Artist shattered as paintings denied display

Dubai A Dubai painter known for his eye-grabbing artwork on modern day leaders is gutted after his dream to get an audience with the visiting Indian prime minister shattered this week.

Akbar Saheb, 51, who unveiled a series of 12 paintings on the life and times of Narendra Modi earlier this year, said he had hoped to hold a special exhibition for Modi during his historic visit to the country. However, his request for the exhibition was turned down by the Ambassador of India to the UAE, T. P. Seetharam, on Monday.

“I feel terrible that I couldn’t even land a five-minute slot with our prime minister who has been a great inspiration for my work from the times when he hadn’t become our premier,” said Saheb, a resident of the UAE since moving from Karnataka, India, in 1997.

Rich tributes

Saheb says each painting from his alluring body of work on the Indian PM titled ‘The man, the leader, the visionary’, is dedicated to each year of Modi as the chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat.

However, to mark his 13th and final year in the role before taking over as the 15th prime minster of India, Saheb had made ‘Mother’s Blessing’, a special painting he had kept aside for the man himself.

“I really hoped I would be able to meet him one day and personally present this one to him because this one is all about his epic victory in the 2014 general election. It couldn’t have happened without his mother’s blessings and we all know about his deep admiration and love for his mother Heeraben,” says Saheb who rues missing out on a golden opportunity to meet and greet a leader he says he admires for his “mesmeric” speeches and overall leadership.

Earlier, when Dubai won the rights to host Expo2020, Saheb, a father of three, had come up with a 10x5-foot oil and acrylic painting showcasing the country’s exponential growth and the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

An illustrator at an advertising agency by day and an artist by night, Saheb has converted one of his bedrooms into a studio where he spends most of his time after office hours, creating magic with his brush.

Over the years, Saheb has done over 700 paintings, most of which are influenced by the UAE and its leaders. Best among them, however, remains a series of 38 paintings celebrating 38 years of the late President Shaikh Zayed’s rule, called ‘Visions’. Modi, former US President George W. Bush and incumbent Barack Obama remain the only other world leaders who have featured in the paintings of Saheb.