Last works of painter S.H. Raza on exhibition
New Delhi, July 1: Paintings created by Sayed Haider Raza, when he was in his 90s, are not songs of farewell or leave-taking but of joy and life, said poet Ashok Vajpeyi at an exhibition of these artworks.
'Uttar Raag', the exhibition currently going on at Triveni Kala Sangam's Shridharani Art Gallery till July 10, displays close to two-thirds of the late celebrated Indian modernist's last works including his last finished painting -- Swasti (2016) -- and his last unfinished canvas.
These paintings have been inherited through his will by Raza Foundation, an arts and culture organization he himself established.
Other exhibited works -- created between 2010 and 2016 -- include "Yoni" (2012), "Roop Aroop" (2012), "Vistaar" (2013), "Jeevana (2014), "Tanmay" (2015), "Achal" (2015) and "Paysage" (2015) among others.
Raza, who died in 2016 at the age of 94, was a "master colourist", said Vajpeyi, Raza Foundation's Managing Trustee.
"Towards the end of his life he was living to paint, and painting to live. The distance between life and art was almost closed for him," Vajpeyi, also the former Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi, told IANS.
"He must have had some feeling that these were his last years. But his life-long zest for art, the urge to paint almost every day did not dim.
"The body was weak, energy declining, eyesight inadequate but he would invariably reach his studio from the bedroom every day and sit before the canvas on easel," Vajpeyi earlier said in a statement.
The art maestro was born in 1922 in Mandla in what is now Madhya Pradesh, and shifted to France in his youth where he lived for almost six decades. Raza now lies buried next to his father in Mandla.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1981, the Padma Bhushan in 2007 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2013.
Calling Raza's works a "re-exploration of his favourite themes", Vajpeyi said these artworks are not imbued with feelings of leave-taking of saying adieu.
"They are not farewell lyrics. They are still songs of joy for life."
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Three National Conference workers injured in stabbing incident at poll rally in JK's Poonch
Mendhar/Jammu, May 19: Three National Conference (NC) workers were injured when unidentified persons attacked them with knives at an election rally in Mendhar in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Sunday, officials said.
NC president Farooq Abdullah was present at the rally organised by the party in support of its Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat candidate Mian Altaf in Mendhar. The rally continued without any disruption.
Officials said there was a clash between two groups over some issue during the rally. Taking advantage of the melee, the attackers managed to escape, the officials said.
Police have registered a case in connection with the incident and are trying to nab the culprits, they said.
Sohail Ahmad and Yaseer Ahmad, both residents of Harni, and Mohd Imran of Kasblari village, received stab injuries and were taken to a local hospital, the officials said.
They said the condition of Sohail and Yaseer was stated to be serious and they were referred to Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital, Rajouri for specialised treatment, they added.
Senior NC leader Javed Ahmad Rana termed the incident a "security lapse" and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.
He said it is very strange that people carrying knives managed to enter the rally venue.
"It is a serious incident and should be probed," said Rana.
Some days ago, one of the injured youth's brothers was attacked by the same group and an FIR was registered against the accused, said the NC leader, who rushed to the hospital to inquire about the condition of the injured.
