Firing a salvo and then disappearing into the lanes of Qatar is typical MF Husain. When you call his phone,a polite voice in Arabic tells you this number has been switched off. Meanwhile,the news of the maverick Bombay Progressives painter having accepted the citizenship offered upon him by the Qatar royal family has made its way around the globe. His little sketch of a horse and the cryptic note says it all: I am an Indian citizen who has been offered Qatar citizenship. His eldest son,Shamshad,is fighting a brave battle with a serious illness in hospital in Delhi while his youngest son,Owais,is immersed in his new film. In Dubai,Owais awaits the moment his dad will switch on his phone. My father has always taken his own decisions. There is no ulterior motive in his accepting the citizenship offered to him by Qatar. Of course,giving up citizenship of India saddens him but they say that you can take a man out of the country but you cannot take the country out of a man, says Owais. His father,he adds,was born in the holy city of Pandharpur,and made posters of anti-British slogans in the late 1930s. He went mad with joy when India achieved Independence. He remains as Indian as the next man on the street, adds Owais. Husains youngest son confirms that friends and well-wishers have been urging the painter to wait it out since the Supreme Court has intervened,saying he should be allowed back in India. While a foreign country is bestowing the honour of citizenship on him,we have done nothing to provide him with security, says Akhil Sibal,MF Husains lawyer. The government has been a silent spectator. Mumbais Pundole Art Gallery held Husains first solo-show way back in the 1960s. Indias loss is Qatars gain, says Dadiba Pundole,son of Kali,who first discovered the artist when he was living on the pavement and painting film hoardings. The Pundoles last met Husain in November 2009,and,though Dadiba is in Dubai,he is one those waiting for the painter to turn on his cell. Arun Vadehra,Director,Vadehra Art Gallery,says,I had spoken with Husain earlier this week and we discussed the citizenship offered by Qatar. It is an honour because Qatar does not offer citizenship easily,but it is also sad news. I hope Husain retains his Indian citizenship and comes back. Kiran Nadar,a Delhi-based collector,has a party planned if the painter returns. He is the pioneer of post-Independence Indian modern art and he would like to return, she says. with inputs from Vandana Kalra
