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Art

Harjinder Singh "Sidharth":
The Harbinger of Happiness

by NONIKA SINGH

 

 

 

One moment he appears to be the showman of the art world, delighting one and all with his wisecracks, mesmerising them with his artistic prowess, bowling them over with his large-hearted gestures. And the very next he turns into a bhikshu, the seeker en route an eternal quest.

Either way, Sidharth  - a.k.a. Harjinder Singh - the renowned artist whose journey is as fascinating as his art, is an exceptionally delightful man.

But then art for this versatile artist is not meant to dwell on the miseries and pains of life but to spread joy. So, even when he brings alive sombre concerns - the sad predicament of the "holy cow" at the hands of cow-worhipping Hindus -  the imagery is breathtaking and beatific.

So, what provoked the cow series? Well, actually it was a simple query of a foreign student who, after seeing cows on the road, enquired - whose cows are these - that set him thinking. As he pondered over the fact that Hindus - 80% of India - worship cows yet let them roam on the streets and eat garbage, images gushed forth in a torrent.

The same had happened earlier when he read Guru Nanak’s elucidation of seasons and created one image after another, 700 in all, of the "baraa(n)h maah" - 12 months. He quips, "No other civilization has such an interesting understanding of seasons as we do."

Of course, when he began painting seasons, capturing its beauty in myriad ways, he was dissuaded by friends who told him - Sidharth this is not a contemporary subject. Scoffs he, "What is happening today is contemporary, irrespective of whether I do it in an ancient style or modern."

So, to the students of his alma mater - Government College of Art, Chandigarh, Punjab - whose diamond jubilee celebrations brought him to City Beautiful, he advises, "What matters is not how experimental you are but whether you have a holistic approach to art. If you have, the new media will present itself of its own volition."

New media, anyway, he feels doesn’t make you contemporary. Neither does art with shock value, nor the one dripping with overt sentimentality? What’s wrong with being emotional?

"Nothing except it can lead one to unscientific reasoning."

So, in his next water series he is collaborating with a scientist. But, at the same time, he is also reminded of Guru Nanak and interprets one of the stories associated with him to arrive at a rational explanation of how the great Sikh Guru underlined the significance of water. Imagination and reality, world vision and his deep roots curling down to centuries of his understanding of Sikhism, Buddhism, co-exist in his works.

Has he who spent years with Lama Guru to master the art of Tankha converted to Buddhism? All he would say is, "I understood Buddhism through the eyes of Sikhism".

Born as Harjinder Singh into a family of Sikh kirtan singers, gurbani has certainly shaped his artistic process. "But my religion," he insists, "is art, I pray through my art." And his prayer has manifested by way of over 10,000 works. Many of which have already been exhibited at prestigious museums around the world, sold for staggering amounts at Sotheby’s and Christies. And a good 5,000 of his works will be displayed at a museum in Ghaziabad named after him.

So, how does it feel to be immortalised in one’s own lifetime? He smiles, "Certainly I like it." Yet he has also learnt to detach himself. Each time plaudits come his way he wonders - Who are they talking about?

Seriously, in this materialistic world, how difficult is it to be Sidharth, the man without a care, the one for whom silence is the key, as vital as reaching out?

He smiles, "It’s very easy."

So, while on the one hand he has no hesitation in burning cashew nuts to create charcoal, on the other hand, he is happy with his two pairs of trousers, for "I don’t want to waste resources." Dividing his earnings between taking care of his family, his material and colours that the alchemist in him produces himself, he also finds enough money to sponsor budding talent. And his paintings might sell for hundreds of thousands, for a cause he's willing to part with these for a paltry amount, as one of the richest artists in the country he will always remain poor "for my wish list is long."

As his dream in Dehradun, a sprawling studio where he can grow trees, wheat, make his own paper and even have a kiln, has already begun to take shape, he also goes around helping other realise theirs.

But then Sidharth, the crown prince of the art world, isn’t this or that. A painter, a singer, who sings Sammi and the poetry of Amarjit Singh Chandan, a filmmaker who has made over 15 films on Indian art and architecture - he is all of this. And much more, who may surface in the visual biography he is creating.

Any which way, he will remain the harbinger of happiness.

 

[Courtesy: Tribune. Edited for sikhchic.com]

October 30, 2011

 

 

Conversation about this article

1: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), October 30, 2011, 4:09 PM.

Wow! The Art is beautiful and the colours are 'dark', expressing the intensity of thought.

2: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), October 30, 2011, 6:56 PM.

This is a great article to encourage our children to get involved in art as soon as they can hold of a pencil or crayon (even as a hobby) because it has been shown that there is more tolerance, creativity and entrepeneurial skills in humans who like or participate in the Arts. Stressed mothers and fathers, please note!

3: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), October 30, 2011, 7:30 PM.

But for sikhchic.com, this jewel would have remained hidden for many of us. A lotus from Bassian indeed, a nondescript village near Jagraon. It was once again the mother who subliminally imparted those qualities with her milk, that made Harjinder Singh what he is today. His mother was a kirtania and also a hidden artist in her own right. She improvised the brushes by using cotton swabs around twigs. Reminds me of the famous sculptor known for exquisite statues of horses. When asked how he did that, his answer was simple. "I chip away what doesn't look like a horse". Harjinder Singh's paintings have a meditative quality - a certain quietude that probably comes when he spent some years in a monastery. But, more so he was born into a deeply religious family. The two Baara(n)h Maah's by Guru Nanak and Guru Arjan have no equal and are enough to lift any ordinary man to immeasurable heights and compelled Harjinder Singh to paint some 700 paintings.

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The Harbinger of Happiness"









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