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| I'm no fan of Kushwant Singh, but this week I liked his weekly column. My son read the article and commented 'good article from him on Sikhism for once from Kushwant Singh'. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=9a956a2d-db7a-4560-a616-ca26e584fed4&&Headline=What%e2%80%99s+the+face+to+a+name%3f What’s the face to a name? Khushwant Singh May 16, 2008 We don’t have the foggiest idea what the great teachers of religions like Mahavir, Buddha, Zoraster, Sri Rama, Shri Krishna, Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammed or Guru Nanak looked like. There were no cameras in those days; nor had any of them had a portrait made of himself. Long after they died, some artist drew them out of his imagination after learning about what they had said. Later, painters and sculptors portrayed them like their predecessors had done. And still later, there were halos put around their heads. They became recognisable stereotypes. I was a little mystified when Harjeet (Mrs Charanjeet Singh) came one morning, very excited about life-size portraits made of Guru Gobind Singh by one Saranjit Singh. She is a very devout Sikh (starts every morning with Gurdwara Bangla Sahib) before going to her office in Hotel Le Meridien. “He is different,” she suggested. “He has not painted Guru Gobind Singh as a warrior as everyone else has done, but as a scholar and a poet. You simply must see his work. I am arranging an exhibition in my hotel.” It is true that Guru Gobind Singh is always shown on horseback, a hawk perched on one hand, a sword in the other. People tend to forget that he was also a scholar of Punjabi, Braj, Sanskrit and Persian. In a letter in Persian entitled Zafarnama, he had explained why he was compelled to take up arms: Choo kar az hama, har heel tay darguzasht Halaal ast burdan ba shamsheer dast (When all other means have been tried, all means failed; It is righteous to draw the sword out of its sheath.) Firaq Gorakhpuri summed it up in two lines: Khawaab ko jazbai beydaar diye deyta hoon Qaum key haath mein talwaar diye deyta hoon (I will turn your dreams into a fervent reality; I will put a sword in the hands of my community) Besides strong militant poetry, he also wrote some very moving verses in Punjabi which bring tears to one’s eyes. He was assassinated when only 42. Harjeet had invited the cream of Delhi’s Sikh society. Rich sardars are better known for their marble bungalows and fleet of imported limousines than books or paintings. I wondered if Saranjit Singh would find any buyers. But miracles never cease to happen. His paintings did not come in thousands but in lakhs. He sold out all he had on show. |
 | Kushwant Singh's article... (Gurufateh Singh - 16.May.08) |
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