An year after .. .The legend Departed ..

Maqbool Fida husain born on “17^th September 1915” was an iconoclast who found the brushes to be better swords than pen or the real swords. Known as the Picasso of India, his imagination, depiction and choice of colors were impeccable. M F Husain was a brand name in the world of art, and he’ll always remain so. Some of his accolades include Padma Shri (1955),Padma Bhushan (1973) and Padma Vibhushan (1991). Although he had been the victim of several controversies which includes accusations from the shiv sena party and various other hindu samities for his depiction of hindu god and goddess in their nude forms, his movie “Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities” was removed from the silver screens within two days, as one of the songs played in the movie had lines from the Holy Quran which was set for the central character of the film, played by Tabu. Not only this, but also one of his painting which he did for “India Todays” a popular magazine, titled “Art for Kashmir ” in which he presented Mother India as a nude woman and her body parts as the states was protested by various organizations. Husain apologized for the same. Though the painting was denigrated yet it was sold for Rs. 80 lakhs. Ultimately as a verdict several protests were held against him throughout the country and he was forced to leave the country. Art is a global language, though India couldn’t vindicate Husain’s paintings, he was welcomed by Dubai, where he took his new citizenship and became a Qatari national. Despite of all this, Husain never blamed his origin instead he always mentioned he missed his motherland in several interviews. It is a shame for the whole nation that he died an expatriate.  It is such a pity to see people who don’t even understand art, stand against it and display meaningless aggression. Apparently India is getting famous for creating a mess out of nothing. Though the paintings might have hurt religious sentiments to some level but apparently people failed to understand their real value. These protests questioned the right to expression, right to creativity and innovation. I wish India was more supportive to artists, musicians, poets and dancers. Husain was a prolific artist and his cubist style was very popular. My dream of meeting him(ever) was buried with his burial on June 9^th 2011. He died in exile. India lost more than “just” an artist; India lost an “identity”.  One of the most celebrated and internationally recognized Indian artists of the 20th century, he also received recognition as a printmaker, photographer, and filmmaker. May he RIP.

Book Review || The Fountainhead

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

After finding a considerable number of reviews and praises for this book, I gave it a shot.

Honestly, neither I completely agree nor I deny with the Ayn philosophy. Although, the book has been a classic for a long time and I am pretty sure, it’ll always be intimidating for the times to come yet I partly don’t get along with the characters. The four main characters in the book are not the best, if considered individually. They all have their weak points complementing their strong points. The central character, Howard Roark,( I kept picturing Aamir Khan playing this role in my mind) : An individualist, who doesn’t believe in sharing thoughts, ideas and thinks creativity is best when it’s done individually. He is a disciplined fellow, an atheist with no religion and he does not feel pain or sorrow but considers them “merely a part of the battle”. He struggles a lot to make it big in architecture on his own but he flatters none. He loves architecture and strictly follows his own protocols, like for instance when asked how important is a client to him, he says,” I don’t intend to build in order to serve or help anyone. I don’t intend to build in order to have clients. I intend to have clients in order to build”. I found the character Dominique, Howard’s love interest, pretty preposterous; I would never want my love to suffer and I won’t let myself suffer just because my love is suffering, even if I have planned something bigger for “us”. Love means no Suffering. You are happy if your better half is happy, even if he’s so without you. Also, I do agree that creativity differs from person to person but an individualist approach is not always the best approach. Say if I have an idea, you have an idea and we both exchange, we’ll end up with two ideas. None of us are perfect; suggestions by others can help us get better, moreover whether we take the suggestions or not depend on us. Anyways, that’s my opinion, it may differ from others.

What I did like about the book is that, people who are straight forward are no doubt hated in this world. I’ve some friends who are very to the point and are always hated for being so. But the book encourages one not to lick feet just for some advantage that doesn’t even last for long. Also, the book quite vividly shows that a society is filled with all kinds of souls, good and bad and the middlemen who take the advantage. Not only this, it shows that Change is inevitable. A person is elected as something only to be replaced by someone else tomorrow. No one enjoys the prestige forever. It’s a part of life. Ayn Rand depicts how childhood plays an important role for creating the present man. The book is extremely profound and it’ll melt your heart and mind if you read it with some genuine interest. Ayn Rand creates a beautiful city with a number of characters, a number of edifices, each having a unique identity. I loved all the Toohey speeches and the last one by Roark. It’s a very long read but you’ll enjoy the ride.

Definitely, it’s a CLASSIC!