PUNJAB – THE HOME OF ART AND
LITERATURE
by Shamsher Singh
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| Author | |
Punjab throughout the past ages, has been subjected
to frequent aggressions and invasions. But during the short spells of peace and
tranquility, the people of this region had the rare acumen of celebrating life
in those brief transitory intervals of peace, giving rise to great creations in
the domains of art and literature. Thus we find that the hands that lifted the
sword when freedom was threatened took up the trowel, the brush, the chisel and
the pen to create great treasures of architecture , art and literature, in an
amazingly opposite swing of the same energy.
In this article Shamsher Singh (Artist
Phullan Rani’s husband), who is (was) a
connoisseur and critic of art himself, and has written a number of books and
brochures on it, traces the history of art in Punjab from the earliest to the modern times. [Ie
strikes a hopeful note that Punjab is
again getting ripe and ready to take a leap to scale the summits reached by it
in the past.
(It is a machine typing ; e &om
e)
The land of Punjab is very ancient indeed. The fact of its being
watered by five perennial rivers and its possessing a salubrious climate, has
made it a rich and fertile land, plentiful in life’s elementary necessities.
Therefore, it also looked very inviting to the hungry eye of the foreign
marauders who entered its sacred precincts in order either to make it their
permanent home or to ransack its natural wealth. Besides its natural wealth
which satisfied physical needs, it had superabundance of scenic beauty which
especially on its northern side with its lofty Himalayan ranges crowned with
eternal snows, its immaculately blue horizons, its verdurous valleys resounding
with enchanting streams, verged on the sublime. Such boundless wealth of beauty
could transport even the most prosaic nature to the heights of lyrical ecstasy.
Both these things material plenty
and scenic wealth have, therefore, conspired together to biing out the best
from whosoever came into contact with it for a longer durqtion or shorter
period of stay. History bears it out that it has always been in the region of
surplus wealth that man has sought an outlet for his genius in works of art, as
the poet Rabindranath says, " The idea of art has its origin in the 'superfluous'
i.e. when a person transcends the bounds of his immediate necessity, then alone
can he turn his attention to that pure enjoyment out of which all art is
born".
Though the stupendous mountain
chains in the north west of lndia, fostered a distinct type of civilization and
culture, yet they never sufficed to shelter the sunny climes of Northern India from
the inroads of ambitious monarchs or the wandering nomads. These invaders, one
after the other stormed through the narrow defiles that pierce through the
great rocky barriers that led into the plains of the interiors from the third
millennium B.C. When the Dravidian civilization flourished in the North West of
lndia, Aryans, Persians, Macedonians, Bactrians, Greeks, Scythians, Parthians
and Kaushans, and lately Afghans and Mughals came in waves (with the exception
of Macedonians whose conquest was only of a transitory character) and each one
of them in turn left some indelible impression upon the art and culture,
particularly this part of the country.
The archeological excavations
carried out in Mohanjodaro in the Larkana Distt. (Sindh) and Harappa in Montgomery
Distt. of Punjab (both now in Pakistan) show
that a highly civilized society flourished here and the art of architecture had
reached a high degree of perfection. The superb relief figures of animals carried
out on the seals, a few hundred of which have been discovered, exhibit a high
degree of originality and excellence. The stone images at Harappa recall the
perfect finish of the Greek statues and bear testimony to the great development
in the sculpture art of even those in ancient times.
The lndo-Aryans, who later drove out
the Dravidians, gave vent to their ,lyrical rhapsodies as a result of the deep
impact of the majestic beauty of Punjab , in the form of hymns known as 'Rick
Samhita' written in praise of various gods. Here again they wrote the Vedas,
which as literature, have been unexcelled in their simplicity of diction,
sublimity of thought and lyrical intensity. Architecture, too, made a
considerable advance. There are references to mansions supported ?y a thousand columns
and provided with a thousand doors. Mention has also been made of stone castles
and structures with a hundred walls. The Mahabharat and the Ramayana, the famous
lndian epics, according to indisputable historical evidence have had their
birth in the great land of Punjab . Tradition further affirms that the
Mahabharat was first recited in the city of Taxila.
The excavations at Taxila, in Northern
lndia, show mixed Persian and Greek influences on art. The fusion of Persian
and Hellenistic idea took place in Bactria and the hybrid art thus evolved was
introduced into India and manifested itself chiefly in the coinage and sculptures
of the period. The wedding of the Hellenistic and the indigenous art brought about
the existence of the Gandhara School of Art in the North West. lt is generally
regarded as the source of all subsequent development of art in India and spread
through the Chinese Turkistan to the far East and influenced even the art of
China and Japan, India particularly found in the formative arts, introduced ?y
the Gandhara School of Art, a valuable medium through which to narrate in simple,
universal language, the legends and history of her faith. There were beautiful
temples and monasteries and the famous Tower of Kanishka at Purushpur (Peshawar)
was one of the wonders of Asia. But all these have perished without leaving a?y
trace behind.
All this proves beyond dispute
that all through the ancient times, even before history came to record its array
of events, Northern India had been the home of many a virile race coming from beyond
lndia's North Western frontiers and which contributed its best in the form of
literature, sculpture and paintings to its rich heritage. From here, through
the course of centuries, the fragrance of culture, enriched by time, spread far
and wide into the interiors of India and finally became an integral part of her
varied life.
From the 11th century A.D. onwards
it was the peculiar misfortune of the North West of India, particularly Punjab that it was subjected to the violent
onslaughts of the barbaric hordes who, unlike their ancient predecessors,
believed in the cult of fire and sword and annihilated everything of artistic
value here, dubbing it all as heathenish idolatry.
This period of spiritual darkness
was partially relieved with the advent of the Mughals on the scene when, under
the benign patronage of a few of its enlightened rulers like Akbar and
Shahjahan literature, architecture and painting flowered once again into
renewed beauty and charm.
It was Northern India again, especially
Punjab and Kashmir, that got the best of
it. We hqve Shalimar Garden both in Kashmir and Lahore, and Jama Masjid in the
latter ci?y as the best specimens of Mughal architecture. The poetry of Guru Nanak,
Guru Ramdas, Guru Arjun Dev and other Sikh Gurus which came into being in those
very days, is a spring of perennial charm which had its ennobling effect on the
life, manners and literature of the people all over lndia. ln the domain of
painting, the Kangra School of Art, uncorrupted by any exotic influence, owing
especially to the peculiar nature and situation of that part of the country
remained away from the path of the invaders and throve in un-tarnised glory.
None can deny its strong individuality and growing influence on the present day
art trends in the country. !t has been widely recognised that the people of Punjab
are, by nature, individualistic,
hardworking and colourful. They are born and bred in art. Therefore all their
art activities, manifold as these are, diverted into these channels. Draring
the Sikh rule, which only for a brief space of time knew peace and security,
art flowered into a thing of noble beauty. Under the patronage of the great
Sikh monarch Maharaja Ranjit Singh, it saw many a magnificent structure rise to
a true splendour. The Golden Temple at Amritsar, which was begun by Guru
Ramdas, was completed by the Maharaja. lt is the finest specimen of Sikh
architecture which blends in rhythmic balance the gardens of the Mughal
architectural art with the typical grace of the Hindu Art. The summer palace of
' Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Rambagh situated at some distance away from the
Golden Temple and built for the ladies of the Maharaja's harem to enable its
members to visit the Temple in strict privacy, is a beautiful architectural
work, which elicits the admiration of all art lovers.
Even under the British rule,
the
United Punjab
made rapid advances in cultural fields in
spite of obvious handicaps. The excavations of ancient towns mentioned above
revealed to the astonished world the rich heritage of the Punjab is. There was
a sort of renaissance generated by these great ancient works belonging to the
glorious past. This has also roused the dormant art instinct of the heroic and
versatile people. Soon at Lahore an art gallery came into existence, which
sought to preserve the highest efforts of the Punjab i artists, both past and
present, belonging to various fields.
But unfortunately the division of
the Country in 1947, made everything topsy turvy, and most of the art treasures
were left behind in Pakistan. The Punjab on this side of India was deprived of a rich
collection.
After the partition of Punjab ,
on account of a sudden upsurge of feeling of art among the intelligentsia of
society, the subject of Fine Arts was introduced in the educational curricula
in schools as well as in colleges and also many separate Art Colleges,
sponsored by the Government sprang up.
Art received further stimulus
during the brilliant Chief Ministership of late Giani Zail Singh. A two year
art and craft diploma was introduced in some of the leading schools of Punjab which turned out scores of brilliant art
teachers who were absorbed later in various recognised educational institutions
here. This received further impetus for learning Fine Arts among the students.
lt has also been incorporated as a special
subject at college level up to the Master's Degree. Since recent years various
art studios have cropped up in several cities of Punjab which the art loving students join to study
and learn the beauty and introduction of a number of art media.
Further more art competitions are
organised by various organisations all over the state and the brilliant
competitors among the students are awarded prizes. This has given further fillip
and encouragement to the growing trend of the popularity of art among the
student community.
The Universities and Colleges in Punjab
and other public places like the
Municipal Corporations and the Govt. offices also encourage art by acquiring
the paintings of the well known artists..
Now there is also a full fledged
Art College at Chandigarh which students eagerly join to avail themselves of
the posts of Art Lecturers in various colleges in Punjab .
Thus there is widespread revival
of interest in various arts and the day may not be far off when this state
would again achieve those pinnacles which it had reached in the past.
