Light, camera, brushes... Museum gets richer

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, March 23

A refurbished Sobha Singh Museum with several new artefacts was inaugurated at art village Andretta here today. Ian Barrand, an internationally-known art restorer and conservation expert from London, inaugurated the new section.

More insight into artist’s personality

The new artefacts and belongings will give more insight into the multidimensional personality of Sardar Sobha Singh. — Dr Hirday Paul Singh, the grandson of the artist

He said the museum was a gem in the lap of Kangra valley, where the romance and magic of colours on invaluable paintings painted by Sobha Singh was still alive.

The museum, which displays the life journey of the artist in 150 photographs, also has artefacts and some personal belongings of the late artist, which include brushes, paints, books, beds, chairs, sticks, radio, clothes and other memorabilia.

With the addition of new section, visitors would be able to know more about the life of the artist. It is for the first time after the death of Sobha Singh in 1986 that many new artefacts and his personal belongings have been displayed in the dedicated museum in his memory.

“These will give more insight into his multidimensional personality,” said Dr Hirday Paul Singh, the grandson of the late artist. The new display at the museum includes Zeiss icon camera, photo albums, camera flash, two tape recorders, calculator, infrared lamp, brochures, diaries, favourite brushes and paints of the artist, palettes, painting tools, etc.

The family of the late artist, which manages the gallery and museum, has also displayed long-preserved clothes worn by him, such as his gown, kurta, pyjama, socks, cardigans and other woollens. The artist had himself purchased quality stationery items like drawing pencils, erasers, scales, label printing machine, colour slides, etc., which have been displayed in the new section.

His hair dryer, hearing aids, spectacles, combs, nail cutter, nail foil, heater, kettle, bedside glass, tumbler, thermos and gift items are new additions to the museum.

Several people are not aware that Sobha Singh was also a good sculptor. Some of his sculpted works would also be on display.

The bust of Prithviraj Kapoor, the film legend from the early days of Bollywood and a close friend of the artist, adorns the outer wall of the museum and another bust of Dr MS Randhawa sits snuggly in the art studio, whereas works like ‘Sassi Punnun’, the love legend of undivided Punjab and Prof Nirmal Chander, a philosopher friend of the artist, can be seen in the museum. The artist had also made a bust of famous Punjabi writer Amrita Pritam, which was gifted to her.

During the inaugural ceremony, Bhajan Hunjan, a well-known visual artist from London, Bibi Gurcharan Kaur, the daughter of Sobha Singh, artists, writers and art students were also present.

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