Red Light Warrior

With him for company,she entered the backstage of these dancers’ lives and watched as their pains and struggles played out before her. She has etched the politics that keeps dancers “separated” from the rest and how old age becomes a lonely battle for survival.

While the novel is based on Hussain’s life,d’Ison says it’s not a biography but a mix of stories about a closed community. “Nadeem,like Hussain,realised that one of the ways to get out from this ghetto was to learn English,follow his heart and paint the lives of women around him,” says d’Ison. “I settled in Iqbal’s house to write the book and saw how his models,the dancing girls,connected with him,for he has time to hear their stories and shared with them whatever he earns from his paintings,” says the writer,adding that she’s spent so much time at Hira Mandi that people there now look at her as part of the area.

Despite attending National College of Arts,exhibiting at the best galleries in Pakistan and selling in countries around the world,Hussain admits,“I’m still an outsider. Not that it bothers me. For me,Hira Mandi is home and these are my people. I paint these women the way they are in real life,not at work. They are full of life,music,love and humour.” Despite threats and opposition,Hussain continues to paint them in oil and watercolour.

“I have a restaurant on the rooftop of my home in Shahi Mohallah,and it attracts the elite of the city. I employ the locals here,including the musicians and,in the process,give them dignity,” she says.

Curated For You

Dhurandhar Movie Box Office Collection Day 25 Update: Ranveer Singh-starrer earns Rs 741.9 cr in India; becomes highest grossing Hindi film

Shashi Kapoor, wife Jennifer woke up on their wedding night to find 2 strangers in the room, recalls son Kunal: ‘Prithviraj Kapoor’s home was a hostel’

Drishyam 3 director reveals how Ajay Devgn reacted to Akshaye Khanna’s exit, says fee was revisited: ‘He is on a different planet after Dhurandhar’