Bloggers mourn MF Hussain's death

BANGALORE, INDIA: The passing away of legendary painter M F Hussain, who is called the Picasso of India, early Wednesday morning at the ChromeWell Hospital in London, became a hot news on microblogging platform Twitter the moment Hindustan Times's online edition published the news after a couple of news agencies broke the news.

And the tweets were in praise of the artist who was forced to flee India following the controversy over his painting that irked some section of the society.

In a tweet NDTV's Barkha Dutt remembers him as saying "India will live in my heart", when he explained the reason why he was compelled to give up Indian citizenship.

“Such shame that an artist who put India on the global stage spent his last years in exile. At least in his death give Hussain a sense of home,” she added in another tweet.

Though Hussain never called his leaving India a forced exile, that was the reality.

Tweeted dansiddiquiý “India's most controversial artist MF Hussain passes away in a forced exile in London.”

Reminding the people of the developments that led to the exile, ahul003ý tweeted, “M.F. Hussain passes away. :/ Shame on you Shiv Sena...India's jewel dies with an unfulfilled dream of coming back home safely!!”

Though he was interpreted as anti-Hindu, following a nude painting of a Hindu deity, in the global art scenario he was a legend. He was a special invitee along with Pablo Picasso at the Sao Paulo Biennial in 1971, following which a magazine gave him the title of  "Picasso of India".