Sunita Kumar on her special gift from MF Husain and memories of Mother Teresa.
Sixty-seven year-old artist Sunita Kumar won a Husain painting for free! Do you know how? Well, one day while Sunita and MF Husain were sitting next to each other watching a tennis match (Sunita’s husband, Naresh Kumar, was a tennis player and a former captain of India’s Davis cup team) being played out between Vijay Amritraj and Australian player Mal Anderson, Husain told her that if Amritraj wins he will give her one of his paintings and if Anderson wins she had to give him one of her paintings. “I couldn’t believe what he had told me, but I won a beautiful horse on oil Husain canvas!” she exclaims.
This incident happened years ago but ever since then she and “Husainsaab” became great friends. He even penned a handwritten note wishing her the best for her exhibition that is beginning today. His note begins with him praising Kolkata as in “You live in a city of Geetanjali and Pather Panchali. You live in a city where Tagore and Ray gave birth to their creations… your present collection of works is going to take the Mumbai art lovers by surprise. Wish you all the best, signed Husain.” Sunita recalls a valuable piece of advice Husain gave her years back. “‘You evolve yourself and can never be taught art,’ he told me and I have firmly held on to that belief,” she says.
Sunita also reminisces over her relationship with Mother Teresa who she has been friends with for almost 35 years. Till today, the artist continues her long association with the Missionaries of Charity as their spokesperson. Interestingly, Sunita’s love affair with art began as a little girl when her dad brought home paints — he worked for a paint company.
At the exhibition beginning today at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Sunita will showcase six art works on the Mother, besides many more. One is a triptych depicting a routine morning scene in the life of Mother Teresa.
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