Known to most as just MF, Maqbool Fida Husain, one of India’s greatest contemporary artists will be remembered and celebrated by his friends and family on his first death anniversary today. Closely associated with Indian modernism in the 1940s, Husain was a highly eccentric personality with his impeccably tailored suits, bare feet and an extra-long paintbrush as a slim cane.

While the capital city is hosting a commemorative programme, ‘Remembering Husain’, bringing to light Husain’s lesser known art – calligraphy, Mumbai is paying a tribute in its own way with an exhibition that opens today at the Tao Art Gallery, ‘Imagining A Legend’,exhibiting photographs of Husain shot by leading lensmen of his time.

Ram Rahman, a close friend of Husain says, “It feels pretty much the same as it felt a year ago. There is a sense of regret that he had to live outside the country, died outside and was buried outside India.” In Bollywood as well, friends and fellow artistes remembered Husain. Actress Amrita Rao says, “I feel Husain sahab is alive. His emphatic ‘hello’ still reverberates in my ears.” The renowned artist, who first painted B-town beauty Madhuri-Dixit Nene on a large canvas, was fondly remembered by his muse on the eve of this death anniversary.

“Making a movie was his dream and we finally made Gaja Gamini. Husainji was my true well-wisher, a great artiste and a good friend,” Madhuri said. Husain, whose life was rife withcontroversies, lived the last five years of life, away from his homeland, and finally took Qatari citizenship. He was 96 when he passed away in London. Husain’s family will remember him in a private memorial ceremony.