Dear Sir,

The death of iconic Indian painter Syed Haider Raza, at the age of 94, leaves a void in the South Asian art world.  Raza was touted as one of Indian modern art’s greatest painters. He was a founder-member of the Progressive Artists’ Group that wished to break with the revivalist nationalism and to encourage an Indian avant-garde engaged at the international level.
Collectors and galleries valued his work highly. In 2010, Raza’s Saurashtra, a monumental canvas, was auctioned by Christie’s in London for nearly $3.5mn  – a record at that time for any modern Indian artist.
Raza was the last of a generation of doyens of Indian art. The recent past has seen the death of many leading Indian artists, including  M F Husain, R K Laxman, Ganesh Pyne and Manjit Baw.
Raza was an institution unto himself. He will be best remembered for popularising Indian art globally. He was bestowed with many honours and accolades at home and abroad, including the Lalit Kala Akademi fellowship  (1981), Padma Shri award (1981), Padma Bhushan  (2007) and Padma Vibhushan (2013).  He was conferred with the highest French civilian honour, the Commandeur de la Legion d’Honneur in 2015.
After his marriage to French artist and sculptor Janine Mongillat, he had been staying in France for many decades but Raza always kept his ties with India intact.
Born in Madhya Pradesh, Raza began drawing early, at the age of 12. He studied at the Nagpur School of Art (1939-43), followed by the JJ School of Art in Mumbai (1943-1947). In 1950, he moved to Paris for higher studies and exhibited extensively in France, where he continued to live for more than six decades.
He returned to India in 2010 from France and had been exhibiting regularly every year.

Ramesh G Jethwani
(Address supplied)

Acts of violence
 
Dear Sir,

Violence is on the rise everywhere in the world. Deadly attacks by deranged individuals and misguided groups occur in one part or another almost daily. Massacres no longer shock us as they have become far too common.  
The article “The world on the edge as turmoil reigns everywhere” (Gulf Times, July 27) highlighted this violent phase but unfortunately didn’t spell out any reason for the surge in attacks. There seems to be no common theme or objective in these violent acts happening around the world. They seem haphazard. But is there a method in this madness?

RJ
(Full name and address supplied)