The troubled genius: Snapshots of life with yusuf

Few people in the art world can recall Yusuf Arakkal without a smile. Growing up immersed in art and philosophy has lent itself to Shibu’s intellectual understanding of the world, but as he looks back, the moments of turmoil and confusion lend themselves to the artist within. The answers might not always be evident but as the famous portrait photographer, Yousuf Karsh once said, “If you can photograph people objectively, you can nearly portray their spirit.” With October 4 marking the artist’s second death anniversary, Shibu tells Darshana Ramdev about growing up as the son of Yusuf Arakkal and the self-described man of philosophy it has made him today. Even though my dad’s most important preoccupation and his deepest purpose was his art, outside of that, our most immediate concern was life itself and how to get by. Maybe it’s my upbringing or what I have learnt from my dad’s life, anyone who really wants to practice art has got to know how very difficult life is going to be.