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Veteran artist, Padma Shri Haku Shah, passes away aged 85; friends and fraternity remember him as an honest artist and a great human being
On Thursday, when the entire country was laden with festive colours, the city’s canvas lost some of its most vibrant colours. Renowned artist, Padma Shri Haku Shah, passed away following a cardiac arrest on Thursday at the age of 85. He is survived by his wife, Virbala Shah (Viluben) and sons, Parthiv and Setu Shah.
His last rites were performed at VS Hospital Crematorium, Ellisbridge, yesterday. “He had been ill for some time and was admitted in hospital for a week, but we brought him home. He had a cardiac arrest and passed at around 2.30pm on Thursday,” Shah’s photographer-son Parthiv said.
Gandhian way of living
Shah was born on March 26, 1934, in Valod, a village in south Gujarat, very close to Swaraj Ashram, Vedchhi. His association with Gandhians, hence, was only natural. He had also worked at the ashram after his graduation. Veteran artist Amit Ambalal, who has known Shah since the mid-60s, told Mirror, “He was a Gandhian to the core. Despite the changing trends in art, he would stick to his roots and conviction. He was an honest artist.”
Art connoisseur Anil Relia, who had been working with Shah for the last decade, said, “He was not just a great artist, but also a great human being. His death is a huge loss to the fraternity. I have many memories with him, and had good relations with his family, too. The best thing about him was that he was a calm person, who had no complaints about the art scene and would follow his contemporary form. He has followed the Gandhian path all his life and wore khadi all his life.”
Inspiring simplicity
Another fraternity member, veteran artist Jayant Parikh, who has known Shah since his college days, said, “Haku Shah was my senior at Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda. He was trained under eminent artists like KG Subramanyan.”
Artist Ronak Sopariwala, who was closely associated with Shah, said, “His simplicity always inspired me. The simplicity reflected in his clothes and his home. My mother belonged to the same village as his, but I only got associated to him eight years ago. Since then, I have been a frequent visitor to his place, helping him or painting with him. He was a down-to-earth soul.”
Works on tribals
The late artist has more than 54 solo shows (including painting and photography), 30 major art projects – both in India and abroad during his six-decade long career – to his name. He has even co-authored 31 publications. He has been awarded with several honours including Padma Shri, Gagan Abani Purashkar, the Kala Shiromani, the Nehru Fellowship, the Rockefeller Fellowship, Kala Gaurav and the Kala Ratna. Ronak tells Mirror how Shah worked a lot for tribals.
He said, “His style of painting was very simple and mostly on tribals. Gujarat Vidyapith tribal museum was developed by him. Shilpgram at Udaipur was designed by him. There are only a few artists in Gujarat who are internationally acclaimed, Hakubhai was one of them.”
Ambalal added, “He belonged to south Gujarat and was exposed to its arts like the terracotta work. It was a part of his life and later became a part of his contemporary art too, which was very special about him and made him stand apart from the general trend. The whole artist community is mourning his loss.”
Parikh said, “He took folk art to international arenas. His works on Radha-Krishna and cows are popular. He worked with knives, too.” Shah was also part of Mirror’s art show, Art o Nama I, which celebrated womanhood and their strengths, in 2015. His piece, Women: Pillar of Strength, portrayed the significant role women play in our everyday lives, and was much appreciated by the audience. Shah has left behind a legacy for future artists to cherish and learn from.