Author: Varinder Walia
Publication: The Tribune
Date: March 31, 2006
URL: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060331/punjab1.htm#5
At least six frescos of Hindu gods, including
Lord Rama and Lord Krishna, which were unique specimens of the Sikh school
of art of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh era have been replaced with Sikh paintings
during kar seva at Darbar Sahib here.
The upper storey would be opened to the Sikh
sangat on the 400th death anniversary of Guru Arjan Dev in June this year.
The frescos were visible on the upper storey
of the sanctum sanctorum of the Sikh shrine before launching the kar seva.
However, Baba Amrik Singh of Dera Baba Jagtar Singh Kar Seva Wale, while talking
to The Tribune, claimed that he was not aware of any painting belonging to
Hindu gods on the upper storey of Darbar Sahib. He said most of the paintings
were beyond recognition since these were destroyed due to seepage from the
dome.
The frescos were unique specimens of the Sikh
school of art, completed in 1824 during the regime of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
According to Sikh history, Maharaja Ranjit Singh got the gold-plating and
interior decoration of the Darbar Sahib completed by taking personal interest.
The other paintings visible at the time of
the kar seva were, however, preserved after a lot of painstaking efforts.
Now, all 16 paintings which were revived by using a similar style and colours
as that of the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, belong to Sikh Gurus, Sikh warriors
and religious leaders, including Baba Deep Singh, Bhai Mani Singh, Bhai Ghanaiya,
Baba Budhaji, the first head granthi of Harmandar Sahib, four Sahibzadas (sons
of Guru Gobind Singh) and Bhai Gurdass. Some of the paintings depict Guru
Nanak Dev flanked by Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana. Jaswant Singh, an artist
of Dera Baba Jagtar Singh Kar Seva Wale said specified colours were used to
complete the art work and the paintings would last long as efforts had been
made to stop seepage in the upper storey.
When Dr Kanwarjit Singh Kang, a renowned fresco
expert, visited Darbar Sahib, Tarn Taran, in June 1971 in connection with
his Ph.D thesis "Mural paintings in the 19th century Punjab", several
frescos were intact in the upper storey of the shrine. According to Dr Kang,
though originally the paintings were executed sometime in the middle of the
19th century, the dome of the shrine developed cracks during an earthquake
in 1905 and was rebuilt again and embellished afresh with murals.
In June 1971, the surviving frescos depicted
mixed themes, including portraits of Sikh Gurus and scenes from the Hindu
mythology.
