Mushy and Bushy

Remember your pol sci and development classes? Mushy bhai and Bushy bhai yaad hain? How we used to get mad at them (or not)! Along with BB Jee, Sharif bhai and Zulfi Jee?


I came across this fantastic artist last week. She goes by the name of Lapata. An insightful painter who took a detour into a PhD of South Asian Literature between 1992-2006. And now she paints the beings that terrorize our beloved nation.

She has a whole series of Pakistani Leaders/Presidents from Independence to today. I love, love, love her unusual use of color and unique point of view. Most of us of the native land are so consumed by anger and frustration of the past and current political mayhem - that we forget that Pakistani political narrative stumbles into the realm of 'hysterical realism'. That's the tragic-comedic brethern of the more surreal 'magical realism' technique that Rushdie is known for.

Lapata now resides in the States. She and I recently had a converstaion where I requested permission to use some of her painting (images) for a social group I run in Chicago. I further suggested portraits of Imran Khan. A portrait of Mush and Bush together is also a missing gem.

Lapata's paintings go by around 300 dollars each for a very nice sized portrait of your beloved/despised dictator/martyr/scoundrel/zamindar.