Hajra Mansoor’s paintings remind you of the opening line of John Keats’ immortal poem Endymion — “A thing of beauty is a joy forever”. She appeared on the art scene towards the end of the 1960s and has in all these 45 years never ceased to fascinate lovers of oriental art.

The Bareilly born Mansoor was into music and dance and not into fine arts like her two elder sisters, Rabia and Fareeda, but fate had something no less exciting in store for her. When her parents migrated to Pakistan in 1961, this teenager moved to her uncle’s house in Lucknow. She was to study pre-medical subjects but since the art school from where she ultimately got a diploma was quite close to his house, she was enrolled there along with her sister Rabia Zuberi, who majored in sculpture, while Mansoor’s area of specialisation was painting.

As one who had excelled in drawing in school, she found the curriculum at the art school much to her liking. Her talents were honed and the rough edges, if any, were smoothened. Mansoor’s progress at the art school won her an all paid scholarship

The two sisters migrated to Pakistan on acquiring diplomas and found there was hardly an art school in the largest city of the country. They opened the Karachi School of Art and a young painter from what was then East Pakistan took over as the principal. The circumstances leading to Hajra’s marriage with Mansoor Rahi are too well known to be repeated. After the separation of the country’s eastern wing, Rahi opted to continue staying in Karachi.

Hajra Mansoor’s claim to fame is painting extremely feminine women with lovely curves

Disagreements between the two sisters resulted in Hajra and Rahi moving to what was then NWFP where they taught fine art at the University of Peshawar for 18 months. But it was the call of the mountains which could not be denied particularly by the husband, so the duo with their two kids finally settled down in Islamabad. Every Monday, if they are in the capital, the couple drive up the nearby hill stations early in the morning and are back home for dinner.

Hajra Mansoor, Photos by the writer

Their styles of painting are vastly different — he is a cubist, while she is an Orientalist. Both of them have fluent brushes. While his lines are straight and solid, hers can be described as ‘floating lines’. There are lovely curves and her figures are delicate.

Her women are extremely feminine. They are embellished with lovely jewellery such as curvy earrings and dainty bangles. Adding to the ornamentation of her frames are birds, butterflies, arches and flowers, to name some of the elements. When asked about the male figures that sometimes enter her frames, she says they are not strong and muscular. They are effeminate.

Hajra’s paintings remind you of Abdur Rahman Chughtai but she is no clone of the senior painter. “Chughtai Sahib’s paintings have had no textures, but look at my work; you can’t miss the modern texture that I decorate my images with.” When asked who else has inspired her, she doesn’t think twice before mentioning the 17th century proponent of Baroque style painter Peter Paul Rubens. “I have always been attracted by the movement, colour and sensuality in his works,” adds Hajra.

Her fascination for colour wash technique dates back to her days at the art school in Lucknow. Over the decades she has perfected it and shares her experiences with her students. Of late, she has started mixing acrylics with water colours and applying it on canvas instead of on paper. “As you can see for yourself, it offers the same kind of transparent effect,” she adds.

A winner of the Chughtai Award given by the National Council of Art in 1996, she was decorated with the Pride of Performance in 2009, a year after her husband won the coveted award.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, August 3rd, 2014