Sobha Singh- Painter of The Divine (An Old and Rare Book)

Sardar Sobha Singh dedicated his whole life to the pursuit of Art. Taking up painting in his early youth without the guidance of any master, the painter in Sobha Singh found inspiration and guidance from within. His inner urge found purposeful expression in his drawings and colours. He did painting to convey ideas and mystic experience. S. Sobha Singh's range covers nature, landscape, love- legends, and portraits of prophets, saints and national heroes for which he is greatly respected. They show him at his best and convey his sensibility extremely well. They reveal a distinct style and mood. They are tender, expressive and intensely humane. That is why his paintings of the Sikh Gurus are highly valued and cherished as a great treasure. Besides, there are other paintings to his credit which mark him out as an artist of great skill and imagination. It is in the fitness of things that the Universities of the Punjab should honour an artist for his calibre and fame. It gives me intense pleasure to place this book before the reading public by way of tribute, though it falls short of doing full justice to his great talent and immortal contribution to the Punjab Art.

Sobha Singh-the celebrated Sikh artist of our times was beyond doubt the product of renaissance that the land of Punjab witnessed in the early part of this century. He struggled his way to glory as an artist despite the inhospitable milieu. The artist in Sobha Singh was itching to come out; when he found time to study books on European painting. But the real opportunity came later when he had to paint for making a living. The inspiration for creative painting came to him when he watched the Sikh Satyagrahis of Guru-Ka-Bagh Morcha with untainted religious fervour and determination, marching only to receive worst beating at the hands of British police officials.

In fact, the dedication of those involved in the Gurudwara Reform Movement made Sobha Singh look to the source of their inspiration. Thus the Sikh Gurus became the principal theme of his paintings. The Sikh painting is chiefly known as an art of portraiture and Sobha Singh stands out as modern representative of this art. He tried to delve deep into the teachings of the Sikh Gurus in an attempt to catch the real image of the Gurus. The various paintings of the Gurus done by Sobha Singh tend to reflect how he yearned to have a vision of the Gurus so that he could reproduce it on the canvas. His concern for the divine did not take him away from the beauty that inspires the artist. He also painted the famous love legends of Punjab. Sohni-Mahival brought him recognition and money. "Sassi in search of Punnu in the desert" is another painting for which Sobha Singh became famous. Sobha Singh had known a Punjabi lass in the village and the city. He admired her beauty, strength, doggedness and of course modesty. He was one of those few painters who could catch the real beauty of the Punjabi woman at home and as beloved.

For the first time, from within the pages of one single book covering topics of wide-ranging interest, emerge the considered thought and works of Sardar Sobha Singh who over the last half a century had enjoyed the status of the most popular artist of the Punjab. The need to honour such an eminent painter of the Punjab has been felt by the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar for quite a long time. We have been working on the project for more than a decade. A scheme for publishing a 'Souvenir' in honour of Sardar Sobha Singh Artist was chalked out by the Department of Guru Nanak Studies in 1974 and a number of articles were invited for this purpose from eminent scholars on various aspects of the personality and works of Sardar Sobha Singh. Later on a few more articles on the life, philosophy and approach of Sobha Singh towards art were invited. The material collected was waiting for publication for a long time. We feel happy that with inspiration flowing from the present authorities of the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, we have been able to make this valuable collection available to the scholars and readers interested in the life and art of Sardar Sobha Singh well in time after the sad demise of the Artist recently.

This book is designed as a concise introduction to the life and works of Sardar Sobha Singh. My intent has been to present and illustrate his multi- faceted personality and the vast panorama of his aesthetic sensibility.

I seek first and foremost to help the readers to understand the perspective from which friends, admirers, scholars and art critics have viewed the artist. The thrust of this volume consists of the first-hand information on the life and works of Sardar Sobha Singh Artist.

**Contents and Sample Pages**