PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS AN OLD MAN

At 99 and still painting, Krishen Khanna is one of our most venerable artists ever

- Yashodhara Dalmia

One of the most erudite and creative of Indian artists, Krishen Khanna at the age of 99 is as animated and active as ever. He moves around, albeit in a wheelchair, and paints regularly. When asked how he feels at this stage of his life, he says he feels he is lucky that he doesn't have any illness. Barring a left hip replacement surgery that was performed this May after a fall, he seems to have no other problem. While this slowed him down a little, it also made him work in a concentrated manner.

If there is any regret at all, it is about the absence of his colleagues, most of whom are no longer alive. "I'm quite short of friends and I miss them. They all stayed with me in Shimla. Tyeb Mehta, Bal Chhabda...no one is there any longer." Khanna's meeting with M.F. Husain was especially important. The artist recalls Husain visiting him and how that left an indelible mark on him.