Artist, social worker, and bridge player Hema Deora recalls time spent with the 'Picasso of India', who taught her how to look at the world through rose-tinted glasses, and reflects on what each of the late M F Husain's works in her home mean to her
Artist, social worker, and bridge player Hema Deora recalls time spent with the 'Picasso of India', who taught her how to look at the world through rose-tinted glasses, and reflects on what each of the late M F Husain's works in her home mean to her
Interior designer Hema Deora recalls meeting artist M F Husain when she was still a student at the JJ School of Arts.
Hema Deora treasures Husain's artworks
"He was already an established artist at the time. I used to say to myself, 'I really want to meet this man!' When I finally met him, after I got married, I said to my husband (Union Minister of corporate affairs, Murli Deora), 'I have waited so many years for this'," she says.
Over time, Deora and Husain's families would forge a close bond. "He would often come over for breakfast. He loved the fresh paneer we made at home," she recalls with fondness.
Colours of life
Among the Husain artworks that the Deoras would acquire are the Three Dancing Ganeshas, a watercolour of the titular hero in the critically acclaimed Vijay Tendulkar play, Ghashiram Kotwal, and one of Mother Teresa.
"During my husband's tenure as mayor of Mumbai, he held a civic reception at the Hanging Gardens for the Mother, where she won over my heart. When I saw Husain's painting of her, I knew I had to have it. Having the painting done by him was the icing on the cake."
Each of the works, Hema says, has a story behind them, which is why she considers them among her most prized possessions.
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"When I hurt myself and my hand was in a cast, he looked at it and said to me, 'How can it be white!' Within two minutes he had painted horses over the cast, which I have preserved to this day," she shares.
Eye for detail
Among the 95-year-old's greatest gifts was his eye for detail and his ability to see "beauty in everything", Hema believes.
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"I have a silver peacock in the house, which he once looked at and asked in his beautiful Urdu, 'Kya aapne iss mor ki chonch dekhi hai? ...rang kitne sundar hain'. (Have you noticed the peacock's beak? ufffdthe colours are so beautiful). He made beautiful sketches of crows, even."
Hema recalls the last time she and her husband met Husain was several months ago in London. "He seemed happy. It was sad though that he could not come back to the country. It's the saddest thing not to be able to return to your own home."
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