{"id":6556,"date":"2025-12-16T13:58:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T08:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/?p=6556"},"modified":"2025-12-16T15:07:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T09:37:04","slug":"6556","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/?p=6556","title":{"rendered":"Hounded in India, Revered in Dubai: The Two Worlds of M.F. Husain"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From Exile to Ferrari: The Gulf Chapter of M.F. Husain\u2019s Life Recounted in New Memoir<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

A Journalist’s Book Explores the Artist’s Forced Exile, Lavish Lifestyle, and the Enduring Identity of the Diasporic Bihari<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Mohammed Wajihuddin\u00a0 \"\"<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The story of how India\u2019s most celebrated modern artist, M.F. Husain, relinquished his citizenship amid a storm of controversy was first broken to the world not from a newsroom in Delhi or Mumbai, but from Doha by a Gulf-based Bihari journalist. This pivotal moment forms a revealing chapter in Ehtesham Shahid\u2019s new book, “The Roaming Bihari & His Bagful of Stories,” which intertwines the narrative of Husain\u2019s opulent exile in the Gulf with a broader meditation on identity, displacement, and the experiences of Indians abroad.<\/p>\n

Background: A Passport Surrendered<\/strong>
\nIn March 2010, hounded by multiple lawsuits from conservative groups over his artwork, the painter often called “India\u2019s Picasso” made a painful decision. He acquired Qatari citizenship and surrendered his Indian passport, later obtaining an Overseas Citizen of India card to maintain a formal link to his homeland. Shahid, then a journalist in Doha, was alerted by an official at the Indian mission and broke the news internationally\u2014a fact obscured until now, as news agency reports rarely credit individual correspondents.<\/p>\n

The Roaming Bihari\u2019s Lens<\/strong>
\nShahid\u2019s memoir is as much about place and personhood as it is about reportage. Defying any reluctance among migrants to acknowledge their origins, Shahid proudly details his Bihari roots, exploring the cultural idiosyncrasies and linguistic quirks of his community. The book argues that geographical displacement does not erase cultural identity, a theme that resonates with many in the Indian diaspora.<\/p>\n

Media Updates: +91-93531 21474 [WhatsApp] |\u00a0indianowme@gmail.com<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Husain\u2019s Gulf Life: King-Size and Unrepentant<\/strong>
\nThe memoir paints a vivid picture of Husain\u2019s life after leaving India. Based primarily in Dubai and Qatar, the artist embraced his exile with a famously flamboyant lifestyle. Shahid quotes from UAE-based journalist Mazhar Farooqui\u2019s “The Maz Files,” which details the artist\u2019s “seven homes in Dubai and perhaps as many cars, including a couple of Ferraris, Bentley, Aston Martin and a customised Bugatti Veyron.”<\/p>\n

“He lived life king-size and was often spotted whizzing around the city in his red Ferrari,” Shahid writes. This image of the “barefoot Badshah” in a high-speed luxury car became a potent symbol of his unbroken spirit despite his forced departure from India.<\/p>\n

A Missed Interview and Lingering Regrets<\/strong>
\nShahid expresses a professional regret: missing a chance to interview the artist after being approached by a London-based arts firm. He reflects on opportunities lost, a sentiment echoed by others in India\u2019s cultural circles who hoped for the maestro\u2019s return. The artist died in London in 2011, and his family declined a later Indian government offer to repatriate his body, a refusal seen as justified given the state\u2019s earlier failure to protect him from legal harassment.<\/p>\n

Beyond the Anecdote: The Gulf in Transition<\/strong>
\nThe chapter situates Husain\u2019s story within Shahid\u2019s broader observations of the Gulf region, where he worked for years. He notes the socio-economic dynamics of GCC nations, their attempts to diversify beyond oil and shed the reputation for exporting “petrodollar Islam,” and the resilience of cities like Dubai through global economic cycles.<\/p>\n

A Reflection on Shared Roots<\/strong>
\nFor the reviewer, a fellow journalist and Bihari, the book serves as a mirror. The shared background\u2014roots in Bihar\u2019s Maithili-speaking region, education at Aligarh Muslim University, and careers in journalism\u2014highlights the diverse paths taken by those who leave their home state. Shahid\u2019s clear, prescriptive prose, honed as an editor and columnist, effectively captures these complex narratives of belonging and observation.<\/p>\n

The book\u2019s launch in Mumbai is anticipated soon, following an event in Delhi where prominent members of the Bihari diaspora engaged with its themes. Through Husain\u2019s red Ferrari and the roaming journalist\u2019s notebook, the story captures poignant truths about art, exile, and the indelible imprint of home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Key Quotes:<\/span><\/h2>\n
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    On Husain’s Decision:<\/strong>\u00a0“Hounded by lawsuits, India’s ‘Picasso’ surrendered his passport in Doha\u2014a final, painful severance from the motherland that revered and reviled him.”<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    On His Lifestyle:<\/strong>\u00a0“He lived life king-size and was often spotted whizzing around Dubai in his red Ferrari,” writes Shahid, detailing the artist’s fleet of luxury cars and multiple homes.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    On Lasting Regret:<\/strong>\u00a0“The hope was that the genius would return… This remains postponed for\u00a0Roze Qayamat<\/em>\u00a0(Judgement Day) as Husain Sahab sleeps peacefully in a grave in London.”<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    On Identity:<\/strong> “You can take a Bihari out of Bihar, but you cannot take the Bihar out of a Bihari”\u2014an adage the book reaffirms through tales of diaspora and unwavering roots.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Note:<\/strong> The writer Mohammed Wajihuddin is a senior journalist with The Times of India. This essay has been taken from his social media platforms.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    From Exile to Ferrari: The Gulf Chapter of M.F. Husain\u2019s Life Recounted in New Memoir A Journalist’s Book Explores the Artist’s Forced Exile, Lavish Lifestyle, and the Enduring Identity of the Diasporic Bihari by Mohammed Wajihuddin\u00a0 The story of how India\u2019s most celebrated modern artist, M.F. Husain, relinquished his citizenship amid a storm of controversy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[619],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6556"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6564,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6556\/revisions\/6564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}