‘Arakkal was truly India’s Rembrandt’

Poet and printmaker

Yusuf Arakkal was a self-made artist. He built a market for large deeply moving canvases that dealt with struggles, trials and tribulations of life in the city. Of particular merit were his canvases that were entirely filled with a brooding inner landscape that was textured with rough hewn porous and geometric patterns that gave density and depth to his works. The human figure was a brooding solitary image that Yusuf played with. He was a master in his subject — he was well- read, a poet and a brilliant printmaker. He won the Lalit Kala Award twice — he won many international awards and he loved his work. Over the past 15 years, he has played an important role in encouraging youngsters in Bangalore. He was truly India’s Rembrandt. —

Uma Nair, curator

Friendly and warm Arakkal was so grounded despite of being such a popular name in the contemporary art scene. He was a very friendly person, and you would never feel out of place in his company. His studio and his home was adorned with sculptures and art works belonging to India’s greatest artists. His sense of composition was amazing, and he handled such huge canvases with much ease, and would fill them with his beautiful paintings. Another quality of him that touched me was his hospitality. Everytime, I visited him, Arakkal and his wife Sara would treat me so warmly. I really admired his personality. A nice black shirt was his signature dressing style and made him look like a true artist, and in fact, after getting inspired by him I also started wearing black shirts. —Sudip Roy, artist

Love for the downtrodden It has been an year of huge loss to the art fraternity. We recently lost veteran painter S.H. Raza and now, we have lost Arakkal. I got to meet him in person, and understand him and his works, when I was working on a book Faces of Indian Art: Through the Lens of Nemai Ghosh. This book offered behind-the-scenes view into the creative process of painting and sculpting. Nemai Ghosh’s camera peeped into the studios of 52 artists for this, and that is when I met Arakkal. His feelings and his concern for the downtrodden was remarkable. Street children always remained in his thoughts, and one would often find a slum child or a lonely street child in his artworks. He loved solitude; his images were so personal and touching, and he was not influenced by what people had to say. —Ina Puri, curator