Sadequain is considered to be one of the most gifted and original painters of the country. His life has become a legend of the art world. One knew so much of the artist and his life, and at the same time, so little. Everyone who met him has a story to tell, and the definitive book is yet to be written. Most fortunately, a new chapter of the artist’s life opened recently at a local hotel in Karachi. A collection of drawings by Sadequain, which were never previously shown, were exhibited by his nephew Sultan Ahmed Naqvi and his son Sibtain Naqvi.

The collection titled, Sadequain in Intimate Moments, included portraits of his family, friends and self-portraits worked with pencil, pen and ink on silk, and marker and oil on paper; works of great vitality and tenderness. Sultan Sahib explained that these drawings were among the countless pieces that were left in the joint family home in Amroha, saved by the family members along with other drawings of a later period.

From an early age, Sadequain was never without a pencil in his hand. The earliest pencil portrait by the artist shown in the exhibition was of a handsome gentleman, a family friend who had dropped in on a visit, drawn by the artist when he was 12 years old. The details of the drawing were amazing, the shades and creases in the visitor’s clothes, a bowl of flowers, and the expression on his face — all the work of an exceptionally gifted artist.

A marvellous exhibition of Sadequain’s previously unseen portraits and artworks from 1942 to 1986

It was an incredible experience to walk among the early works of the genius and marvel at intricate linear details, the tenderness with which the artist drew his mother, and noting the changes wrought by time and circumstances. One was introduced to the portrait of Sadequain’s brother, the ladies of the family and his sleeping nephew, then a toddler, Sultan.

Self-portraits showed Sadequain lighting a birri (a cheroot) though Sibtain explained that the artist smoked only cigarettes. The birri was a symbol of Amroha where, close by their house, birris were manufactured. In those drawings he breathes in the smoke of Amroha deeply. According to Sibtain, “The portrait was made in 1981 and is surreal and a departure from the life-like images. It is as if firm lines and realism are ill-equipped to capture this moment of ecstasy.”

One recalled the childhood memories of the artist’s companion Saiyid Ali Naqvi, who talked of how the two boys used to sit in a nearby potter’s house and watch him at work. “Sadequain would even the ground nearby with his palm, and draw figures of birds and jugs with his fingers,” explains Saiyid Sahib.

Self-portraits included in the show were enlightening. There was a profile of the young man, with a smart hair-cut and one lock falling over his forehead. Other sketches show the artist’s head at different angles, hands behind his back, and with and without his spectacles. Among the drawings one discovered portraits sketched of fellow passengers on a train and the fondly drawn family children. The highly personal approach of Sadequain’s work focuses on human responses to relationships and his life experience.

The exhibition created a very important aspect of documentation of the artist’s life and work. One felt extremely close to him amongst his early impressions. These discoveries continued with a book available at the show, recently published by the Hashoo Group with the patronage of the Chairman Sadruddin Haswani.

The book titled, The Cobweb World of Sadequain / Drawings 1966, is a treasure. With a foreword by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and a new insight written by Sibtain Naqvi titled, The Fakir and the King, one discovered further dimensions of the artist’s life.

Chapters in the book cover the various series worked by the artist, each page the backdrop of an image of his work with a facing page carrying a poem written by Sadequain in beautiful calligraphy. The poems are translated into English by Sibtain Naqvi. One left the exhibition, holding close a beautiful memoir of the country’s art icon.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, June 5th, 2016