As a TV journalist, I've covered art for a little over a decade. That certainly doesn't make me a veteran. But it has made me a very lucky person to have met the legendary MF Husain many times. In fact, the first time I ever interviewed him, I ended up asking him a factually incorrect question, much to my embarrassment. But he had the reaction of a grand old sage, "You are so young! You don't know enough about me!"

How much was 'enough', really? Here was a man who had seen life 35 years more than me, who had seen success for more than half a century, from when he got the Padmashri in '55, the Padma Bhushan in '73 and finally, the Padma Vibhushan in 1989 (the top three civilian honors awarded by the Government of india). He had been nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1986 (honorary position as Member of the Indian Parliament) and had his first auction record in 1987 where his portrait of Mother Teresa was hammered at 500,000 Indian rupees by Christie's. In 1967, he won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his documentary 'Through the Eyes of a Painter'. Quite a lesson in history! But that's not how Husain made you feel. He was never intimidating. Instead he was always approachable, and childlike in his curiosity, eager to know more about you than to talk about himself.

Shooting with him for television was always good fun. He was hassle-free and patient to the core. Not just a reporter's delight but the cameraperson's delight, the assistant's delight, the driver's delight and anybody else you think could come along for a shoot! There was a funny moment in one of the special shoots I did with him in Dubai. Husain started talking about his days during India's independence struggle in 1947. That had us fervently looking for pictures of his youth so that we could match the visuals with his comments. Google didn't help. Art books didn't help. Why? Well, who ever remembers seeing a young Husain? (Have you?) That would mean getting pictures dating back to almost 60 years! The hunt for pictures of young Husain finally ended at his son Shamshad's house, in his personal album!

I must have seemed like a kid to him. Still, he never thought of himself as ancient, even at the age of 96! In his mind, he was probably a teenager, looking for something new in life at every turn. In 2008 he invited me to Doha to cover the launch of the Museum of Islamic Art. He was the only Indian artist to be exhibiting his latest works there - a set of 99 canvases on the names of Allah. He told me in the cutest possible manner, "The architect of the museum is world renowned I.M. Pei, a very very old man, indeed!" For the record, let me clarify here, that I.M. Pei must've been 91 years old at the time of the museum launch, two years younger than Husain!

What struck me most about his personality was his zest for life. For someone who reached the zenith of his career decades ago, it was never about resting on his laurels. It was always about his next big project. And this was how most people saw him, even those who had never met him. When I screened one of my shows on Husain for the media and art students of the Beaconhouse National University in Lahore, it got the loudest cheers because for those students, no one defied age better than Husain! And there's no doubting his large-heartedness either. There's a large Husain which sits pretty in the centre of former Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri's living room, gifted to him by the artist himself on his visit to Lahore in 2004. While there may be an official count on Husain having painted about 600,000 works in his lifetime, gifts like these that lie strewn across the globe make it difficult to reach a final figure.

Even as we mourn his tragic death, we must remember that a lot of his projects remain unfinished. The most ambitious being the one on the Arab Civilization, which was the main reason he decided to shift base to Qatar, take up the nationality and work in peace with a target of two years to finish the works. He wanted to be away from all the nasty protests in India against his art and the multiple death threats. It is ironic that one of our most patriotic men will go on record as a Qatari national of Indian origin. But the Middle East is where he found peace. The last five years of his life were spent between Dubai, London and Doha.

His body has been laid to rest in London where he breathed his last after a sudden heart attack. Away from his homeland. Away from the country that he singlehandedly put on the contemporary international art market. Despite the events leading up to his self-imposed exile since 2006, I can say with certainty that he has remained a source of inspiration for almost every artist that India has produced. A layman on the street who knows nothing about art will still be aware of the name of Husain. It's the one stand-alone name which remains a symbol of Indian art.

Today, a work by Husain is a prized possession, even if it's just a doodle on a napkin or a page off his diary. In 2004, he sealed a deal with a leading businessman to paint 100 canvases for 1 billion rupees. In 2005 Husain's 'The Last Supper' sold privately for 2 million dollars, while his painting on the Battle of Ganga-Jamuna fetched a whopping $1.6 million in 2008, a record for contemporary Indian art at the time.

I will remember Husain as a true Karma Yogi who worked till the end. He embraced every odd turn in life with the same passion and pleasure that he had when driving his favourite sports car. I fondly remember him telling me, "My life is like my red Ferrari!" It's the best possible epitaph for him.

Sahar Zaman is an independent arts journalist, newscaster and art curator based in New Delhi. http://www.saharzaman.com/

Comments (3 comments)

Oops, I am sorry, Kasim!!! That was an error on my part. Thanks for pointing it out.

Posted: Thursday, June 23, 2011 by Sahar Zaman from New Delhi

What a waste of time. Pieces like this are usually poignant and heart warming and this one is neither.

Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 by Salman from Karachi

The large Hussain painting in Mr Kasuri's living room was purchased by Mr Kasuri's wife on the artist's visit to Lahore in 2004, it was certainly not a gift! Kasim Kasuri

Posted: Sunday, June 19, 2011 by Kasim Kasuri from Michigan