Art
Kanwar Singh's New Masterpiece:
Guru Gobind Singh - Master & Disciple
You have scene glimpses of this work from time to time; it's been a work-in-progress for a few years.
Now, finally, it is complete
This week, a renowned Canadian artist - Kanwar Singh, the painter/chronicler of Sikh History - launched his new painting, "Guru Gobind Singh: Master and Disciple."
It depicts a scene from the seminal event in Sikh history: the First Vaisakhi of 1699 and the Creation of The Khalsa.
In the scene thus captured, we witness as follows: Having just blessed the First Punj Pyarey with Amrit and transformed them into the first five Khalsa in history, the Guru then positions himself before the Five in bir aasan (the warrior's pose) and asks the Khalsa to bless him with the gift of Amrit as well and initiate him into the Khalsa. With him is Mata Sahib Kaur, holding the sarab loh baata of Amrit.
“This famous scene," explains Kanwar Singh, "has been depicted by other artists. So I was interested in creating more than a mere representation of an integral event in Sikh history. I wanted to convey the most inspiring aspect of this momentous scene, the Guru bowing before the newly ordained Punj Pyarey and asking for inclusion in the Khalsa. It is one of the most remarkable and memorable lessons in humility which our Gurus have shown us by example, time and again, to be the very essence of Sikhism.”
For more on the painting, please CLICK here.
March 13, 2012
Conversation about this article
1: Sandeep Singh Brar (Canada), March 13, 2012, 11:49 AM.
Truly a masterpiece. Kanwar Singh's paintings help bring our history alive. Thank God we don't have prohibitions against painting people like the Muslims do. An interesting tidbit regarding the Guru's turban. The artist had depicted Guru Gobind Singh wearing a modern Nihang style turban with a chakkar/ quoit in it. Most early surviving paintings depict Guru Gobind Singh wearing a different style turban, common to that era, with a kalgi adornment, but no weapons in it. Here is a typical early painting: http://www.sikhmuseum.com/nishan/khalsa/index.html#khalsaera3. Another old painting depicts Guru Gobind Singh in a procession with a group of Nihangs. It's interesting to note the difference in turban styles between the Guru and the Nihangs accompanying him. See: http://www.sikhmuseum.com/nishan/empire/religious.html#religious3