'He always wanted to come back and die here'

Recollects Sarah Abraham, friend and contemporary of the late MF Husain and a noted art promoter

Sarah Abraham, friend and contemporary of MF Husain and a noted art promoter received the news of the painter's demise in her Chennai home. The 83 year-old Abraham told us in a telephone interview that her friend's demise comes as a shock to her. "I feel as if a part of me is dead now. Husain was very close to my family and me. I have been friends with him for almost sixty years now," Abraham said. Their friendship goes all the way to the day when Abraham in her thirties and an upcoming portrait artist herself had boldly approached Husain who was leaving the Samovar Cafe at Jehangir Art Gallery and introduced herself. This led to her being invited to Husain's apartment in Matunga along with her sister Suzy. The sisters even bought off a self-portrait sketch of the struggling artist for a mere Rs 250 that day. Abraham soon became fast friends with the painter and his group of contemporaries and artists belonging to Bombay Progressive Artists' Group.


Vmasterpiece: A self portrait of the late MF Husain

Though Abraham, herself an art student of the Government School of Arts, Madras and trained under such distinguished teachers like Ram Kinker Baij and KCS Panicker, found herself looking at art rather than creating it. Abraham turned to promoting contemporary Indian art during the 70s when it was really an upcoming school of thinking. Husain was one of her first artists whose works she launched and promoted. Talking about how her friendship with Husain was deep and did not really need words, she said, "On my 60th birthday, Husain presented me with a framed portrait of me. The sketch was cheekily titled Sara at Serene Sixty in his own writing. He just walked in handed me the painting and walked out without staying back for dinner with friends."

For what the world says about him, Abraham describes her friend as warm hearted and a caring guy who has never said a bad word about anyone. And about his work, Abraham said, "He is a genius and I don't need to explain his works or his vision to anyone. Those who don't understand it don't deserve to see his works." The fact that Husain passed away in an alien country never to return to the land of his birth is something Abraham feels strongly about. "He always wanted to come back and die here. But no one really cared for him or did anything. Petitions to the Prime Minister went unheard. This is a terrible loss for India," she says. Husain's work will be relevant just like any other artists of any country who have left behind an artistic legacy that is timeless, she said.