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art

Stage 4 cancer patient’s

brush with art wins heart

Hailing from Srinagar’s Lal Chowk area, Mushtaq’s love for art “My only mantra is that life might
took root in his childhood when he made his father’s tailoring be transient but art lives forever,” he
reflects with a warm smile.
shop at Court Road his first muse, writes hirra azmat Hailing from Srinagar’s Lal Chowk
area, Mushtaq’s love for art took root in
nside an old nondescript build- Mushtaq certainly is not one to deny. his childhood. His father’s tailoring shop
ing at Srinagar’s Barazulla local- Battling stage 4 throat cancer, pain and at Court Road, the city center was the
ity, the soft October sun sieves trauma for the last one year, he hasn’t let first muse. • Colours of life Mushtaq credits his brush and colours for giving him confidence and hope
through the windows and lights his illness come in the way of art. Rath- “As a kid, I accompanied my father
I up the profile of a man in earnest er, he credits his brush and colours for on weekends. At the shop, I noticed the
contemplation seated in a chair. The giving him confidence and hope, when fleeting sights and bustling life on the many insights into the world of art. But yet to be extinguished. Everything col- this, when will it end?), a verse by Sahir
sun reveals a haggard oval face covered he had almost succumbed to disease. streets. This would remain in my mind as soon as I entered my third year, my lapsed around him, and Mushtaq was Ludhianvi which was the catchphrase
with a scrawny white beard. Always a talkative, jovial man, he and I soon drew them out,” he said. whole world turned upside down.” left in dire straits again. of the 90’s, and ‘Curfewed nights’” were
His hair is neatly combed back to found his voice strangled when In 1977, he joined the‘Institute of His father passed away in the third “90 came as jolt out of the blue. some of themes of my paintings from
reveal a prominent forehead, and his vocal chords were surgically Music and Fine Arts’then situated in year of his college, and financial con- The situation around me deteriorated those times,” he says.
round rimmed spectacles over gentle removed to stall the cancer. Now, Srinagar’s uptown area Jawahar Nagar straints meant Mushtaq had to drop out rapidly with each passing day, before With a never-die-spirit of a true
eyes complete the impression of an he talks almost in a hoarse whisper for a three-year degree in Art. “I learnt to earn for the family. The bitter strug- I even had a chance to react. I had artist, Mushtaq managed to revive his
elderly gentleman. Dressed in a neat interrupted by bouts of a wheez - clay modelling, sculptor making, de- gle that followed took him to Mumbai invested around 14-15 lakhs in my busi- business again in a couple of years. By
checked tweed waistcoat over a blue ing cough. He found his voice back in signs in wood carving there. My first in 1981 where a chance encounter with ness. It was a fairly big amount in those 2014 he had managed to create a large
sweater, and khaki pants he looks like colour and canvas. and second year in college gave me so Syed Siddiqi — a Hyderabad based art- days compared to today. I lost it all,” he portfolio, and planning to exhibit his
any elderly Kashmiri gentleman. Yet, ist, left him transformed. recounts. paintings on a large scale for the first
52-year-old Mir Mushtaq — the gen- “It was by accident that I happened Mushtaq had to sell all his property time. But fate had another twist in
tleman in question is anything but to interact with Syed Sahab while trav- including his spacious home and office store. Unprecedented floods hit the val-
ordinary. elling. And soon he learnt, I too was a place. Having lost everything, he again ley on September 7, and in it went float-
On entering, the first thing one • Painting hope Given barely a few fellow traveler on a quest. It was his love sought refuge in art. ing away all his art works. He was left
notices is Mushtaq dabbling with col- months to live, Mushtaq continues to paint for the art and artists that he took me “It was a very difficult time and there bereft just like before. “Majority of my
our in his art studio, SM Mushtaq Art under his wing and taught the nuances was a killing and bloodshed almost eve- artworks were swept by floods. I wept
Gallery. He specializes in handmade of micro art and other techniques of ry day. “Ye kaun mara, Ye kiska lahu hai, tears of blood that day.”
paintings, Islamic calligraphy and mod- painting,” he says. akhir kab tak, (Who died, whose blood is Loss and hope are a motif of
ern art. Many specimens of his exper- In 1983, Mushtaq returned to Kash- Mushtaq’s life. No sooner does he pick
tise are piled against the canvas stands mir and set up a business of advertis- up the pieces than another tragedy hits
or hung on the walls. ing and screen printings in old city’s Loss and hope are a him. He had barely recovered from the
A classic pastoral shows a deer in Gawkadal. motif of Mushtaq’s floods, when he was diagnosed with
a bower gazing serenely, while the “Screen printing was a costly affair cancer of the throat, and given barely
forest paths meanders before her. those days. There were no comput- life. No sooner does a few months to live. But, he continues
Another is a panoramic portrayal ers, and the processing of designs was he pick up the pieces to paint and strive. The connoisseur of
of the old city as visible from Zaina a tedious process. I myself painted out fine art and music he is he ends with a
Kadal Bridge — one of the six bridges several intricate designs of visiting than another tragedy line by Faiz:
that lend the city its old world charm. and wedding cards and they received hits him. He had barely “I still haven’t lost hope. Ye haath
Flourishing his brush with bold strokes a good response from the clients,” he salamat hai kab tak, is khoon main hasrat
with an ease of expertise, the can - narrates. recovered from the hai jab tak (Till these hands are able to
vas comes alive with a calligraphic The business continued to bloom till floods, when he was labour/ till warm blood gushes through
reproduction of a verse from Quran: the turbulence of 90’s when militancy my veins), I will continue to paint,” he
Fabi-aiyi-alai kuma tukkaziban (Which reared its head. Gawakdal was the lit- diagnosed with cancer concludes.
of the favours of your Lord will you eral eye in the storm, as the massacre of the throat
deny?) at Gawakadal Bridge fanned the fires letters@tehelka.com

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