Maqbool Fida Husain Birth Anniversary: ​​Know the unheard story about him

After all these years of life I am sure, no one would have lived, I can put my right hand on my heart and say that, I am richer than the richest people in the world. You must have heard about the Navratnas (nine gems) of Emperor Akbar in his court, but I have my own gems, which can burnish his gems anytime anywhere. How can Akbar or anyone for that matter have gems like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Balraj Sahni, Sunil Dutt, Shammi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan and how can I forget an amazing gem M.F.Hussain? There are many other gems added to my invisible crown, but I will talk about them some other time as I am overwhelmed by these names now, especially the name of Maqbool Fida Hussain, the barefoot genius who came into my life a little late but enriched my life forever!

I had only seen Hussain Sahab as a figure when I was in school and then college. I was one of those millions of unemployed youngsters who traveled from village to city risking their unknown future by traveling without a ticket and would remain hungry for most of the days and my only staple food was 'the city and exciting people' whom I had never seen before. It was afternoon when I saw him from his early days! I had to look several times to confirm that the man standing in front of me was indeed M.F. Hussain. He was dressed in an all-white kurta and pyjama to match his all-white hair and beard and was wearing no footwear and was walking barefoot on the ground in the heat of the sun. I stood still for a few moments and then followed him wherever he went and he went into a small tea shop and the tea shop owner handed him a glass of tea which I saw him sipping it with some kind of devotion and after he finished the tea he asked for another glass and then he went away and I had no strength to follow him and he disappeared from my sight.

Watching this scene every afternoon became some kind of ritual for me and when I could not practice this ritual anymore I hoped that I would see or meet them in some way or the other in the future.

I had to wait for a few years for my time to change and my time changed and M.F. Hussain also became a reality for me. That Madhuri Dixit, who was once my neighbor and the school she studied in was the same one my daughter was to study in years later. She was roped in to make a special appearance in a film called 'Mohabbat' which was being directed by Reema Rakesh Nath, wife of Rakesh Nath who was Madhuri's manager. It was during the shooting of the film that I first met the man of my dreams M.F.Hussain and it was also the first time that I had a couple of cups of ordinary studio tea with him and realized how much he loved his tea and that he would go to any place to get it.

Like all my other Ratans, I really don't know how he and I became such a favorite of each other and I couldn't believe it for the life of me when he told me one day that he wanted to see my house. I was undoubtedly excited and was wondering how my wife and neighbors would react to seeing this internationally known person. He made life more difficult for me when he decided to travel in an auto-rickshaw. We somehow reached home and my wife was full of emotions when she saw him. He made her life more miserable when he told my wife that he wanted to have tea. She told him that she couldn't make good tea and before she could say anything else, Hussain Sahab asked her permission to enter our kitchen and asked where the tea leaves and sugar were kept. He lit the gas stove himself and stood in the kitchen till the tea was ready and served tea in three cups and first gave it to my wife and then to me and then poured it into his own cup. And again asked my wife if she could sit on a chair with her legs folded and drink tea in peace. He told my wife that he will teach her how to make good tea and said that 'most people in Mumbai disrespect tea'! Then he asked where is my daughter Swati and then asked me for a blank paper, took out his sketch pen, and drew something for her. When I tell people about that painting and how it got misplaced, they tell me how I could have sold that painting and bought another flat, but how do I tell them that the experience of Husain Sahab coming to my house was greater than crores of rupees?

It was the inauguration of a new art gallery in Worli called the Tao Art Gallery owned by a lady named Mrs. Tao. Husain Sahab had invited Madhuri Dixit, Tabu, Amrita Arora, and many others from the film industry and high society circles. He insisted that I should come and I should sit in his office, which was close to the gallery. I was pretty sure I would lose and I did. I reached Worli Naka and called him. He asked me where I was. I said I was at the nearby Irani Tea Restaurant also called Cafe Worli. And he said, “You wait there, I will come.” He was there in three minutes in his black Mercedes and drove to the restaurant. After we had three glasses of tea and several Khari biscuits which were the specialty of the restaurant, we headed towards the gallery which was packed with celebrities. At 6 pm, I told him that I had to go to the Café at Nariman Point to watch Gulzar’s play ‘Kharashe’.

He said, 'I am also coming'. I kept pleading and asking him how he could come when it was his exhibition and all the guests including Madhuri had come because of him. He kept following me and when I was leaving, he called his driver Mohammad, and got in the car we were at the NCPA hall and watching Gulzar's play even though we had no tickets and had to stand for the play! He liked the play and congratulated Gulzar and the team and we left on the footpath. He kept looking for some hot tea and I showed him a small and temporary tea stall and we had two glasses of tea each at ten in the night. I asked him if we were not going back to the gallery and he said, 'Yahan garam bhutta achcha milta hai' and I told him 'I don't have teeth' and he said, 'Let's go to Swati Snacks'! It was his favorite spot for South Indian snacks and of course, good tea made according to his orders. I had two plates of butter idli and he, forty years older than me, had three plates of dahi batte ki puri! We finished the night nicely with his kind of tea. The night was still young for him, but he still didn't talk about going back to the gallery. He told me he would drop me home in Versova and then go back to his house in Colaba. He suddenly stopped the car and opened the dicky. There were currency notes lying in it and he said, 'Take it if you want'! It was very tempting, but I refused to touch that money. He signed his official autobiography and gave it to me and got very emotional, hugged me and said 'You are my son' and didn't talk to me until he dropped me home. What an evening that was.

Husain Sahab served me tea at his places, the highs and lows of Colaba, where he lived for many years in the later years of his life, Juhu, and even Lokhandwala areas. He had all his business meetings at the Taj Mahal Hotel K.C. Lounge Restaurant, the only five-star hotel where he liked to have tea at any time of the day or night. I was present at a meeting between him and a South African businessman whose daughter was getting married and whose ambition was to gift all his guests gold rings with miniature paintings done by Husain Sahab. The deal was brokered by Husain Sahab's friend and agent, Mr. Jhaveri, while Husain Sahab and I were busy having tea. It should be mentioned that the lobby of the Taj has its own background painted by Husain Sahab and the Taj was set on fire during the terrorist attack on Mumbai in 1993, but Husain Sahab's paintings were not harmed. The other hotel in Colaba where Husain Sahib liked to have tea was the Olympia Hotel near Regal Cinema which was also a favourite place of taxi drivers and medical representatives and other salesmen.

In early 2000, Yash Chopra's son Aditya Chopra had built Yash Raj Studios in Andheri and Hussain Sahab had heard that an entire wall was vacant. He mentioned this and asked me to tell Yash Chopra that he wanted to paint his version of the history of Hindi cinema on that wall and he would bear all the expenses himself. I told Yash Chopra about it and he was thrilled. They had several meetings after that and I was the mediator without any personal interest. Hussain Sahab was supposed to meet Yash Chopra at his office in Vikas Park, Juhu and I was supposed to meet him at Lalbagh. Hussain Sahab who was a stickler for time reached Yash Chopra's office an hour before time. He called out to me saying, 'you come quickly'. It was only when I reached Yash Chopra's office that I realised what had happened. Yash Chopra had not reached the office and his business manager, Mr. Sahdev served tea to Hussain Sahab on a fancy tray and in a fancy cup with lots of milk and sugar and a silver spoon. Hussain Sahab had not touched tea till I arrived. He was angry and said, 'Let's go to my friend.' That evening there was a long hunt for tea. He first said, "Let's go to Shabana's (Azmi) house, she makes good tea." Neither Shabana nor Javed Akhtar were at home, but Hussain Sahab was not ready to give up hope. He said, 'Let's go to Nadira Babbar's house, we will get good tea.' Nadira and her daughter Juhi were standing outside her bungalow and Nadira said, 'Sorry, Hussain Sahab, I have a rehearsal, I won't be able to meet you, sorry Ali Sahab.

Aadaab. Hussain Sahab tried his best to hide his irritation and said to his driver Mohammed, 'Let's go to the airport'. Mohammed kept looking at me and smiling. He knew where Hussain Sahab was going. The car stopped outside the domestic airport near 'Aadhar Udupi Hotel'. He literally ran towards the hotel and all the waiters and managers came to welcome him. It was like he had finally come home. He sat down on a wooden bench and a senior waiter served him tea in a glass and he poured it on a plate and drank it, and then he asked for another glass and when he was satisfied he took out a wad of notes and without counting gave them to the senior waiter and said, "It's for everyone." He had never looked so happy in a very long time. He stood up and took out several airlines tickets from his pocket and asked, "Where should I go? There are so many tickets." I had never faced such a question before and before I could answer him, he said, 'Delhi jaata hoon'. I asked him about his bags and luggage and he said, "Delhi jaata hoon, tum meri gaadi kar jaaye, jaaye jaaye, jaaye jaaye, I will come and meet you after two days"

He came back and it was time to start painting on the wall at Yash Raj Studios. He was 85 years old. The wall was sixty feet high. He asked for a wooden ladder. His entire family and Yash Chopra's family were present and both were excited and very nervous. He climbed up the ladder like a young man and painted the image of Lord Ganesha before starting the painting and came down. The small crowd which included me breathed a massive sigh of relief and the first thing they asked for was a glass of hot tea. He had completed that painting he had started with Lord Ganesha within a few days and then there was trouble for him that he could never have imagined. Bajrang Dal people asked to cut off his hands and head with different prices. He was not scared even then, rather his family and his friends and well-wishers were with him. He was taken to Dubai where he was the guest of the Sheikh of Dubai and from Dubai he was taken to Qatar where he developed pneumonia and he died when he was 86 years old and the man who loved his country and his city, Mumbai, was not even brought back to be buried six feet under the ground. India had lost one of its greatest sons and I had lost a great Ratan and a friend, who I know I shall never see again. And tea too shall never have a lover like him again.

Read also:

• The Thalapathy-starrer is slated to hit the theatres in October 2025
  
• Makers Of Manmarziyaan Celebrate 6 Years Of The Iconic Love Triangle
• Madhurima Tuli proves once again that she's a real-life hero,
• Ganesh Chaturthi 2024: Ayushmann Khurrana is a big devotee of Ganpati