June 3, 2026
“Are you fond of M. F. Hussain paintings?” – popped up on Kunal’s phone. He was just taking a quick lunch break, in between his patients when the message appeared out of nowhere from Smita, his batchmate from MDS, but that was just the superficial introduction to her in his life. “We got one of his titles from the series Gaja Gamini’ Smita continued. The question felt random, almost amusingly domestic for two people who once knew each other through the intensity of youth and heartbreak. He smiled as he sat with his packed lunch for the day, rice and paneer bhurji and some salad. A lot of thoughts were crossing his mind when he and replied casually — “Honestly? Not aware enough to be fond. But of course, he’s legendary.” She sent a photo of the painting placed centrally on a table from her house in Bangalore. The painter’s signature was on the bottom left of the painting. Faint yellow LED light shining on the painting from above. The table was neatly arranged with smaller pieces of décor — a reed diffuser, a doughnut-shaped flower vase with artificial flowers, a couple of candles, a key carelessly left beside them, […]





