Bagh nakh

[dallysingh101]

Katar in beautiful puratan sarup of Dasam Granth:

 

[puzzled]

On 2/17/2019 at 6:27 PM, dallysingh101 said:

Katar in beautiful puratan sarup of Dasam Granth:

 

Wow that's amazing i really like that. Iv noticed a lot of the older dasam granths and guru granth sahibs were very artistic. 

[puzzled]

[puzzled]

Sikhs were so talented and creative,  what happened ?  

[dallysingh101]

1 hour ago, puzzled said:

Sikhs were so talented and creative,  what happened ?  

Put simply. The printing press and patronage. 

(Just as an aside I've always found the fact that this technology which has antecedents in nearby (to Panjab) China never developed in India, but was picked up in Europe. Especially given the previous close contact and exchange of ideas between the regions - mainly through Buddhism).

Also after the fall of the Sikh empire, a lot of the affluent ruling classes that would have funded (patrons) the creation of such manuscripts were essentially sidelined by the Brits and had their own funds disrupted. This was through the removal or reduction of jagirs that had been assigned to them in the pre-annexation period.

However, some who managed to retain their resources did continue to patronise independent Sikh writers like Kavi Santokh SIngh and Giani Gian Singh who produced writing that fell outside of the Singh Sabha lehar - who appear to have been heavily supported by the British because they never questioned their rule. 

I remember reading about one young Maharajah being essentially deposed by the brits because he had an independent frame of mind. 

So illuminated manuscripts, like the beautiful examples you posted, fell out of vogue because no one would pay for the long years of labour required to produce such documents anymore. And the granths became standardised through the printing press. Plus the printing press has its own advantages in terms of costs, speed of production and accessibility.  

Sikhs are still creative people in my mind. it's just that such artistic people struggle to find funds through a patron like in the past. Artists need to feed themselves and their families - take that ability away and the art declines. 

 

[RajKaregaKhalsa1]

3 hours ago, puzzled said:

Sikhs were so talented and creative,  what happened ?  

I love Gurbani Calligraphy it looks so beautiful. I want to learn to write some Gurbani (a Pothi Sahib/Gutka  Sahib) one day too.

The longer version of Rehras Sahib have these 2 Shabads about writing Gurbani

ਸਲੋਕ ਮਃ ੧ ॥
Shalok, First Mehla:

ਧੰਨੁ ਸੁ ਕਾਗਦੁ ਕਲਮ ਧੰਨੁ ਧਨੁ ਭਾਂਡਾ ਧਨੁ ਮਸੁ ॥
Blessed is the paper, blessed is the pen, blessed is the inkwell, and blessed is the ink.

ਧਨੁ ਲੇਖਾਰੀ ਨਾਨਕਾ ਜਿਨਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਲਿਖਾਇਆ ਸਚੁ ॥੧॥
Blessed is the writer, O Nanak, who writes the True Name. ||1||

ਮਃ ੧ ॥
First Mehla:

ਆਪੇ ਪਟੀ ਕਲਮ ਆਪਿ ਉਪਰਿ ਲੇਖੁ ਭਿ ਤੂੰ ॥
You Yourself are the writing tablet, and You Yourself are the pen. You are also what is written on it.

ਏਕੋ ਕਹੀਐ ਨਾਨਕਾ ਦੂਜਾ ਕਾਹੇ ਕੂ ॥੨॥
Speak of the One Lord, O Nanak; how could there be any other? ||2||

[dallysingh101]

This image you posted (if I'm not mistaken) is the handwriting (nishan) of dasmesh pita himself:

[puzzled]

On 2/22/2019 at 7:45 PM, dallysingh101 said:

Put simply. The printing press and patronage. 

(Just as an aside I've always found the fact that this technology which has antecedents in nearby (to Panjab) China never developed in India, but was picked up in Europe. Especially given the previous close contact and exchange of ideas between the regions - mainly through Buddhism).

Also after the fall of the Sikh empire, a lot of the affluent ruling classes that would have funded (patrons) the creation of such manuscripts were essentially sidelined by the Brits and had their own funds disrupted. This was through the removal or reduction of jagirs that had been assigned to them in the pre-annexation period.

However, some who managed to retain their resources did continue to patronise independent Sikh writers like Kavi Santokh SIngh and Giani Gian Singh who produced writing that fell outside of the Singh Sabha lehar - who appear to have been heavily supported by the British because they never questioned their rule. 

I remember reading about one young Maharajah being essentially deposed by the brits because he had an independent frame of mind. 

So illuminated manuscripts, like the beautiful examples you posted, fell out of vogue because no one would pay for the long years of labour required to produce such documents anymore. And the granths became standardised through the printing press. Plus the printing press has its own advantages in terms of costs, speed of production and accessibility.  

Sikhs are still creative people in my mind. it's just that such artistic people struggle to find funds through a patron like in the past. Artists need to feed themselves and their families - take that ability away and the art declines. 

 

yeah i was thinking the same thing its when the printing press came in thats when the art started dying. 

[puzzled]

On 2/22/2019 at 10:08 PM, dallysingh101 said:

This image you posted (if I'm not mistaken) is the handwriting (nishan) of dasmesh pita himself:

yeah thats what i read.  which shows that guru ji appreciated art as well 

[puzzled]

Art done by Punjabi women. Its beautiful and they weren't artists but simple rural women, just shows how creative they were.

Art is an expression, and they used the walls of their houses to express the creativity in their minds despite the limited resources they had and restrictions from society