Younger by the Year.

(From Indian Express)

GROW younger, live longer! Interested? Read on, because today's column is a salute to an 88-year-young gentleman. Enter M F Husain saab. (Sorry! Did I say 'enter'? I take that back, this world-famous artist doesn't enter, he zips in.) And he's been like this ever since I did my first detailed article on him, 15 years ago. I interviewed him (alongwith J R D Tata, Dev Anand, Russi Karanjia, Ramma Bans) to figure out precisely how these powerhouses get their energy. Since then, I have observed him socialising in the brownstones of Upper Manhattan, striding from Grand Central to Soho without a break, directing Madhuri on the sets of Gajagamini with passion and vision. There was one thing common in every encounter: I had a real problem keeping pace with him. What's his secret? Here is the gist of all I've gathered over the years. ''It's all in the mind,'' mumbles Husain, genuinely surprised at being asked a question with such an obvious answer. ''The mind is extremely powerful, you must have a zest for life, a passion to do something. If you are involved in something you love, your body chemistry will respond and keep you well.'' In Husain's case, it is his ...