THRISSUR: Yusuf Arakkal, 71, the artist known for paintings of distress and anguish, is no more. The end was on Tuesday morning at his home in Bengaluru following a heart attack. Arakkal leaves behind wife Sara Arakkal and son Shibu Arakkal. Born to Valiyakathu Kunju Moideen of Blangad in the coastal town of Chavakkad near Guruvayur, and Arakal Mumthaz, young Yusuf, who lost his parents at age seven, left home for Bengaluru to escape from loneliness after completing his eighth standard, relatives in Chavakkad said.
He had won several prizes in painting competitions at Mattummal L P School and Chavakkad Government High school. After dabbling in several jobs, he got his formal education in arts, from Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat (popularly known as CKP). Yusuf created works that reflected loneliness, isolation and poverty of city life, which fetched him several awards, including Kerala Government’s Raja Ravi Varma Award and Florence International Award in 2005. Yusuf was laid to rest at Islampur Masjid in Bengaluru.
