Divine Painter SOBHA SINGH Artist who painted the divine Dr. Kulwant Singh Khokhar 1 Divine Painter SOBHA SINGH Artist who painted the divine By Dr. Kulwant Singh Khokhar 12502 Nightingale Drive, Chester, Virginia, USA. © All rights reserved with the author And with S. Sobha Singh Art Gallery, Andretta, Himachal, India. No part of this book should be reproduced or translated in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or by recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author or publisher. First Edition: October 2001 Published By Mrs. Gurcharan Kaur and Mr. Hirdaypal Singh, S. Sobha Singh Art Gallery, V & P.O. Andretta – 176103, Via Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India. Printed By Punjab Today, 21 Dukhnivaran Sahib Market Patiala 147001, Punjab, India. Tel: 0175-360187 e-mail: [email protected] A tribute to the one hundredth birthday anniversary celebration of the distnguished artist S. Sobha Singh 29 November 2001 2 Acknowledgments I sincerely thank the following for their contribution to the making of this book - * Mrs. Baljinder Kaur Khokhar-Dr. M.S. Khokhar, for financing the printing of this book. * Mrs. Bhagwant K. Khokhar. She verified some of the incidences in the life of S. Sobha Singh, Artist. * Dr. J.K. Sidhu-Dr. B.S. Sidhu, Dr. A.K. Barot-Dr. G.C. Barot, Mrs. S.K. Khokhar-Mr. G.S. Khokhar, for their support to work on this project. * Dr. Gurcharan Singh, Prof: Sahib Singh Gurbani Trust, No.1 Dhillon Marg, Patiala, Punjab. He managed the keyboarding and editing of the Manuscript. His suggestions for printing the book were valuable. * Prof: Dharam Singh, Punjabi University, Patiala, went through the final draft and worked hard to provide the book its present form. * Mr. Kanwar Manjit Singh of Punjab Today, Patiala who took personal interest in the publication of the book and brought it out in an elegant get-up, in time to release it on the 100 th birth anniversary of the artist. * I am especially thankful to Mr. Ajit Singh Khokhar, St. Kuljit Singh, Mr. Massa Singh, Mr. Pritpal Singh, and Mr. Barinderpal S. Sokhi, for managing the distribution of this book. 3 This Book is affectionately dedicated to Mrs. Gurcharan Kaur, and her son Mr. Hirdaypal Singh for their love, devotion, dedication, and selfless service to revered Dar ji till his ultimate union with the Lord, and even afterwards. 4 Contents I. Heritage 20 II. Struggle 29 III. Artist In the Field 36 IV. Ramblings 49 V. The Artist 58 VI. Friends 63 VII. England 68 VIII. Art of the Master 73 IX. Popular Paintings 82 X. Honors 93 XI. After the Artist 96 5 Books By The Author Published by Atam Parkash Sangat, Cinema Road, Batala - 1. Hemkunt Darshan. 1981. Punjabi, Gurmukhi, Pages 28. A guide for the pilgrimage to Sri Hem-Kunt Sahib. Published by Ravi Parkashan, Hall Bazar, Amritsar - 2. Wahu Wahu. 1991. Punjabi, Gurmukhi. Pages 252. A spiritual treatise on the Naam-Jaap (Recitation of the Name of God). Published by the Academy of Guru Granth Studies, USA - 3. Parjat. 1993. Punjabi, Gurmukhi. Pages 103. Very selected quota- tions from Sri Guru Granth Sahib (The Holy Book of Sikhs). 4. Sagar-Nad. 1993. Punjabi, Gurmukhi. Pages 148. Selected quotations from the commonly recited Gurbani (Scriptures of the Sikhs) including Nitnem (Their routine Prayers) with meanings of the difficult words. 5. Jiwan Marag. 1995. Punjabi, Gurmukhi. Pages 128. Saintly life of S. Mela Singh Khokhar. 6. Mansrovar. 1995. Punjabi, Gurmukhi. Pages 385. About 8,000 quotations from Sri Guru Granth Sahib, grouped under appropriate headings. 7. Anhad Ki Dhun. 1995. Punjabi, Gurmukhi. Pages 80. A practical book for practicing the Naam-Jaap (Recitation of god’s Name). 8. The Morning Prayer. 2000. Gurmukhi-English, Transliteration of “Jappu ji Sahib” the morning prayer. Published by the Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, India - 9. Sobha Singh Artist. 1995, English, Pages 91. Biography of the eminent printer artist S.Sobha Singh. Published by Gurbani Iss Jagg Meh Chanan Parchar A-te Parsar Sanstha, Mohali – Second Edition, Anhad Ki Dhun. Gurmukhi-Punjabi, 1997, Pages 88, updated. 10. Way of the Saffron Cloud. English, 1998, and 2 nd edition June 2001. Quotations in Gurmukhi and roman. A practical book on the recitation of the Name of God. Published by Dr. B.S. Sidhu and Dr. J.K. Sidhu – 11. Nit-Nem – Daily Prayer: An Easy Translation. English, Roman, Gurmukhi, June 2001. Published by Mrs. Gurcharan Kaur and Mr. Hirdapal Sing, S. Sobha Singh Art Gallery, Andretta, via Palampur, H.P. - 12. Divine Artist Sobha Singh – Life and Reflections. English. October 2001. 6 Introduction Sobha Singh, was a Sikh painter-artist, and he achieved perfection in his avocation. His admirers and others addressed him as Dar ji – Dear Sir. He was 180 cm tall, fair colored with sharp features, slim and handsome. He had delicate build with a few faint pockmarks on his face. He wore soft and natural colored long shirt and pajama, wrapped him in a delicate woolen shawl, and carried a black portfolio in his hand. He used light, golden specs. His left leg was short and wore wooden sandals with its high left foot. He was graceful, supported flowing beard, mustaches, and kept his gray hair brushed back. He limped in his left leg and walked with long strides. He had long soft hands, which he could clap on the back of his wrist. He was soft- spoken, humble, and full of wit cum wisdom. His talks left the listeners spell bound! He used a long stick across the painting to support his hand. He would sit at his easel for eight to twelve hours, even when in his eighties. He was an early riser, and used to read the philosophical works early in the morning. Krishnamurthi, Emerson, Thoreou and Whitman were his favorite authors. Later, he started liking Khalil Gibran (Kahlil Gibran), too. He loved solitude, and felt in complete harmony with the nature. He was a strict vegetarian, and very selective eater. He liked light foods with a very little condiments, and was fond of sweets, fruits, and coffee. He was born at Sri Hargobindpur in Punjab, but after moving to different places, settled down at Andretta, near Palampur in Himachal Pradesh. It was a small village and a calm, peaceful place, with snow covered Dhauladhar mountains in the background. He considered Himachal his home and his spent life here. His philosophy was simple living, high thinking and a life of virtues. He maintained, “Living on one's genius and keep growing constantly, without allowing stagnation to come one's way, was the essence of real life.” He believed that an artist should be a man of a very high character. He kept making alterations in the back and front yards, and in the house itself, and rearranged things in the rooms and gallery to escape stagnation. Everything in his room - walls of the room, upholstery, curtains, carpets, his bedding and even his clothes had subdued hues so that the paintings there were not suppressed. He was fond of light golden yellow color, loved cleanliness, and tidiness. 7 Semicircular verandah of his house faced the east and gave a broad view of the horizon. It had paintings hanging on its walls. There was a big cage with parakeets – mini parrots, and sparrows, making commotion especially early in the morning and at sunset. He came out in the morning, sat here and enjoyed the dawn. His famous paintings were and are Guru Nanak (Blessing with a raised hand), Guru Gobind Singh (Last-Resort) and Guru Tegh Bahadur. His painting of Sohni-Mahiwal brought him an instant fame. He was a member of different art academies, art societies and art associations. He was a Fellow of the Punjabi University, Patiala, and the State Artist of Punjab. He was declared Artist of the People in 1972, and was awarded Padam Shri by the Government of India in 1984. The Punjabi University conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Literature (honoris causa) in 1985. He was a widely traveled person. The exhibition of his paintings had been held in many leading towns of India and in England. Apart from India, his paintings became popular in America, England, Canada, Australia and other leading countries. His paintings decorate the Parliament House, Delhi; Governor's House at Chandigarh; Punjabi University, Patiala; Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar; Municipal Hall, Amritsar; Sikh Art Museum, Amritsar; Amar Mahal Museum, Jammu; and the Fine Arts Museum, Chandigarh. His many paintings are in the possession of several individuals and institutions like Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar; Dr. Karam Singh Grewal, Amritsar etc. Maharaja Karan Singh had a special room for his paintings. His one panel was in the Parliament House, New Delhi. Sardar Sobha Singh was a renowned realistic Painter. His paintings were anatomically true and reflected personality of the subject. All his life he painted the Gurus, avtars , prophets and saints. Because of this, he came to be known as a “Divine Artist,” a rishi – saint, who through his paintings tried to call back the lost man to find his center. This book is my humble offering to the great teacher Sobha Singh, who enriched my life with his wisdom. Kulwant Singh Khokhar. 28 Sept: 2001, Friday. 8 Preface "I introduce you to a wonderful man," said Dr. Karam Singh Grewal, as he brought Sardar Sobha Singh to my house at Batala, in 1972. His warmth, wisdom and saintly personality impressed me immensely. Later, I went to see him with my family, the same year. He had returned from England.