Reliving Husain’s Chandigarh sojourn

Husain’s last visit to Chandigarh was in the 2003 February when he came on an invitation by Oshima Raikhy,the then chairperson of Aruna Asif Ali Trust. Raikhy wanted Husainto do his bit for the trust,which works for the underprivileged children by helping and training them to become financially independent.

“He (Husain) did not want to stay in a hotel and stayed with my mother-in-law Oshima at her Sector 28 house for three days,’’ recollects Chaman Lal Sharma,who is a senior lawyer.

Neena Jauhar,who was then a volunteer with the trust and is currently the managing general secretary,was touched by the legendary painter’s sheer level of energy.

“In front of a huge audience at Punjab Kala Bhavan in Sector 16,Husain created a masterpiece in just 40 minutes. The vibrant colours and amazing strokes of the painting are still fresh in my memory. He did not speak a word as he moved his brush and it seemed that nothing except the canvas existed for him,’’ adds Jauhar.

The painting was later bought by Delhi Art Gallery and the trust received Rs 15 lakh for it. “It was a huge amount and helped the trust a lot as we were facing financial problems,” adds Jauhar,who when hosted a dinner for the artist came to know that Husain loved daal makhni.

Looking back at those three days Husain spent in Chandigarh in 2003,Chaman says that the painter was very fond of children. “M daughter was four then and he especially made a painting for her. He shared such a wonderful rapport with her and my wife Zoya,’’ adds Chaman.

Teji,meanwhile,has uploaded a series of photographs of Husain on Facebook which he had taken as the legend painted live in Chandigarh. “I had clicked close to 300 photographs with my manual camera,and later presented the series to him,’’ says Teji for whom the painter may have died but his memories remain with him.