A solemn silence hung in the air at Yusuf Arakkal's house on Tuesday morning, as a steady stream of relatives, friends and well-wishers trooped in quietly to pay their last respects.
71-year-old Arakkal, arguably one of the greatest artists of our time, passed away on Tuesday morning. His name is synonymous with the likes of M.F. Husain and Raza, although Arakkal, who always shied away from any attempt to put him in a box, might well have brushed this comparison aside!
Writing a tribute for someone one knew, who influenced you in more ways than one can fathom, is a daunting task. At best, one can humbly join the chorus of voices speaking up now in his memory and in the hope that one might, in some small way, say thank you.
When Yusuf Arakkal was a young artist in his twenties, he spent some time alongside the legendary painter M.F. Husain. "A journalist came to interview Husain and I happened to be present," he told me once. The journalist turned to Arakkal, asking him if he hoped to be another Husain someday. Arakkal responded to this with a fervent, “No. I don’t. I want to be Yusuf Arakkal.”
There aren’t too many people with the gall to pull that off, but then again, there aren’t too many people like Yusuf Arakkal.
