M F Husain-His Paintings Make Him Live

M F Hussain, Picasso Of India

Great personalities from across the world always live amongst us in the form of their artworks. Be it any renowned author, dancer or a painter we can never forget them. https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/rags-to-riches-263467-2015-09-17 shares the stories of famous people who have literally gone from rags to riches! One such famous painter of the 20th century is Mr. M. F. Husain. Even till today, many Corporate event management companies showcase paintings made by M. F. Husain in their art shows. What great honor it is to live even after death. He is remembered as the "Picasso of India." He had international recognition and not just India. His paintings gave him his identity, but he was also a great printmaker, filmmaker,

photographer, and drawing maker.

Early Days

M F Hussain was born in British India and had an interest in art since his childhood. He learned the art of Kulfic khat with all its geometric shapes. He also practiced the art of calligraphy. Primarily he was a self-taught man; he needed no guidance as he was so passionate about painting since his childhood days. Initially, he worked as a poster designer for Bollywood movies. Graphic advertisements and posters gave him a breakthrough in his career. His turning point came post the independence of our country and when the partition happened. His work started getting recognized and appreciated during these times.

                  

M F Hussain came in touch with other artists of his kind and formed a progressive group in Bombay. Like many other artists who concentrate on a  particular theme, Mr. Husain never limited himself. His painting would cover diverse subjects from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata to the British Raj, Gandhi and Mother Teresa. He also made paintings about rural life and Indian urban life. Later some of his paintings related to Hindu deities attracted controversies due to which he went into a self-imposed exile for a while. Still, his artwork was never forgotten by the people.

Achievements

In the 1970s and 80s, he created some of the most memorable paintings like Passage through social space, Vishwamitra and many more. He continued his quest to make beautiful paintings till the mid-1970s. He also made various films in Bollywood in those times which were also a hit. His movie ‘Through the Eyes of a Painter’ in 1967 attracted appreciations in Berlin International Film Festival. He went to Europe for the first time in the 1950s where he had earned a lot of appreciations. He held his first solo art exhibition in Zurich.  He also met other famous artists over there like Matisse, Picasso, and Paul Klee.

Awards & Recognition

Mr. Paul Klee and Mr. M.F. Husain developed a reasonably good bond on knowing the rich knowledge Mr. Paul had about Indian culture. It is great how people belonging to different nations meet due to the common interest in an entirely new country. He was awarded the National Film Festival Award for "Through the Eyes of a Painter." He also received other national awards such as the prestigious Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan, and Padma Bhushan. His great works can never be forgotten. We still see some of his paintings in the art galleries that leave us nothing less than inspired.

Famous Indians With Disability Who Have Excelled In Different Fields

India is a country of diverse culture. People from different backgrounds live here. Everybody has an inspiration of their own, or some other driving force is found by them to keep pushing themselves to overcome the challenges that they have . Talking about inspiration, it reminds us of someone or the other. There have been so many famous people from our nation who have in spite of their disabilities, stood up against all the odds and inspired us forever. https://www.oneindia.com/feature/in-pics-10-extraordinary-personalities-with-disabilities-1580686.html gives us a detailed list about some extra-ordinary personalities who have overcome physical challenges to achieve what they are today!

We all know Sudha Chandra; she is a famous dancer who has also appeared in many TV shows. When she was just 16 years old, she lost her left leg after it was amputated due to an infection after a plaster. However, she overcame her disability to pursue her interest in classical dancing. She has proved herself internationally in Bharatnatyam even though she has a prosthetic Jaipur foot. She is such an inspiring personality to all of us that she was made the brand ambassador of a Diamond Jewellery Store which was a true respect to her self-esteem and contribution to the field of art.

Another such famous person on our list is Ravindra Jain who was visually impaired since childhood. He joined the Indian music industry only to become one of  the most renowned music directors of the 1970s era. Once in the middle of his recording session, he came to know that his father has just passed away, even then he did not leave the recording session until it was finalized. He was known for his dedication and inspiring thoughts. There was such originality in his music that he gave many super hit songs to the people. Our list doesn’t end here, we are going to talk about a famous badminton champion who is none other than Girish Sharma. Even after he lost one leg in a  train accident in his childhood, nothing could stop him. He kept on playing badminton effortlessly because he wanted to become a champion. How can we not feel proud of such great personalities?

Cricket runs in every Indian's veins just like human blood. Shekhar Naik, one of the great Indian cricketer of his time, had  strong determination towards his goal. He won the T20 Blind Cricket Championship and had 32 centuries to his name. Decades ago, polio was a widespread issue in our society. Our story is dated back to a time when people were not acutely aware of polio drops for small children that is administered today to all kids who are less than 5 years. H Ramakrishnan was also affected by Polio. Both his legs had polio condition despite which he became a very famous journalist of his time and worked for nearly 40 years in this career. He did not stop at that and even proved himself as an excellent musician.

There is no end to such beautiful stories that relate to the incredible lives of so many famous Indian personalities. They created a mark in our heart that we should never forget. Even today when they come in front of people, their aura leaves us awestruck. If they can achieve so much, why can't we?  With the physical advantage of being perfectly able and the better resources available today, anyone can chase their dreams and make them a reality!

MS Subbulakshmi- A Legendary Voice From The South!

One of the most renowned Carnatic music experts is M. S. Subbulakshmi. She was born in Madurai and pursued music as a career her entire life. https://www.fastcompany.com/3051432/why-inspirational-quotes-motivate-us gives you an insight about her! She is an inspiration to all budding & current singers in Carnatic music. Most Carnatic music websites today choose the best web design company to create top-in-class websites so that they can offer a dedicated space for this maestro. Also, a site that offers to teach about such great celebrities like M S Subbulakshmi needs to dedicate respect to all the maestros for continuing their legacy.

She was named as the queen of music in her times and also the Nightingale of India and the Goddess of the perfect note. People were inspired by her talent in music. She was a legendary vocalist, musician, and singer. People hear her soulful music even today and cannot stop appreciating her work every time they hear it. Her first stage appearance as a singer was at the age of 10. She used to practice from her early childhood. Her first concert was organized at the Madras Music Academy when she was just 13 years old. Having your own concert is in itself an excellent achievement for a 13-year-old.

In fact, at that time when she was just beginning her career, people used to put up a lot of resistance to the way a girl lived her life and pursued a career. With extreme care and support, great ladies like M S Subbulakshmi did not look back ever and kept moving to achieve the goal they always had in their heart and soul.  A great singer like her comes once in a generation. This is the reason their work remains a forever piece of artwork. She has made significant contributions to Carnatic music for which she also won Ramon Magsaysay Award, known to be the most prestigious award in Asia.

She has also acted in a  few Tamil films like Sevasadanam. The film did very well both commercially and critically. She was a perfect artist with her polished skills in singing and acting; she was unstoppable. Following the success of her first film, she appeared in many other appreciated films like Meera, Savithri, and Sakuntalai. She was the one to take Carnatic music overseas. She has been invited to many prestigious music festivals across the globe like Edinburgh International Festival of Music and Drama.  

Later in the year 1963, she performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York. She also sang many songs in front of the idol at Rameshwaram temple in the 1960s. Further, in the 1980s she continued the legacy of Carnatic music several steps further.  She also got a chance to perform in the Royal Albert Hall in London in 1982 and then in Moscow for the Festival of India in 1987. She was a legendary vocalist of her time; that one person who carried Carnatic music to all corners of the world. The growth she gave to this music form could never have happened without her; carnatic music will never be the same without M S Subbulakshmi!

The Great Dancer Sonal Mansingh

India has given us many talented classical dancers who have proved their talent worldwide. https://thetempest.co/2016/11/17/culture-taste/culture/12-badass-indian-women-you-need-to-know-about/ can give you an insight about it. One of those great talents is Sonal Mansingh, a dancer popularly known for her skills in Odissi dance form. She is a gorgeous dancer, social reformer, teacher, and choreographer. Technically, these are only a few of her talents that we could mention here. She is much beyond what words can explain. People who aspire to become an Odissi dancer must follow such great personalities. The moves, the dress, and the makeup people wear while performing Odissi is fantastic. She is an inspiration to everyone especially the womankind. From Women groups for her social work to Bridal Makeup Artists for her traditional make-up style, she is an inspiration for all.

In early days, dancing was not considered to be a very respectable profession. Despite the resistance, great people like Sonal Mansingh stood up for their passion and defended their passion against the society. According to some of her interviews, dance is a way of communicating the words of the unheard. The expression, the body language, everything speaks for itself without the person having to utter a single word. Her career started in the year 1962 when she won everybody’s heart with her graceful Odissi dance. Over the years she went on to choreograph many stunning performances.

All together she has choreographed some group shows. Late in the 1970s, she danced to the poem Mary Magdalene, Meghdootam of Kalidasa,  Sanyasi Udagupta, and Kumara Sambhavam of Kalidasa. These are very popular poetries written by great poets. Dancing renowned pieces of art is not an easy task, but only somebody like Sonal Mansingh could take the challenge. In the year 1977, she established a society in New Delhi known as the Centre for Indian Classical Dances. The institute provided coaching in several Indian dance forms to budding artists from across the nation.

The following years until 2001, her great performances followed one after the other. She kept winning several hearts by her splendid performances. Her major choreography includes Manavata, Devi Durga Aatmayan, Indra Dhanush, Sabras, Draupadi and Mera Bharat. She has also given guest lectures in famous universities in North America. She has also received many awards during the course of her career. In the year 1987, she was awarded the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. Later in the year 1991, she was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award followed by Padma Bhushan in 1992.

She married a famous Indian Diplomat hailing from Odisha, Mr. Lalit Mansingh; they met at an art festival. In the year 2002, a documentary named Sonal was directed by Prakash Jha.  Her love for dancing was more than anything else to her. She has dedicated her entire life to her passion. Very few people are able to follow their heart, which gives them the opportunity to become one in a million, despite the resistance from the society. She is a very inspiring personality not only for people who want to pursue dancing but for each one of us!