In an emotional and understated gathering, friends and immediate family of M.F. Husain gathered in South London to pay last respects to the artist who has been the face of contemporary Indian art for generations.

His four sons and two daughters sat around the simple, open wooden casket, gently chanting for over an hour as people kept arriving, many breaking down at the sight of the artist's mortal remains. The small room was packed as visitors sat silently, remembering the life of a man who had touched them in one way or other.

The gathering took place in a simple white-walled room at the Idara e Jaaferiava, a Shia mosque in the London borough of Tooting. Among those who attended were businessman Suhel Seth, artist Sunita Kumar, former tennis star Naresh Kumar, Munna Javeri, Shobha De, Shahnaz Husain, and Sir Gulam Noon.

Private prayers for immediate family followed. Husain is to be buried at the Brookwood cemetery in Surrey in keeping with his wishes to be buried in the country he died.