Abu Dhabi: A Dubai-based Indian painter who gifted Prime Minister Narendra Modi a series of paintings during his recent visit here has begun painting a new series to honour the martyrs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Yemen conflict.
In his latest work titled “A Tribute to the Brave Soldiers”, professional illustrator Akbar Saheb painted a helmet of a soldier atop a rifle, next to a UAE flag in a landscape scarred by war, Khaleej Times reported on Thursday.
“When I heard 45 soldiers were killed and there was a mourning period, I thought that I must show respect to them,” Saheb was quoted as saying.
“At first I wanted to paint each of the 45 faces, but I have been unable to find enough information about each of them,” added the 50-year-old artist who hails from Karnataka.
Saheb has been living in the country for 21 years now and said he feels that the UAE is his home.
“Many years ago, I came here alone. Now my family is here. My children have grown up here,” he said, adding “The UAE is my home. Whatever I do here, I do it for this country.”
“I have already done 38 paintings of Sheikh Zayed — the principal driving force behind the formation of the UAE. For 2020 I would have done a 10 feet by 6 feet gigantic painting of Shaikh Mohammed — the vice president and Prime Minister of the UAE,” he said.