WOH RANGEELA RANGO KA RAJA , WOH ROMANCE KE RANGO KA SHEHANSHA AUR MAI EK NAACHEEZ .... BY ALI PETER JOHN

Maqbool Fida Hussain could do anything to show how "fida" he was over Madhuri Dixit . This time he had made the organiser of a leading magazine arrange an exhibition of his paintings of Madhuri in the heart of the capital - Ali Peter John

I was very lucky to be a part of his guests from Bombay and was the recipient of the most royal hospitality with my stay organised at a seven star hotel and I truly felt better than a Sultan even though I was the guest of a man who lived a life of a fakeer ....

But that evening at the inauguration of the exhibition , the fakeer surprised the packed crowd when he appeared before them in a black leather jeans , a black silk shirt , a black scarf , black boots and a black hat . F M Hussain was certainly dressed to kill .... who ? Madhuri ???

He had completed his mission in Delhi and we were back to Bombay the next morning and on the same flight and in seats next to each other. As soon as the flight took off Hussain told me he wanted to tell me something very important and how could I say no to him ?

He said he had heard that there was a sixty feet high wall at the newly built Yash Raj Studio which was all blank and he would love to paint his version of the history of Indian cinema on that wall . He said he didn't want anything from Yash Chopra , but only needed the permission to paint the wall .

I was thrilled for Yash Chopra and told Hussain Sahab that I would talk to Yash Chopra that same afternoon and Hussain Sahab took me for lunch to the Mughal Sheraton which was one his favourite hotels......

That same afternoon I met Yashji in his office and told him about Hussain's plans for his wall at his YRF Studio and Yashji found it difficult to express his joy , but he found it difficult to agree to Hussain's conditions in which he had said that he would buy all the paints and he would pay for the artist's pad he would need close to the wall , but outside the walls of the studio . Yashji had no other way , but to agree to all the terms laid down by Hussain .

Hussain wanted a meeting with Yash before he started work on the wall . But on the evening they were to meet with me as some kind of a witness, Yashji failed to turn up and Hussain who was a strickler for time was upset , but Sehbev, the general manager of Yashji ordered for some tea for Hussain and me .

The tea came on a silver trey with decorated and ornate cups and saucers and with silver spoons and cutlery for milk and sugar . Hussain cast one look at the trey and got up from his chair and said ,. " Ali - chalo , inn logo ko toh dang se chai bhi peelaane nahi thi ".

And believe me , we made a round of the houses of Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar and Raj Babbar and Nadeera Babbar and finally reached the Aadar Refreshments Hotel outside the domestic airport , where Hussain finally found his kind of tea and sat on a bench with his feet crossed like a coolie or a cobbler and sipped his tea in peace while hundreds of men and women were gaping at him .

He ordered another cup of tea , tipped all the waiters and the maker of the tea five hundred rupees to each , then took out five Indian Airlines tickets from his pocket and asked me where he should go . I just said "Delhi " and gave me his black Mercedes and his driver and said " Mohamed ko leke jao jahan tum ko jana hai gaadi tumhari hai" and he flew of to Delhi.

He came back after two days . Yashji was very disturbed about the. "chaiwala incidents" .

It was the afternoon when Hussain had to start painting the wall . There was anxiety in his family which had gathered at the studio . And Yashji and his wife Pan looked visibly scared . They all had reason to be scared.

Husain was 84 and not very strong and he had decided to climb a sixty feet high wooden lader to give his first strokes of the painting of the wall . He was dressed in a typical workman's outfit he carried two buckets of paints in his hands and all those who were on the ground closed their eyes as the 84 year old M F Husain created some kind of history when without any hesitation , without any fear and with all the confidence and determination , he stood at the top of the lader and painted a colourful picture of Lord Ganpati as he came literally running down the lader close their eyes open their eyes to see a miracle and tears of joy flowed down their eyes and a shiver went down my entire being when Hussain Sahab first came to me , embraced me in his frail but strong arms and said , " tum nahi hote toh ye sab nahi hota, shukriya "

WAISE TOH JAB LOG MUJHE POOCHTE HAI KI MAINE ITNE SAALO MEIN KYA KAMAAYA HAI , TOH MERE PASS EK BEVAKOOFI HASSEE KE SEEVA KUCH NAHI HOTI. LEKIN JAB MAIN AISI KAHANIYON KO YAAD KARTA HOON TOH MUJHE LAGTA HAI KI DUNIYA MEIN SABSE RAISZYAADA MAI HE HOON AUR MERE SEEVA KOI NAHI