Sayed Haider Raza (1922-2016) the last of the modernists has taken away with him his passion and pursuit of chromatics. His achievements in the world of art were both magisterial and magnificent.
In the early years, he created works that were impressionist with Western flavours, along with romantic Kashmir and Mumbai landscapes. Raza never fought shy of self-questioning, wasn’t afraid of exploring and was never tired of being experimental. He wanted to learn from different movements in art.
The humility and honesty he invested in his work and his ability to open up to anyone who came to talk to him are what made him charismatic. During the course of our conversations, he often spoke about the Advaita philosophy. He said: “Divya shaktiyon ke sahayog ke bina kala nahin (there can be no art without the support of the Supreme). The rationale behind the quest for symbolism lies in the Advaita philosophy. Everything that emanates is born through this expression of both duality and non-duality of being. It has taken me more than 50 years to understand the holistic nature of the Bindu, which I believe is at the center of all creation.”
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His ability to recite verses in French, Urdu and Hindi showed his understanding of cultures and philosophies. Raza could speak endlessly about his works, which were born of the earth. They would either be in consonance with the beauty of the sun, the mineral tones of the earth or burning blues. When I asked him about the Prussian blues that he would paint, he asked me, if I knew about ‘Eid ka chand’. He smiled and explained: “I was drawn to water wherever I went. It would provide a stimulus for me. I am a romantic. I took the blue moon as my focus, as if celebrating a rare sighting: my search was always for the true and unforced image. Respecting all religions enriched me. Lunar movement and its impact on Nature is something I was very alive to.”
So it wouldn’t be wrong to say that when he used yellow and orange tones, he was giving us tonalities of the alchemy of the sun. His sensitivity to the rhythms of nature was born of his own understanding of polarities of solar and lunar realms.
When he finally began the inclusion of the black bindu, it was as if he was enchanted by a journey that went beyond the black sun.
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Symbolism was always resonant and recurring in his works. It was drawn from nature and his childhood memories of the monsoon, the rivers and his rural idyll in Madhya Pradesh. His older works give us a clear pathway to his evolution.
My favourite work amongst his older works is the ‘Italian Village’ that celebrates cubism and the austere landscape of an Italian hamlet.
Created in 1953, it was a large work that came to Christies for auction. It is significant because it epitomises the influence of European art on Raza’s style during the 1950s.
Raza, the man
BOSE KRISHNAMACHARI: Soft spoken and articulate, Raza was friends with poets, writers and the youth. He was one of the few artists who kept everything in order. When he was in Mumbai, Raza used to make it a point to visit his alma mater, Sir J J School of Art . I fondly remember holding his hand and taking him around each studio in JJ in 1991. He used to get emotional and embrace the bricks and walls of JJ.
KRISHEN KHANNA: I was working in a bank when I met him. I eventually quit the job, and when I did, Raza threw a party in Paris. I used to go to Paris often and stay with him. After one of my shows did well there I bought an expensive blazer but some colour got rubbed off on it. Raza took me to several chemist shops to get a stain remover.
MANISH PUSHKALE: As a teacher, he provoked me to think. He gave me a lot of questions but never their answers. He said everyone has to find their own answers. I met him in 1992 and till 1999 I just listened, watched and learnt. It took me seven years to be able to have conversations with him. He was humble and one could ask him anything. That is why he was always surrounded by hundreds of art students.
In October, Baudoin Gallery in Paris is having a show of Raza sahab’s and my works. But he won’t be there.
Shailaja Tripathi