you recognize him to correspond Muslim cultures, peoples and societies oregon you recognize him to correspond a secular ethos. And I deliberation that’s what came nether an attack,” she told Al Jazeera.

The museum’s architecture

The museum’s architecture was inspired by Husain’s sketch dubbed Lawh wa Qalam. The aggregate influences that inspired Husain are reflected successful the gathering design.

“For instance, the bluish tile utilized successful the gathering has its origins successful Central Asia, and it has go an important portion of the architectural language,” said Martand Khosla, the designer of the museum.

Khosla says the task was profoundly personal, fixed Husain’s power connected the Indian taste landscape.

“We grew up seeing his enactment … astatine airports, astatine normal centres and wrong people’s homes,” helium recalled. “He remains significant. So successful that sense, it was a existent privilege to beryllium capable to travel and physique a depository for him.”

Husain’s work

Husain was 1 of the astir prolific Indian artists of the modern era, producing an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 works.

His paintings portrayed Indian icons specified arsenic Mahatma Gandhi, person of India’s independency struggle, to mythologies specified arsenic the Mahabharata with motifs of agrarian and municipality life.

“Many of his aboriginal paintings seemed to notation partition coating traditions successful India, the benignant that you would find successful the caves of Ajanta, but besides partition coating that you would spot successful colony homes,” Khullar, the creation scholar, said.

Painter Akhilesh Singh, who wrote Husain’s biography, Maqbool, said the turning constituent of his vocation was Between the Spider and the Lamp, which portrays 5 women figures lasting with a lamp and a spider coming down from the roof.

Singh called it the astir important coating successful modern Indian art. It was modernist yet rooted successful the people contented of India, helium told Al Jazeera, adding that it defined Husain’s style.

Husain’s artwork was a interruption from the revivalist nationalism of the past that had triggered the instauration of Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.

Secular ethos became the connection of his work, which was influenced by Indian culture, past and people traditions and fused with elements of Western modernism.

His archetypal solo creation accumulation was held successful Zurich 5 years aft India’s independence. In the pursuing decades, his enactment was showcased crossed Western cities, gaining him planetary recognition.

Singh, the biographer, said Husain’s peers moved abroad, but helium stayed successful India.

“He helped physique the full modern creation country of the country,” Singh told Al Jazeera, adding that sometimes helium gave his ain paintings to commencement galleries.

His publication to Indian creation was recognised by the government. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan successful 1991, the second-highest civilian honour, among others. He was besides nominated to the precocious location of parliament successful 1986.

Early beingness and the future

Husain was calved successful a Sulaymani Bohra Muslim household successful 1915 successful the Western Indian authorities of Maharashtra. But aboriginal successful his life, helium was drawn towards creation portion studying calligraphy astatine a schoolhouse successful Vadodara, located successful present-day Gujarat state.

After his mother’s death, helium moved to the cardinal Indian metropolis of Indore, wherever his begetter landed a occupation successful a textile mill.

In Indore, helium was introduced to the images of Hindu deities and different figures from Indian mythology by an creation teacher astatine the Indore School of Art, which helium attended, said Singh, his biographer.

Husain near Indore for Mumbai astir 1933, erstwhile India was inactive nether British assemblage rule, Singh said.

“He went to Bombay to prosecute filmmaking. He thought that movie was a broader mean to explicit himself. But helium couldn’t find immoderate entry. So, helium started coating movie banners,” said Singh, who is an acclaimed creator himself, based successful the Indian metropolis of Bhopal.

Husain had to juggle jobs, besides moving successful a artifact factory, to gain further income earlier helium got a commencement successful the creation world. In 1934, helium sold his archetypal coating for 10 rupees (just 11 cents according to today’s speech rates).

By the precocious 1940s, helium had established himself arsenic an avant garde creator known for his bold and agleam colour connected canvas. Husain co-founded the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group on with Francis Newton Souza and Sayed Haider Raza successful 1947.

Souza, who aboriginal worked successful New York and London, was known for his provocative creation with erotic and unconventional themes.

But to those who knew him well, Husain was much than conscionable an artist. The legendary creator was a person of Singh’s father. “He treated maine similar his son,” Singh told Al Jazeera. “I retrieve him coming to our Indore location with a Jalebi (Indian sweet) aboriginal successful the morning.”

Singh recalled how, successful the aboriginal 2000s, Husain erstwhile invited him to London. There, Husain made meal for Singh and took him astir London successful his Rolls-Royce. “He enjoyed each infinitesimal of his life,” Singh said of Husain.

Though helium gave up his Indian passport, Husain’s emotion for his motherland did not cease. “This is conscionable a portion of paper. India is my motherland, and I simply cannot permission that country,” helium said aft surrendering his Indian passport successful 2010.

Singh said that portion successful exile, Husain wanted to sojourn 3 Indian cities – Varanasi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. “‘I volition travel anytime,’ helium told maine from exile,” Singh said. “But helium died earlier helium could undertake his travel backmost to his homeland.”

That Husain was forced to walk his last years successful exile remains a blot connected India, said Khullar, the creation scholar.

“The nonaccomplishment of a fig similar Husain is simply a nonaccomplishment to the secular ethos of the [Indian] creation satellite that helium founded successful 1947, and 1 could say, for a definite conception of society, much broadly, for India itself,” she said.

“It’s a acheronian time, and radical are afraid,” she said.

But Husain himself ne'er fto the attacks halt him from pursuing his work: He utilized his clip successful exile to enactment connected creation projects successful Qatar and Dubai.

“He laughed disconnected the controversies. He ne'er talked astir the past. He was a antheral of the aboriginal and ever looked forward,” Singh said.

Now, that ethos, too, has recovered a everlastingly location successful the depository – an ode to the committee and the pen, an creator who created magic from them, and a venue wherever contiguous and aboriginal generations tin marvel astatine Husain’s wizardry.