Looking back in time at Punjab through prism of art

Neha Saini
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 3
As a young girl growing up in a remote, quaint village of Kot Mohammad Khan in the border district of Taran Tarn in the 1960s, Surjit Akre discovered her talent for sketching and drawing. Her passion for creative art though found no support, both within and outside the family, as girls during the time were seldom ‘allowed’ to do as they pleased, especially in terms of making a career. But young Surjit found her biggest support in her father Dr Karanjit Singh, an eminent Punjabi writer, poet and translator, who was also the member and general secretary of Lok Likhari Sabha, Amritsar from 1957 to 1961.
“At the time, even my family, siblings and mother discouraged me from pursuing art, as they wanted me to toe the traditional line, get married and settle down. But my father gave me the courage to keep going and I did,” shared Surjit, who is showcasing 33 of her famous paintings for the first time in Amritsar in a solo exhibition. The exhibition opened at Thakar Singh Art Gallery, with chairmen of the Indian Academy of Fine Arts, Rajinder Mohan Singh Chinna, inaugurating the exhibition.
Titled ‘Shades of Punjab’, the collective art work by Surjit Akre takes us back to the time when Punjab had innocence in terms of its culture and traditions. With themes including her childhood, Guru Nanak’s life and principles, Punjabi rural life and folklore, Surjit Akre’s vibrant, nuanced compositions depicting Punjab and its cultural past are stunning.
“These paintings are a mix of my works through several years, starting from 1980, when I first visited my village in Taran Tarn after many years. My childhood was spent in a small village in Punjab, and I remember it even today. In today’s fast-paced life, we have left many things behind and even if we want to, we could not get them back, and all that remains is a memory. But when I came back, I was surprised; the whole village came to meet me. During that time, I made around 200 sketches. All were engaged in serving me, some were bringing lassi and some were bringing Punjabi dishes. I converted these sketches into pictures, some of which are here,” she shared. She refers to her works on display such as ‘Darji’, which is a term of endearment for the elderly in family; ‘Kundi Danda’, ‘Rasoi’, ‘Punjabi Lal Mirch’ — the three paintings that depict a traditional Punjabi rural kitchen; painting titled ‘My village’ that she dedicated to her memories of Kot Mohammad Khan. Other works displayed are based on Guru Nanak’s childhood, titled ‘Nanak and Nanaki’; another larger than life canvas depicts Guru Nanak in meditative state, with natural elements and folds of his clothes symbolising his sakis (journeys).
The exhibition will be open for public till August 4 and is her 80th exhibition. Akre, who has been pursuing art for 40 years now and has been an acclaimed figure artist, shared that her art and subject have found resonance internationally, as the Punjabi community grows globally. “I am the first Indian artist to get a post-graduate degree in easel painting (1979-85) from Repin Academy of Fine Arts, Sculpture and Architecture, St. Petersburg, Russia (formerly Leningrad, USSR). Post-Independence, India has witnessed emergence of many woman painters, who rose to prominence due to their sheer merit and established themselves as an institution in their field. A lot of Punjabis living abroad have lost touch with their roots, a generation has. I wanted to make them aware of that Punjab, the one being lost to time and I have taken this exhibition to several countries,” she said.
Hailing from a different era of artists, Akre shared how contemporary artists, most but not all, are ready to turn art into a commodity. “Making money as an artist has always been a challenge. Yet today, a majority of the artists seem to be running after commercial gains rather than create innovation and break the glass ceiling. When I was in Russia, during my father’s time as a public servant there, I discovered how Russian artists would experiment with abstract art, which was not allowed in Russia during that time. They would hide in studios, their homes, to paint abstract to make a statement, relentless in their pursuit. That’s the primary purpose of art— to keep creating something new, not settle for convention. Art today has become a commercial convention.”