Art
Her Father's Daughter: The Resurrection of Naresh Singh
by PARUL BAJAJ
It’s an ‘exposure’ that Nirmala Singh has been framing in her mind for years now.
On the evening of Sunday, November 27, 2011, as the 37-year-old presented a slide show of her father Naresh Singh’s photographs at Studio 40 in Chandigarh, Punjab - an eclectic space for people who share the passion for art, films and music - she says she moved closer to her dream.
“I always wanted papa’s works to get a wider audience in India and this slide show in Chandigarh is an effort in that direction,” she says.
Born in Karnal, Naresh Singh moved to Paris in the late ’60s with wife Marianne (Nirmala’s mother), and lived in Paris until his death in 2003.
A full-time photographer, Naresh Singh’s main subject of work was the nude, and his bold compositions that looked like paintings were a fine blend of art with technique.
“These works have been produced over a period of 20 years. Without using photoshop or any such techniques, he created a genre of photography that was ahead of its time,” says Nirmala, who moved back from Paris to Delhi five years ago, and is now working as an agent for European boutique fashion brands.
It was through the camera, quips Nirmala, that she and her father formed the strongest bond. As Naresh and his wife divorced, Nirmala was in touch with her father via letters. “He would post two snapshots of his latest works along with each letter, and later when we would meet, we would discuss every detail pertaining to that photograph. That’s where my love for photography stems from,” she says.
Collecting every image that was sent to her, Nirmala is now scanning his works and selecting them for the exhibitions she plans to organize in Punjab and India, as well as in Paris. Alongside, she is reading Naresh Singh’s journals to be put together in the form of a coffee table book.
“His words and works makes me understand his multi-layered personality - that of a father, a man and an artist,” she says.
“As a keen photographer myself, I know what a struggle it is to be a full-time artist, and how fulfilling it is to share your art with the world,” she adds, hoping to take the legacy forward.
[Courtesy: Indian Express]
Decmber 5, 2011
Conversation about this article
1: T. Sher Singh (Mount Forest, Ontario, Canada), December 05, 2011, 10:01 AM.
A quarter of a century ago, when we started what became The Centennial Foundation in Toronto, Canada, Naresh was one of our main-stays. In preparation for our first 3-day-long event, he flew over from Paris and traveled across Canada photographing Sikh-Canadians coast-to-coast for the grand, multi-screen slide show which opened the event labeled "Sikh-Canadians: The Promise & The Challenge". Those photographs and slide-show were shortly thereafter turned into two videos which became best-sellers and went through several editions. Not long thereafter, Naresh then embarked on a project for me by flying to India and photographing frescoes and other historic art work which were fast disappearing from our gurdwaras and historic buildings. Early on, Naresh became a close friend, and despite the friendship, I quickly grew to admire him as one of the most extraordinary men I had met in my life. "Here was a man ... when comes such another?"
2: Tarunjit Singh Butalia (Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A.), December 07, 2011, 1:09 PM.
Naresh Singh was my dad's step cousin brother. A man of passion and creativity. I met him in Paris several years ago. He passed away soon thereafter.
3: Randip Bakshi (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), December 07, 2011, 3:32 PM.
Naresh Mama ji wasn't born in Karnal but in Gujranawala, in pre-Partition Punjab. I have some of the photographs on the gurdwaras that he took but am more familiar with his other work.
4: Randip Bakshi (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), December 07, 2011, 9:47 PM.
I checked with both my mother and grandmother. Mama ji was born in Amritsar, not Karnal or Gujranwala. My apologies for the misinformation but as a graduate student I am well aware of supporting my facts. Plus, there's a whole lot of information on the internet that is far from the truth. [EDITOR: Not to worry. A sure sign of greatness is when people put forth several versions of one's life - not just opinions, but facts as well!]
5: Bhai Harbans Lal (Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.), December 10, 2011, 9:50 PM.
My wife Amrita and I had a very pleasant experience of enjoying an overnight stay with Naresh at his Paris condo in 1974, if I remember the year correctly. The midnight oil kept burning when he continued to narrate his very unusual way of presenting Sikh architecture. He explained as to how he stretched every original picture into a new shape and a new imagination. It attracted Western attention towards the Sikh contributions. We were introduced to Naresh ji by our dear friend, late Dr. Sunder Singh Saluja, a great Sikh practitioner who taught at the University of South Dakota. He told us that Naresh was related to him.
6: Christy Gavitt (Fairfax, Virginia, USA), June 01, 2014, 11:42 AM.
Dear Nirmala - I would love to hear from you at cgavitt@cox.net. Can you give me the update on the coffee table book you are putting together based on your father's diaries and photos?
7: Anette Gullberg (Amsterdam / Stockholm), March 11, 2015, 3:24 PM.
I'm the Swedish artist, Ian Hellström's daughter, Anette. Your father was a close friend of my father. I found a letter from your sister Aruna written in Swedish. I'm living in Amsterdam. For me, it's close to Paris. Fantastic effort you're doing for your father. My father died 2O12. I've found work and letters from your father. Please contact me.
8: Hardev Singh Virk (Mohali, Punjab), September 20, 2016, 7:27 PM.
My tribute to Naresh Singh appeared in sikhchic.com on 5 December, 2013 under the title "A Rendezvous in Paris With Naresh Singh". I enjoyed his company in Paris for two years (1970-72) and met him again in Paris of and on till 2001. I am happy to report that Swaran Singh Kahlon from Chandigarh has started his book on Sikhs in Europe and Naresh will have a slot in it. I feel blessed to be part of Naresh's family.