Andretta, abode of artists, suffers neglect

Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service

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Andretta, the world-famous art village of Kangra district, has hardly any facilities for the visiting tourists. Thousands of tourists visit Andretta every year to visit the art gallery of Shoba Singh, the old house of Norah Richards, the pottery centre of Gucharan Singh and the house of famous artist, BC Sanyal. 

However, the village has no facility for the tourists. There is no hotel, not even a tea shop to serve them snacks and nor a public rest room for those coming to the village.

GC Pathania, the president of the Andretta Vikas Manch, said the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, in the 1980s had acquired land and a building from the small savings funds to create a facility for the tourists visiting the village. Thereafter the Tourism Department took over the building and planned to build a hotel, a restaurant, a mud house and a camping site. However, the half-completed building was left as such by the department since late 1990s. The building has turned into a ruin and the land was lying waste, he said.

Andretta was selected as their home by many artists of the Lahore school of art after partition. The first to arrive here was Norah Richards the famous British Punjabi play right. After her death she donated her house to the Punjabi university Patiala. The students of the drama department of Punjabi university Patiala now organize a festival here every year in the month of November or December. For the rest of year there was no activity there.

Sobha Singh the legendary artists who is famous for conceiving and creating the pictures of all the Sikh gurus and other world famous paintings as that of Sohni and Mahewal had also made Andretta his home after partition. Many of his works are now displayed in his art gallery now being managed by his grandson Hirday Paul. Large numbers of artists and tourists visit Andretta to see the art works of Shoba Singh.

The village has a pottery centre of Gurcharan Singh who is considered as father of artistic pottery in India. It is being managed by his son, Mansimran Singh or Mini Singh and has all the facilities to train students in the art of pottery.

The famous actor Prithvi Raj Kapoor also used to visit Andretta and the Kapoor family still owns land in the village. BS Sanyal the doyen of modern art in India had his house in the village and spent most of his life here. The famous Punjabi writer Amrita Pritam wrote a novel ‘Agojar Dian Parianon’ on the village Agojar adjoining Andretta.

Despite such big names in the name of art being associated with village Andretta the state government has not done anything to exploit the tourism potential of the village.

Lakhmir Singh a regular visitor the village said that the Himachal government can organize an art mela in Andretta and most of artists from the country to love take part in it. The state government can encourage the people of the village to start home stay facilities and it can prove to be good source of earning to them. The facilities created at Andretta can also promote tourism in Baijnath, Bir, Palampur and Andretta tourist circuit.

GC Pathania said that in case the tourism department makes its hotel and restaurant functional in Anretta it can prove to be one of best hotels of the district.

Some of the locals also blame the lack of development of Andretta on the weak political leadership of the area.