Celebrations to mark birth anniversary of Sobha Singh begin

Celebrations to mark the 123rd birth anniversary of artist Sobha Singh that falls on November 29 started at Andretta in Kangra district on Wednesday.

The art gallery of Sobha Singh is located at Andretta village, about 10 km from Palampur.

Sobha Singh moved from Lahore to Andretta, a hamlet in Kangra district, after Partition in 1947. Kangra district was then part of Punjab but was later merged in Himachal in 1966. At Andretta, he created masterpieces of art which are now world-famous.

Today, an exhibition was started at Andretta on folk textiles such as Japanese Sashiko, Indigo-dyed hemp fabric, Indian Phulkari, crochet, brown cotton dhurrrie, Phulkari bagh, Chope Phulkari and Khaffan phulkari.

The works of these arts were displayed by folk embroidery design researcher Dr Maneet Kaur from Kala Bhavana Santiniketan. She is conducting hands-on workshops on Sashiko and Phulkari and will be providing insights on the historical, cultural and technical aspects of folk textile crafts. The participants in the workshop will be trained to develop their artistic skills.

Hirday Paul Singh, general secretary of Sobha Singh Memorial Society, said that the workshop would delve into the agrarian roots of these art forms, illustrating the historical and artistic commonalities among them.

Social worker Radha Butail today inaugurated the workshop. She complimented Maneet Kaur for doing astonishing research work on the age-old tradition of creating fine embroidery work by Indian and Japanese rural ladies. Krishan Gopal Butial, president, Sobha Singh Memorial Art Society, Bibi Gurcharan Kaur, daughter of Sobha Singh, artists and students were present during the inaugural ceremony.