75 Years Partition: Sobha Singh remembered pain, always missed Lahore art school

Tribune News Service

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, August 8

He always remembered the pain of the Partition and missed art school of Lahore, says Hirday Paul Singh, grandson of Sobha Singh, the legendary artist who moved from Lahore to Andretta, a small hamlet in Kangra district, in 1947. Kangra district was then a part of Punjab but was merged in Himachal in 1966.

Talking to The Tribune, Hirday Pal said Sobha Singh recalled the turbulent period when he was compelled to leave Lahore empty-handed. “I decided to leave Lahore in March (1947) and planned to reach Andretta but one shopkeeper asked me to wait for a week as my parcel of paints and brushes was on the way. I stayed for a week but the situation took an ugly turn near our home at Krishna Nagar, Lahore. Muslim-dominated Mochi Darwaja was the worst hit due to communal frenzy. Many houses were put on fire and some Hindus and Sikhs were killed. Finally, I left my home for the Lahore railway station with my student in a tonga. Three Sikh friends escorted us, holding unsheathed swords. Near Mochi Darwaja and Ram Gali, we were followed by shouts of ‘Ali Ali’ but seeing us in the company of Sikhs with swords, nobody dared to come near us. My friends stayed till the train moved after three hours from the station. We felt safe when the train crossed Attari,” Sobha Singh used to tell this to his wife while memorising the pain of the Partition, says Hirday Paul Singh.

He said Sobha Singh came to Andretta. This tiny hamlet is on the international art map due to the paintings of Sobha Singh. The artist created some of the most famous paintings in his studio at Andretta, now popularly known as Kalagram (art village). Initially, the artist had a small thatched grass-covered hut, but he gradually developed it into a full-fledged art gallery. The design of the house was made by Sobha Singh and he kept improving and changing it right from 1949 to 1986.

Many bureaucrats knew him well due to his paintings and were regular visitors to him. In one of the letters, RN Luthra, Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, wrote to him on February 18, 1952: “Your production of Sohni Mahiwal on the canvas will remain as immortal as Fazal Shah’s version of that memorable story.”

When the construction of his house was in progress, Dr MS Randhawa, first Chief Commissioner, Chandigarh, along with Dr Mulk Raj Anand, prominent writer, and Dr WG Archer, Ambassador of the USA to India, visited him at the end of 1952 to ‘enjoy the natural beauty of the Kangra valley and search for material on Kangra paintings. Dr Randhawa visited Sobha Singh frequently and, with his help, wrote a book, “Kangre De Lokgeet (Folk Songs of Kangra) in Punjabi. x

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