Summy
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When I talk about the second generation youth spreading their knowledge of their heritage beyond entertainment, one thing I mean, that is often overlooked is Punjabi Art. We are fimilar with so much of Italian masterpeices, artistic compositions from East Asia (which I think is because the youth of their culture embrace it), but what about Punjab?
So I guess I will show a couple of my favourite art peices, the basics of Art from Punjab. I was going to do three, but I doubt anyone would read it all, so here are my favourite two...
1) The depictions of the classic Sohni Mahiwal Story:
I know everyone is fimilar with the story of Sohni- Mahiwal, but I will recount the story incase someone does not know. Sohni was a young female who was the daughter of an artist, and an artist in her own right, as she was famous around her village for the beautiful pots she was mold. Mahiwal, a prince, came to Sohni's village on a trip and fell in love with her art. Eventually his love for her art, led him to Sohni, and his love for her developed. Sohni was also enchanted and fell in love with Mahiwal as well. Knowing the complications of the social system, Mahiwal left his kingdom and the title of a prince, and became a buffalo herder, hence the name Mahiwal.
However, Sohni would be arranged to another man. Not willing to give up their love, Sohni would meet Mahiwal everyday after dark by swimming across a river (the now famed Chenab river) usually one of her beautiful pots as a support device. Wiating on the other side everyday would be Mahiwal, who would feed her fish that he would catch everyday from the river. One day, unable to catch the fish, Mahiwal cut off a peice of his thigh. One day, the sister in law of Sohni found out about her late night meetings with Mahiwal, and replaced one of her clay pots, with another pot that wouldnt support her. The next night, when she went to meet Mahiwal, she drowned, as did Mahiwal trying to save her.
The story is enhanced by the long list of beautiful artistic depeictions of the story:
2) Collections by Amrita Shergill:
Amrita Shergill, probably my favourite desi artist of all time. She sold her famous "Village Scene" painting for 1.6 Million, the most amount for an indian artist. She died at the young age of 28, which cut short her brillant, almost legendary career. She had that interesting combination of dismissing tradition, while embracing it to a certain extent. She was a woman far ahead of her time. Her theme in most of her art, is sadness, but a sense of pride attached.
Here are some interesting opinions about her by some of the most respected art critics:
Salman Rushdie (not an art critic obviously, but whose paintings inspired a lot of his writings) said:
"[Hers] is an art which moves naturally towards the melancholy and tragic, while keeping its eye fixed firmly on high ideals of beauty".
Someone once put about her paintings:
""principally [on] the sad aspects of Indian life ... It may be that the sadness ... corresponds to something in me, some inner trail in my nature, rather than to manifestations of life which are exuberantly happy or placidly contented"
First picture is of Amrita Shergill:
"Village Scene"
So I guess I will show a couple of my favourite art peices, the basics of Art from Punjab. I was going to do three, but I doubt anyone would read it all, so here are my favourite two...
1) The depictions of the classic Sohni Mahiwal Story:
I know everyone is fimilar with the story of Sohni- Mahiwal, but I will recount the story incase someone does not know. Sohni was a young female who was the daughter of an artist, and an artist in her own right, as she was famous around her village for the beautiful pots she was mold. Mahiwal, a prince, came to Sohni's village on a trip and fell in love with her art. Eventually his love for her art, led him to Sohni, and his love for her developed. Sohni was also enchanted and fell in love with Mahiwal as well. Knowing the complications of the social system, Mahiwal left his kingdom and the title of a prince, and became a buffalo herder, hence the name Mahiwal.
However, Sohni would be arranged to another man. Not willing to give up their love, Sohni would meet Mahiwal everyday after dark by swimming across a river (the now famed Chenab river) usually one of her beautiful pots as a support device. Wiating on the other side everyday would be Mahiwal, who would feed her fish that he would catch everyday from the river. One day, unable to catch the fish, Mahiwal cut off a peice of his thigh. One day, the sister in law of Sohni found out about her late night meetings with Mahiwal, and replaced one of her clay pots, with another pot that wouldnt support her. The next night, when she went to meet Mahiwal, she drowned, as did Mahiwal trying to save her.
The story is enhanced by the long list of beautiful artistic depeictions of the story:
2) Collections by Amrita Shergill:
Amrita Shergill, probably my favourite desi artist of all time. She sold her famous "Village Scene" painting for 1.6 Million, the most amount for an indian artist. She died at the young age of 28, which cut short her brillant, almost legendary career. She had that interesting combination of dismissing tradition, while embracing it to a certain extent. She was a woman far ahead of her time. Her theme in most of her art, is sadness, but a sense of pride attached.
Here are some interesting opinions about her by some of the most respected art critics:
Salman Rushdie (not an art critic obviously, but whose paintings inspired a lot of his writings) said:
"[Hers] is an art which moves naturally towards the melancholy and tragic, while keeping its eye fixed firmly on high ideals of beauty".
Someone once put about her paintings:
""principally [on] the sad aspects of Indian life ... It may be that the sadness ... corresponds to something in me, some inner trail in my nature, rather than to manifestations of life which are exuberantly happy or placidly contented"
First picture is of Amrita Shergill:
"Village Scene"
