Artist hopes to give Modi a special gift

An Indian artist in Dubai has asked the Indian embassy to allow him to present one of his paintings of the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to the man himself during his visit to the UAE.

Akbar Saheb with his painting Mother Blessings, dedicated to the mother of prime minister Narendra Modi, Heeraben. The Dubai artist wants to present his artwork to the Indian leader as a gift during hShow more

DUBAI // An Indian artist in Dubai has asked the Indian embassy to allow him to present one of his paintings of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to the man himself during his visit to the UAE.

Akbar Saheb said he dedicated his artwork, titled Mother Blessings, to Mr Modi’s mother, Heeraben .

“Narendra Modi has deep respect and love for his mother,” said Mr Saheb. “Her blessings empower him and also become an unsaid promise from him to continue his mission of working for the good of the people,” said the 51-year-old, who has been living in the UAE for 22 years.

Mr Saheb, who works as an illustrator at a private company, has created 14 Modi paintings in one year. The artist is from Karnataka and, despite his endeavours, has never met Mr Modi.

“I was never a politically-inclined person. My world revolves around my canvas and my brush. I rarely visit my home country. But when I saw Mr Modi’s speeches on TV when he was campaigning for elections last year, my perception about political leaders changed completely,” he said.

Mr Saheb said he was inspired by Mr Modi’s personality and his body language, and considered him a good subject for an artist.

“The way he communicates with the masses, like a father figure, is so strong that no one can ignore him. I have never seen any other leader who has such powerful public speaking skills and connects so easily with the people,” he said.

He was so impressed that he decided to put Mr Modi on his canvas.

“Before becoming the prime minister, Mr Modi served as chief minister of Gujarat state for 12 years and performed very well. So I decided to make 12 paintings to mark his successful years as chief minister.”

Mr Saheb has showcased Modi paintings in India on several occasions and has received appreciation from all walks of life. Mother Blessings is the 13th painting in the series.

“I have not done the public presentation of this picture because I want to gift this personally to prime minister Modi. This is my dream, to express my love and gratitude to this great leader by gifting him this painting.”

Mr Saheb is awaiting a response from the embassy.