Farewell, sir

Not that he painted to live or as the clichéd saying extends, lived to paint. For the legendary artist Syed Haider Raza, the two were one and the same thing. As long as he lived, he painted. Which was till 94. Period. As the news of legendary artist SH Raza passing away at 94, spread, those from the art fraternity remember a few moments with him and give their farewell speeches.

A noble soul and secular to the core

Very few people know that his father was a deputy forest ranger, so he was born in a forest village that had all of nine houses. From humble beginnings, he rose to international acclaim. He is one of the greatest 20th century artists, so his death is literally the closure of a creative chapter.

There’s one thing I want to add about him, he was a very generous and charitable soul. He helped and promoted the writers, poet, dancers because somewhere he remembered his own hard days. Very few also know that he visited a mosque, a temple, a church…all places of worship. That is how secular he was.

Ashok Vajpeyi, ex-chairperson, National Lalik Kala Akademi

His works—colourful, rooted and inspired

What I really admired about his works was that he was rooted in Indian ethos. His works were influenced by his native state of Madhya Pradesh and poetry, classical arts. His works stood for a 20th century artistic movement in themselves. Despite having spent several decades in France, his colour palette wasn’t European, rather it was very Indian in feel. His demise is a great loss to Indian art, especially as we one by one lose the artists of their generation, which define modern Indian art.

Diwan Manna, former chairperson, Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi

You will be missed but you live on

The consolation about people who have left behind great works is that they never really die. He has left a vast reservoir of works for us to preserve and admire and learn from. He has left bountiful and beautiful creations for us to look forward to.

Amitava Bhowmick, artist

Inspiring generations to come

I met him a couple of times at National Lalit Kala Akademi. He was a humble person, who had a quiet demeanor and a certain way of going about his work. Because his works are very colourful and well-defined, he inspired generations of young artists not to shy away from the use of colour.

Jodh Singh, National Awardee artist, Chandigarh

— Manpriya Singh