When Bilal Maqsood's son sketched India's most prolific artist in person

Singer marked M F Husain's 10th death anniversary with pictures from the time the latter and his son bonded


Entertainment Desk June 24, 2021

To mark legendary Indian artist Maqbool Fida Husain’s 10th death anniversary, Pakistani musician and singer Bilal Maqsood shared a memorable anecdote. Taking to Instagram, Maqsood, who’s also a painter, reminisced the time his son Mikael Maqsood sketched the late legend, that too, in person.

Sharing pictures from the occasion, Maqsood revealed how his son was only eight-years-old when he sat across from Husain and sketched him in his notebook. The series of pictures also saw the sketch Mikael made of Husain's with his signature on it. While another picture saw Husain sketching with Mikael sitting by his side. According to Maqsood, Husain was so impressed by Mikael that he made a painting for him in return.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Bilal Maqsood (@bilalxmaqsood)

Since Strings disbanded, Maqsood seems to be giving all his time to his art, provided the number of paintings he has shared on his Instagram lately. His recent ‘crow series’ has garnered quite the praise from fans and at this rate; the singer may just have to hold an auction soon.

Husain, on the other hand, was a renowned Indian artist known for executing bold, vibrantly coloured narrative paintings in a modified Cubist style. He was one of the most celebrated and internationally recognised Indian artists of the 20th century.

A founding member of Bombay Progressive Artists' Group, Husain also painted numerous Bollywood film posters and billboards. But his later works stirred quite the rubble, as they featured nude portrayals of Hindu deities, including Bharat Mata. Right-wing organisations called for his arrest, and several lawsuits were filed against him for hurting religious sentiments.

He remained in a self-imposed exile from 2006 until his death on June 9, 2011, after accepting Qatari citizenship in 2008.

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