Ashok Vajpeyi paints a portrait of Raza in words

A new book offers behind-the-scene insights into the modern master's art, life and beliefs

- Avantika Bhuyan

Syed Haider Raza, one of India's foremost modern masters, had promised her, "I will bring my time." Raza had arrived in France on a scholarship to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1950, where he first met Mongillat, who later became his wife.

These words, written in a stream of consciousness, have acquired immense significance in retrospect. Raza—a colourist par excellence, who brought a certain spirituality to his work—is one of the most celebrated artists, worldwide, today. Feted during his lifetime and beyond, he became the first non-European to be awarded the prestigious Prix de la Critique in 1955, which made him part of an exalted league, including Akira Kito and Jean Dubuffet. He was honoured thrice by the French government with awards such as the Commandeur L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2007), and with the Padma awards by the Indian government. His works continue to set records at auctions. Seven years after his death in 2016, Raza's acrylic on canvas, Gestation (1989), was sold for 51.75 crore (inclusive of commissions) at Pundole Auction House, making it the most expensive Indian artwork at an auction sale at the time.

And now, a new book, titled Celebration & Prayer (Speaking Tiger), authored by Ashok Vajpeyi—one of the artist's closest friends and managing trustee of the Raza Foundation—comes with behind-the-scenes insights into the evolution of a young boy from a small village of Madhya Pradesh into a philosophical painter, who was deeply influenced by Gandhian values and metaphysical ideas.