India’s most famous and controversial modernist, Maqbool Fida Husain, has brought a huge mural back to life and put it on display in New Delhi. This is a big deal for the Indian art world. The 60-foot by 10-foot magnum opus, “The History of Medicine,” which was made in 1963, has been carefully put back in place in the lobby of the new World Health Organization (WHO) building in the capital’s IP Estate. The fact that it is back after being hidden for six years in a climate-controlled space is not only a logistical success; it is also a powerful cultural statement, a technical marvel of art conservation, and a moving part of M.F. Husain’s complicated legacy. The mural’s journey from a condemned wall to a place of honor shows how art can last longer than the forces of decay and controversy.
The mural was a big part of the old WHO headquarters for many years. Habib Rahman, a well-known architect, designed the building. It was the result of the Nehruvian era’s grand plan to combine modern art with public architecture, making cultural identity a part of the infrastructure of the newly independent nation. But when the building was deemed structurally unsafe and set to be torn down in 2019, Husain’s beautiful work was in danger of being lost forever. Husain directly painted the mural onto a plaster wall in a conference room, unlike a moveable canvas. It seemed like it would be destroyed along with the building that housed it. The WHO, the state-owned construction company NBCC, and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) all worked together to save it. This project is a turning point for art preservation in India.
The Great Return of an M.F. Husain Masterpiece
In Asia, the process of saving the mural was the biggest and most complicated of its kind ever. The team under the leadership of Ajay Kumar Pandey, the conservation director at INTACH, undertook a risky process known as “strappo,” typically reserved for smaller frescoes. This procedure meant putting layers of fabric and glue on the painted surface to protect it before carefully cutting the whole wall, plaster and all, away from the building’s brick base. The giant piece of art was cut into six vertical panels, each weighing about 500 kilograms. After being put in crates, these parts were sent to a special INTACH facility, where they were kept for six years in very specific weather conditions. The reinstallation process is now in its last stages and is just as careful. It involves putting up these enormous panels and making sure that the seams fit together perfectly to restore the original work by M.F. Husain.
This technical success is a strong contrast to the cultural losses India has experienced in the past, when important public works of art were lost due to neglect or redevelopment. The successful preservation of “The History of Medicine” establishes a significant precedent, illustrating that with institutional commitment and technical proficiency, the nation’s modernist heritage can be safeguarded for future generations. For collectors and scholars, the history and provenance of this piece have taken on a whole new level of drama—a story of almost dying and then coming back to life that adds to its already high artistic value. The mural used to be a fixed part of the building, but now it is a moving symbol of cultural strength.
Taking apart M.F. Husain’s vision in “The History of Medicine”
“The History of Medicine,” painted in 1963, is from a very productive time in M.F. Husain’s career. He helped start the Progressive Artists’ Group in 1947, and by the early 1960s, he had firmly established his own style, which was a powerful mix of European Cubist and Expressionist styles with the raw energy of Indian folk art, temple sculptures, and classical miniatures. This mural is a wonderful example of that mix.
The art tells a long, nonlinear story about healing and medical discovery. The mural’s iconographic program transitions from the ancient Indian science of Ayurveda, symbolized by potent herbs and sages, to the forefront of modern allopathic medicine. In a typical example of syncretism, M.F. Husain paints a lively picture of the Hindu god Lord Hanuman carrying the Sanjeevani booti, a mythical herb that brings people back to life. Husain’s genius lies in the way he combines mythological, historical, and scientific elements. This lets him create a visual language that is both very modern and deeply rooted in Indian culture.
The mural shows off Husain’s confident, calligraphic line and his advanced use of color and composition. The figures are drawn with the strong, broken shapes that are typical of his work from this decade. The strong lines around them keep their energy in balance and direct it. The palette, which you can’t see in recent pictures because the mural is still under a protective covering until it is officially unveiled, is probably full of the earthy tones and bright primary colors that were typical of his work. It is a real mural made of oil on plaster, so it has a different texture and space than his canvas paintings. It doesn’t hang on the wall; it’s part of it. This artwork shows the artist’s desire to make a complete work of art that interacts with its architectural setting. The size of the work gave M.F. Husain the chance to look at his thematic issues on an epic level. It turned into a celebration of life, knowledge, and perseverance that went beyond a simple historical account.
M.F. Husain’s Vision of Public Art After Independence
To fully understand the importance of “The History of Medicine,” you need to put it in the context of Indian culture after independence. The 1950s and 1960s were full of life because Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wanted India to be modern, secular, and scientific. Supporting the arts was a significant aspect of this nation-building project, not merely an afterthought, but an important part of the new national identity. This way of thinking led to many commissions for artists like M.F. Husain to make big works for public buildings, airports, and scientific institutions.
These murals were meant to make “art for the people,” bringing painting and sculpture into daily life. They were both educational and celebratory, telling the story of a new India that honored its past while moving confidently into a future full of technology. In many ways, M.F. Husain was the perfect artist for this job. His visual vocabulary was both simple and complex, and his themes, which ranged from rural life (Gram Yatra) to national allegories (Bharat Bhagya Vidhata), fit perfectly with the national project.
The WHO mural is a wonderful example of this movement. The fact that it was in a building dedicated to international cooperation and scientific progress, and that it was about the evolution of medicine, perfectly captured the Nehruvian spirit. It was a statement that modern India was part of the world’s efforts to make things better for people. This mural, along with his other important public works like the murals at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), can be considered the beginning of Indian modernism. M.F. Husain was both an artist and a public intellectual, and his work visually expressed the hopes and dreams of a generation.
M.F. Husain’s Lasting Legacy: How to Deal with Controversy
There can’t be a full discussion of M.F. Husain without mentioning the big problems that plagued the last decades of his life. Husain faced many legal threats, vandalism of his art, and personal attacks after right-wing groups said that his paintings of nude Hindu gods offended religious feelings. He created these works decades earlier, during the 1970s. He went into self-imposed exile in 2006, living in Dubai and London, and finally became a citizen of Qatar in 2010. He died in London in 2011, never having gone back to the country that he so vividly and lovingly painted.
This painful history makes putting back up and restoring his WHO mural crucial for both culture and politics. This project, which involved government and international organizations, implicitly confirms Husain’s canonical status in Indian art history, even though fringe groups tried to erase his contributions. It is a way to take back what was lost. The preservation of the mural sends a powerful message that political gain or sectarian anger cannot exploit M.F. Husain’s artistic legacy. It supports the idea of artistic freedom and recognizes that his work is an important part of India’s modern cultural heritage.
This event could provide art collectors and institutions more faith in showing and buying works by M.F. Husain. It reminds us that, regardless of what people say, he is an important artist, and his work marks a turning point in 20th-century global art. In a way, saving the mural is a way for institutions to defend themselves, separating the art’s lasting value from the artist’s controversial politics.
The Importance of the M.F. Husain Mural’s Return: A Future for the Past
The return of “The History of Medicine” is a big win on many levels. The return of “The History of Medicine” is a significant achievement in art conservation, demonstrating a level of technical skill that can serve as a guide for future projects. It is a win for public art, showing once again how important art is in public places. Most importantly, it is a victory for the legacy of M.F. Husain.
When the protective coverings are taken off and the mural is officially unveiled, it will no longer be considered a relic of the past but as a living work of art with a great story. Conference attendees will no longer be the only ones visiting the WHO headquarters. A new generation of visitors will also be able to see it. The mural will show a hopeful, syncretic vision of India, which is what M.F. Husain fought for throughout his career.
The mural’s return from the verge of destruction signifies the preservation of a significant portion of India’s post-independence history. It lets us connect with the ambitious, hopeful, and deeply human worldview of an artist who, even though he had to leave his home country, never stopped painting its soul. More than just a stunning piece of art by M.F. Husain, the mural in the WHO lobby represents a resurrected piece of the national narrative, a tale of medicine, art, and a cultural legacy triumphant over adversity.
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