Veteran Pakistani artist Shahid Rassam is in love with Mirza Ghalib’s writings, his interpretation of life and his vision reflected in what the subcontinent is experiencing these days. And he has visually interpreted the bard’s thoughts on the canvas as well as murals.
The four-year-long project entailed Shahid searching for Ghalib’s haveli in the labyrinthine lanes of Ballimaran and going through books penned on him. His undiminished passion for Ghalib convinced Gulzar to assist him in this project by selecting a couple of poems which he has translated through his work.
“Even though Ghalib died long ago, what he had said still holds relevance in the present context where we are witnessing with people fighting over faith and other socio-political issues. Ghalib had interesting things to say about life. I visually imagined and painted them on the canvas. What he had said years ago has now turned about to be prophetic. It is correct not only from the perspective of the subcontinent but also the world.”
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Explaining how he captured unheard melodies on the canvas, the artist, who is also a peacenik, says, “Gulzar sahab came to my rescue. Since he is knowledgeable about Ghalib’s work, he selected some of his poems for my reference. I visualised what Ghalib must have experienced and tried to replicate them in my work.”
He had gone to Kolkata to showcase his three dozen paintings and murals at Victoria Memorial Hall. But at the eleventh hour was told that his first solo exhibition in India was being cancelled on a flimsy ground.
Not one to get disheartened, the leading artist is planning to have an exhibition in New Delhi. “I am in touch with a couple of galleries. Talks are on; let us see. Cancellation disappointed me; it was a lame excuse. All my efforts over the past four years to kick start this world exhibition from India have come to a nought. I had collected my work including murals from Canada and then went to Pakistan and finally when all my work was in Kolkata I was told about this unsavoury development.”
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Comparing Ghalib with William Shakespeare, Shahid says, “Just like Shakespeare is known the world over, Ghalib should also be known by people living outside the subcontinent. Ghalib is not a mere Indian but belongs to the whole world. Ghalib wrote in Urdu but the language of painting is universal. The tragedy is that he is confined to just the subcontinent. So I will be taking this exhibition to Europe and the United States,” says Shahid.