It’s the season for resurrections. Long-dead emperors, boringly confined to school history textbooks, have now been woken up from their eternal slumber and given a fresh lease of life. Never mind the extra frills attached to this resurrection — the lives lost and the property and trust destroyed forever. These are perhaps inconsequential for a nation with a larger purpose; that of erasing the parts of our history that do not suit current dogmas. All hope isn’t lost as many in this country have the intellectual maturity to understand that any historical event should be seen through the prism of the period of its existence and the beliefs that thrived then. Razing down a building or destroying an artefact can never undo the past and clearer minds know that history only provides us an understanding of our present.
Yet, when have saner voices prevailed? While the country erupts again with another reason for arson and forgets the more pressing issues of corruption, scams, and scandals, it is perhaps the right time to mention certain developments in the world of art. Last week was yet another record-breaking moment for Indian art. A painting by the renowned artist, MF Husain sold for a jaw-dropping `118 crore at a Christie’s auction in New York, making it the most expensive Indian artwork to be ever sold. First, here’s the story of the painting’s journey to the auction house.
The monumental work, a 13-panel mural that was painted by Husain in 1954, portrays the energy of rural Indian life. When it was exhibited in the building of the Arts and Crafts Society in Delhi in the 1950s, a doctor from Europe walked in from the blazing April heat to view the show. He was visiting the city as a part of a mission by the WHO to help Indian doctors start a new hospital to treat tuberculosis, a dreaded disease back then. The Ukraine-born Norwegian doctor was an art collector too and was stunned by Husain’s impressive work and bought the work for `1,400. Once back in Oslo, it remained hidden from public view until his death in 1964 when the painting was gifted to the Oslo University Hospital by his family where it remained silently resting in a hospital corridor. Seventy years later, it came up for auction last week and was reportedly bought by Indian art collector Kiran Nadar for this whopping amount.
Now what has this got to do with the war cries over tombs, you may wonder? Husain too was once at the centre of imagined controversies, with a furious mob baying for his blood until he had to leave this country in his twilight years only to live and die in exile. Although the din over his allegedly offensive paintings has not yet quite settled down, it is heartening to know that these record-smashing sales would undoubtedly send out a message, loud and clear, that art will never bow down to bigotry and narrow-mindedness. True art knows no prejudices and will always be celebrated and valued. Welcome home, Husain Saab.