S YOUSUF ALI - SHINING STAR

In early 1991, one Friday morning at 11am, I decided to go to the Taj Mahal Hotel Gallery to see an exhibition of paintings. It happened to be a show of paintings by Shaikh Yousuf Ali. I was very impressed to see the quality of his works and there was an immediate curiosity to meet the artist. My curiosity was further heightened when I noticed, with utmost surprise, that 24 out of the 25 works in the show were already sold, that too within an hour of the Show opening. I interacted with the artist, whom I found to be very simple and balanced, despite the outstanding response to his show. After some discussion, I could not help requesting Yousuf to come to my house, to see one wall where I was looking to put up a large painting, for a very long time.

Soon after the show was over, he came over to my house and absorbed the space with deep introspection. He also asked me if I had any specific thoughts for the painting and listened with great intensity to my ideas. A week later, he came with a sketch of the painting. Needless to say, I loved his ideas and immediately commissioned him to complete the work. After a month of eager waiting, he came over with the painting, which I understand is probably the largest painting that he has made. The painting still hangs with pride on our wall and even after 20 years, I am yet to come across a more complete work of art.

Another interesting episode comes to mind. Since I like to collect art and MF Husain was close to my brother, I was keen to have one of his paintings in the living room, on the other side of the wall opposite the wall with the painting by Yousuf. Husain visited my house to see the place, before he could start the painting. I laid some tea and snacks on the table for Husain saab. However, he seemed completely lost in thought, so I did not dare to disturb him. I soon realised that he was looking at Yousuf's painting, continuously for nearly 20 minutes, barely batting an eyelid, in the same standing posture. I eventually distracted him from his meditative state, since the tea and snacks were getting cold. In his excitement at seeing the work, he had completely forgotten the reason of his visit and for the next 15 minutes, we were only discussing Yousuf's painting. Obviously, he recognised that the painting was by Yousuf and said that it was "really a very impressive piece of art". He also added that "please don't put any other painting on that wall". Finally, we got back to the agenda of the meeting and Husain saab provided us with a great painting.

# 1254, Oil on canvas, 60 x 162 inches, 1991

With due respect to all the other artists whose works are in my collection (MF Husain, Satish Gujral, Jonathan Paul, Ajay De and many more...), I can say with the utmost conviction that the work of S Yousuf Ali is the single most loved work in our house.. treasured equally by the next two generations of my family....

Ashwin Mehta
(Samir Diamonds)