Lost & Found: Journey of a painting in the chaos of Partition

Neha Saini

Tribune news service

Amritsar, August 22

Partition Museum’s first ever online art exhibition, Memories Unlocked: Partition, Migration, Identity, is showcasing a rare pre-Partition painting of Guru Nanak by renowned artist Sardari Lal Parasher. The painting was done by SL Parashar somewhere between 1939 and 40 and was thought to be lost in the chaos of the Partition.

The luminous oil on canvas painting is part of the exclusive showcase of 26 art works by 16 eminent and upcoming artists of India, by Partition Museum and Art Alive Gallery. The fascinating part about the painting is the fact that it was left behind along with many other pre-Partition works by SL Parashar when he had to suddenly migrate from Pakistan during 1947. Titled “Guru Nanak, Continuous Light” it depicts Guru Nanak on his journeys, seated in a field. He appears to be resting, while his two disciples, Bhai Mardana and Bhai Bala, are alongside, with Bhai Mardana playing the Rabab.

The painting history is closely related to the turmoil that took place during the Partition and was almost lost had it not been for another eminent artist Abdur Rahman Chugtai. SL Parashar was born in 1904 in Gujranwala (now in Pakistan) and later did his master’s degree in English Literature from Forman Christian College, Lahore, in 1935.

About Sardari Lal Parasher

• After migrating to India, renowned artist SL Parasher became the founder principal of School of Arts, Simla, and later director of the All-India Handicrafts Board.
• After having lived in Lahore, Simla, Madras and Bombay, Parasher finally made a permanent home in New Delhi.
• At the time of Partition, Parasher’s initial thoughts were to continue staying in the new formed Pakistan.
• However, increased Partition violence made him migrate to India.
• He became a camp commandant at the Baldev Nagar refugee camp in Ambala and witnessed the despair and loss of Partition first hand.
• His prolific line drawings from this time depicting the pain and suffering experienced by refugees are extremely powerful. Some of these are already on display at the Partition Museum.
• The painting was done by SL Parashar somewhere between 1939 and 40 and was thought to be lost in the chaos of the Partition.

At the time of Partition, he was the vice-principal of Mayo College of Art, Lahore, and while Parasher had to leave Lahore overnight with his family during post Partition rioting, the painting was left behind. It was later retrieved by Chugtai, who was Parasher’s close friend and sent to Government Art College, Chandigarh, before being handed over to the Parasher family. Now this painting has been given by the Parasher family to be included in the Partition Museum’s exhibition-cum-fundraiser.

Parasher’s daughter, Dr Prajna Parasher, a distinguished professor and academician, said, “In this depiction of Guru Nanak, Continuous Light, the artist’s radiant subject assesses the viewer. Wise and silent, framed by a golden sunset and his own tired feet, it seems now he is seeing out of this moment of repose into the chaos that is about to come. But that is a retrospective gaze. What is certain is that Guru Nanak and his disciples, Mardana and Bala, sit comfortably under the tree, themselves narrators of history, narrating outward to us here.”

Mallika Ahluwalia, CEO and curator of the Partition Museum, founder trustee of The Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust, said the exhibition was being held to remember the Partition through the lost art and heritage. “Work of this archival nature is not seen any more as most of the early work by many of Punjab’s artists was either lost or scattered due to the Partition. We hope that through this exhibition, more and more people will come to know about SL Parasher’s work and artistic legacy”.

Sunaina Anand, Director of Art Alive Gallery, curator of the exhibition and trustee of The Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust, called the painting a ‘precious work of nostalgia’. “The artist’s priceless legacy is captured in the versatile nature of his work which often stems from his experience of the Partition. A precious work such as this has immense nostalgic value and is indeed a treasured resource for understanding the artist’s heritage.”

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