‘Goodbye, dear friend’

Shamshad Husain, the eldest son of M.F. Husain, was no stranger to fame. But for artists in Hyderabad, he was more than just a famous Husain — a friend, a mentor, an incredible artist, a  Lalit Kala Akademi national award recipient and a person to turn to when in need. Sixty-year-old Shamshad Husain was an integral part of the Hyderabadi art community. As the city grieves the loss of the celebrated artist, who lost his battle to cancer on Saturday evening, his friends talk about the loss of a “dear one” and a talent like no other.

Laxma Goud

‘He and I Toured Europe together’

I have known Shamshad since my Baroda days (M.S. University) way back in 1963. He was a first-year student at the fine arts department. Since then we have been good friends,” says Laxma Goud, who admits that the two have been unable to keep in touch for the past few years. “He was not keeping well and I wasn’t able to travel frequently to Delhi. But in our prime, we spent a lot of time together and travelled extensively. We did our tours in Europe together, stayed in England for sometime. And even though he had a famous father, Shamshad was a great human being and he also fell in love in Hyderabad and got married here — he later moved to New Delhi.”

Laxma Goud is currently conducting an art camp at Kismatpur where he plans to now get everyone together for a small talk on Shamshad.  “All the artists at the camp here know about Shamshad so, we are going to sit and share our experiences of having known him,” says Laxma. One of the anecdotes that he shared with fellow artists was about the time Shamshad got married in Old City here. Father M.F. Husain was so happy that he painted an entire lane in celebration. “I lost a dear friend. I really don’t know how this loss can ever be compensated. I will miss him.”

Fawad Tamkanat

‘He and I Toured Europe together’

I have known Shamshad since my Baroda days (M.S. University) way back in 1963. He was a first-year student at the fine arts department. Since then we have been good friends,” says Laxma Goud, who admits that the two have been unable to keep in touch for the past few years. “He was not keeping well and I wasn’t able to travel frequently to Delhi. But in our prime, we spent a lot of time together and travelled extensively. We did our tours in Europe together, stayed in England for sometime. And even though he had a famous father, Shamshad was a great human being and he also fell in love in Hyderabad and got married here — he later moved to New Delhi.”

Laxma Goud is currently conducting an art camp at Kismatpur where he plans to now get everyone together for a small talk on Shamshad.  “All the artists at the camp here know about Shamshad so, we are going to sit and share our experiences of having known him,” says Laxma. One of the anecdotes that he shared with fellow artists was about the time Shamshad got married in Old City here. Father M.F. Husain was so happy that he painted an entire lane in celebration. “I lost a dear friend. I really don’t know how this loss can ever be compensated. I will miss him.”

It was only yesterday (Saturday) at 6.30 pm when Laxma and I were talking about Shamshad; he was sharing a few anecdotes. And then, we got to know today morning that he had passed away around the same time we were talking about him,” says a visibly-shaken Fawad.

“I was fortunate to have worked with him during an art camp in 1989. I was newly-married and my wife used to accompany me to these camps. Shamshad was an established artist and son of noted painter M.F. Husain, but despite that he was extremely humble, kind and had a great sense of humour,” says Fawad, who recollects an incident that took place when Fawad was studying at UoH. “I had just started painting on big canvases. So I started early in the morning and Shamshad saw me painting. He came again in the evening, when I was almost done with my work and remarked: “Arrey, You are so quick at painting! How do you manage that?” Fawad also remembers Shamshad’s famous hospitality — when he and wife Reshma bumped into him in New Delhi. “He saw us shopping at Connaught Place and told us immediately to drop everything and come home where he introduced us to M.F. Husain,” he says.

D.L.N. Reddy

‘Helping others in need’

Artist D.L.N. Reddy says Shamshad, whom he has known since 1982, was very friendly. “Years ago, I participated in an art camp in Kasauli where my wife was also supposed to join me. She was pregnant at that time and Shamshad was kind enough to help us out. He was staying in New Delhi and he helped my wife travel safely to Kasauli.”

Having been married to the daughter of noted Hyderabadi writer Alam Khundmiri, Shamshad was a regular presence in the city. Shamshad is known for working on acrylic and oil mediums, and also etching and black-white drawings. “He used to come here quite often and even before we became friends, I knew about him as an artist. His demise is a great loss to the art community.”

Hanumantha Rao

‘A big haleem fan’

When gallery owner Hanumantha Rao curated a camp called Phir Milenge in 2007 in the city, he was fortunate to have artist Shamshad be part of it. Shamshad displayed two of his art works at the camp. The artist was known for depicting social concerns. Since he passed out from Baroda, Shamshad conducted numerous solo and group exhibitions across the country including Hyderabad. Over the course of his career, he was deeply influenced by his father, but he stayed away from the limelight when M.F. Husain passed away in 2011. “He was  very friendly and he advised me  on how I could do things a little differently at the camp. To have him mentor someone as young as me was a great honour. He was always ready to help young talent. And whenever he was in Hyderabad, he would always request for haleem as that was his favourite,” he says.