M. F. Husain in Karachi

As a novice sketcher and an Indian cricket fan (finally! something to be happy about!), I was interested to see this little article in the Hindu this morning - from Reuters:

Strokes of another kind



KARACHI: Well-known artist M.F. Husain sat on the boundary line seeking to capture the moments in a cricket match that could symbolise peace between India and Pakistan.
Mr. Husain spoke of the joy of sport as he watched a raucous Karachi crowd cheer almost every ball in the final match in India's tour of Pakistan on Sunday.
"Looking at the way people are involved in the game, it is a soul searching and moving experience for me. I see cricket as a unifying force between the people of countries," the 91-year-old artist, surrounded by his canvases, colours and brushes in Karachi's National Stadium, said.
"It has played a big role in pushing the peace process forward and allowing people to interact with each other," Mr. Husain said.
Dressed in a black sleeveless tunic with a Nehru collar over a cream shirt, he showed a couple of works-in-progress - one of India and Pakistan's captains shaking hands under a single flag held aloft by a woman, and another of a fielder chasing a ball.
He said the appeal of cricket, a game spread round the world by Britain's 19th Century Empire builders, had grown in the last decade.
"I don't think the English when they invented the game of cricket, could have imagined just what an important role it would go on to play in building bridges between countries in the 21st century," he said.
"I also attended the World Cup final in Lahore in 1996. But this is something different: I feel cricket today, like the Olympics, is great unifier of people of different countries." - Reuters