The creator of bewitching portraits

By Joginder Singh Bedi

Born on November 29, 1901, artist Sobha Singh holds a prominent place in the history of Indian art, mainly because the paintings done by him on various themes of human life are realistic, pragmatic and bewitching. His colourful portraits of the Sikh Gurus — Guru Nanak Dev, Guru Hargobind, Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh — are not only unique but also poles apart from those of other artists. They are not frigid and expressionless, as Sobha Singh always projected the stark reality. He enlarged ideas and broke through the narrow framework and rigid limits.

His technique of painting was direct and simple. The characteristic feature of the technique adopted by him was the exclusive use of transparent water soluble colours, which is a demanding task as it requires fast execution. Unlike other techniques, it permits mixing of colours on the work itself.

Sobha Singh’s paintings are much more popular today than they were during his lifetime. The coloured portraits of Guru Nanak Dev are the master works of this artist. These are held in reverence by the people of all faiths the world over. Likewise, his paintings of Sohni-Mahiwal, Omar Khayyam, the Gaddan and the bride of Kangra are marvellous works of art, unparalleled in the field of painting.

A woman writer once said Sobha Singh was the pride of the Himalayas. A journalist described him as the painter of love. In the view of a poetess, Sobha Singh was a nonchalant radiant yogi who had descended from the galaxies, and was living in the world of colours. A poet eulogised him as a great artist who was the glory of Andretta town.

My first meeting with this king of cognac-coloured contours took place in Delhi, where he was holding an exhibition. The portraits were hanging on the walls. Visitors were eager to unlock the voice of the mute portraits.

A lady asked her escort: "Who is that damsel standing before us?" The man replied: "A female snake-charmer is trying to subdue another female snake-charmer". The caption of the portrait read: The snake-charmer.

A newly-wedded couple was peeping into the eyes of the female serpent. The man said: "She is a female snake-charmer. I am a male snake-charmer!" The woman replied: "She is a female serpent, I am a lucky woman." And she pressed the hand of her husband and started reciting a love poem. He in turn recited a compassionate intonation. She completed the remaining part of the couplet.

In the meantime, artist Sobha Singh, in a white saintly dress came and stood behind the woman. The couple asked him, "Father, what is the meaning of this portrait?" The artist remarked: "A lustrous female serpent gulping the world". The couple asked him to elaborate. Sobha Singh said, "My children, there is a profound sermon in the Vishnu Purana. Once the demons overpowered the gods by the powers of yoga. Vishnu sent Mayamoh and advised the gods not to use weapons against their enemies. The newly formed army of gods tried to stop the demons by holding yagyas. The demons’ powers declined and the gods overpowered them. Mayamoh weakens man and woman and it should be avoided. Those who are entrapped in Mayamoh are always defeated in battle. Those who do not bother for Maya always emerge victorious."

One of Sobha Singh’s greatest works is Kalki. Who was Kalki? He replied, "There is a prediction in the Vishnu Purana that in the age of darkness, Kalki will be born in the house of a Brahmin named Vishnu Yash. He will ride a white horse; his sword will entail flames of fire and he will kill the evil-doers."

Some Muslims were standing beside another painting. One of them said, "Well done, Sardar Sahib. At last you have approached the resting place of Ghalib in search of your subject". Sobha Singh answered, "I love prophets and saints. I feel happy in the company of poets. Wherever I meet a branch of rose and a feather of ruddy goose, I embrace it. The litterateurs experience ideas with words and letters. We painters do the same with colours, brush and canvas. All the world is a masjid where we see the miracle of the providence and get a new experience."

Sobha Singh’s works displayed dissension, antagonism and metamorphism. Human orientation and Shiv-Shakti embrace each other in space, love dissolves into features and lightning glitters through the darkness of clouds. In natural light, the painter’s heart blossoms like a flower.

During my visit to Andretta after the exhibition, Sobha Singh asked me, "Which of the portraits of Guru Nanak do you think looks like the real portrait of the creator of your lineage?" I took time to answer, "I see Baba Nanak in all your portraits." "Yes", he said, "God is omnipresent. Dhanna Bhagat found Him in a stone. A lot of examples are there in Indian history which convey that God dwells among pious beings."

Long ago, some critics of art raised a question: What contents should be depicted in the Godly portrait of Guru Nanak? They advocated that the Guru had undergone lone, painful journeys and as Sobha Singh’s portraits did not depict them, they could not be termed Godly. Bhai Gurdas has mentioned the long journeys of Guru Nanak Dev and the Guru himself had given an account of the journeys in his writings.

Despite this historical drawback, Sobha Singh’s portraits of Guru Nanak Dev have been widely admired. In fact, Sobha Singh felt an inner urge to paint Guru Nanak Dev with utmost dedication and devotion, as in his view, "the Guru was a pathfinder who stood for universal humanitarianism.

In this world of mortals, Sobha Singh was living at a place that formed a confluence of lines of truth and solemnity. His thoughts were steady and remained unshaken. The elixir of life shone in his eyes. From what I gathered of Sobha Singh from the Delhi exhibition, I was fully convinced that he was really a nebulously solemn, magnanimous personality.

Sobha Singh is now no longer with us. The mute flowers in the ashram of Sobha Singh will never see their lover again, for, he has ascended the heavens. Today, we have Sohni and Speran with us — but not their creator. One day, Sohni and Speran will also get dissolved into eternity. The canvas is there, colours are there, and the brush pines for the hands of the artist, but the painter is no more. Painters become flowers or stars after death.

It’s an obsession with Indians

By Anjum Sayed

ANY visitor to the subcontinent is bound to be amazed at the obsessive hold gold commands over Indians in general. Not only is India its largest consumer, but according to the World Gold Council, the nation is also the fastest growing market for the precious metal.

Unlike westerners, who invest largely in stocks and landed property, an Indian would spend on gold as this is one way of getting Goddess Lakshmi, the provider of happiness and prosperity in the house. In trying times, it is this goddess who comes to the rescue of the family.

In jewellery, 24 carat gold is most preferred for necklaces, nose rings, earrings (four to seven pieces can be worn on the ear alone), hair clips, waist bands and toe rings. Religious texts prescribed a definite gold ornament for every part of the female body.

However, it was not till the Mughal rule that jewellery design, as an art form, developed. Gold ornaments for the hands and feet were highly evolved and ornate, as these were the only parts of the body exposed out of the burqa.

The Mughals were also known to employ foreign goldsmiths and borrow international designs. In fact, whatever documentation exists on Indian gold jewellery designs, can be dated back to the beginning of the Mughal dynasty in the 15th century.

The cultural roots can be traced back still further to 1500 BC when Shatapatha Brahmana was compiled. According to this treatise, gold is supposed to be the seed of Agni, the god of fire. He is said to have quenched his lust in water and the "seeds of desire turned brilliant gold"!

The Dharmashastra, another ancient scripture, offers a different explanation: "The universe was enveloped in darkness. The lord (Brahma) desirous of producing various creatures from his body, first created the waters and in them deposited a seed." This seed became a golden egg resplendent of the sun, in which he himself was born. Since Lord Brahma, a creator of the universe is also known as Hiranyagarbha, gold is often referred to as hiranya — the imperishable.

Immunity of gold towards rust prompted ancient druids to believe that it had the property to cure diseases. Charaka’s medical treatise, dating to the first few years of this century, mentions the therapeutic uses of gold.

The jawahar mohra of unani medicine uses gold as one of the components in formulations to extend longevity. So does thanga baspam in Tibetan medicine, which is supposed to act as an aphrodisiac. Thanga rekha is a fine gold thread served with betel leaf after a sumptuous dinner.

As a natural extension, certain magical properties have been associated with the metal. Gold earrings are supposed to improve eyesight while those suffering from mumps are prescribed gold chains! In fact, the ailment is called ponnuku vingi, or swelling caused by lack of gold.

According to the ayurvedic stream of medicine, the body has many chakras or nodal points. The heart chakra is said to be golden yellow — the colour being "an inspiration to divine thoughts".

Significantly, the golden hue had become an obsession with Shiva, who is said to have chided Parvati for her dark skin. So offended was the latter that she prayed to Lord Brahma who granted her the boon of being reborn as Gauri — the woman with a golden skin!

But then, it is not the Hindus who extol gold. Islam describes the fifth heaven to be made of gold. The Buddha and Jain tirthankaras are often portrayed in gold, and ceremonial objects are carved of the same metal. Astrologically, Jupiter represents gold.

The value of the yellow metal was recognised in the 3rd century when Kautilya laid down several rules in his Arthashastra for goldsmiths to observe in the interests of safe custody and prevention of wastage.

By the 5th century, ornaments were exquisitely fashioned and Kalidasa, the famous Sanskrit poet, described when and how each ornament should be worn. Supporting evidence can be found in the temple sculptures of the time.

Since the metal has all along been associated with divinity, the centres of brocade weaving have been located near temple towns like Kancheepuram in the South and Banaras in the North. The art was so perfected that gold weaves were used to adorn deities.

If weaving was one way of wearing gold, zardosi was another. This form of gold-thread embroidery was introduced by the Mughals and today, is considered a unique selling point for the fashion industry in India. (MF)