PARUL IT’S a journey that has a past, present and future, one that takes you into the Sikh ethos, history, theology, lore, and heritage. Sikh Heritage; Ethos and Relics (Rupa, Rs 1,500), is a book and anthol- ogy that took authors Bhayee Sikandar Singh and Roopinder Singh more than five years to bring to the readers. The Sikhs, reflect the city-based authors, are fortunate to have many well-preserved relics that belonged to the Gurus, the sig- nificance of which is timeless. Yet, many remain unaware of this vast treasure. The book weaves the tenets of Sikhism, together with the history and lore of the people of Punjab. Through photographs and descriptions of many hitherto un- seen relics of Sikh heritage, the authors place the artefacts in its historical context, giving a broad perspective of Sikh heritage. Every relic and article is a living symbol of the Sikh ethos and in- cluded here are priceless artefacts in the custody of the descendants of Bhai Rup Chand. The Maharajas of Patiala and Nabha still have significant collections which find a special place in this beautifully il- lustrated volume. The 204-page treasure trove of relics includes the hukamnamas of the Gurus and objects of personal use of the gurus, including the comb and ar- mour of Guru Gobind Singh, his ar- mour, the rabab of Guru Hargobind, contemporary portraits, paintings, texts and many other relics. While presenting the ethos of the Sikhs, the book focuses on some families in the Malwa region of Punjab who have had the privilege of re- ceiving the Gurus’ blessings, which they have cherished and preserved. “Some of the relics of the Gurus that my family is blessed with, went for an exhibition to London, and it was there that the idea of writing a book on these treasures was born,” recalls Sikandar Singh, a scion of the Bagrian family, whose ancestor Bhai Rup Chand was blessed by Guru Har- gobind, the sixth Guru. “One thing led to another and took a meaningful con- text,” adds Roopinder Singh, a journal- ist, photographer and author of Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh DFC (2002) and Guru Nanak: His Life and Teachings (2004). Besides other sources, the authors relied heavily on Bhai Kah Singh Nabha’s Gurshabad Ratnakar Ma- hankosh, an encyclopaedia of Sikh re- ligion. “The effort was that each ele- ment in the book should be authentic. We depended on oral tradition, vari- ous records and were in touch with the families who possessed these relics, to do this book, with four years of re- search,” the authors add that they tied the text together using visual metaphors. Footnotes at the end of each page, informative and detailed captions and a narrative that gives the visuals a new meaning, make the book appealing to a wider audience. The authors worked closely with their de- signer Peali Dutta Gupta and publish- ers Rupa for creating a book that’s a visual treat. “Ensuring that all ele- ments fit in was an enriching experi- ence and we are happy that we have, through this book, preserved an inte- gral part of our heritage and will be able to reach out to brand new audi- ences,” sum up the two. Custodians of History Sikh Heritage: Ethos and Relics, a new book, presents an unseen treasure of well-preserved relics belonging to the Gurus Authors Roopinder Singh (left) and Bhayee Sikandar Singh; (left) pictures in the book, Sikh Heritage: Ethos and Relics KAMLESHWAR SINGH
Transcript
PARUL
IT’S a journey that has a past, presentand future, one that takes you into theSikh ethos, history, theology, lore, andheritage. Sikh Heritage; Ethos and Relics(Rupa, Rs 1,500), is a book and anthol-ogy that took authors Bhayee SikandarSingh and Roopinder Singh more thanfive years to bring to the readers. TheSikhs, reflect the city-based authors, arefortunate to have many well-preservedrelics that belonged to the Gurus, the sig-nificance of which is timeless. Yet, manyremain unaware of this vast treasure.The book weaves the tenets of Sikhism,together with the history and lore of thepeople of Punjab. Through photographsand descriptions of many hitherto un-seen relics of Sikh heritage, the authorsplace the artefacts in its historical context, giving a broad perspective ofSikh heritage. Every relic and article is aliving symbol of the Sikh ethos and in-cluded here are priceless artefacts in the custody of the descendants of BhaiRup Chand.
The Maharajas of Patiala and Nabhastill have significant collections whichfind a special place in this beautifully il-lustrated volume. The 204-page treasuretrove of relics includes the hukamnamasof the Gurus and objects of personal useof the gurus, including the comb and ar-
mour of Guru Gobind Singh, his ar-mour, the rababof Guru Hargobind,contemporary portraits, paintings, textsand many other relics. While presentingthe ethos of the Sikhs, the book focuseson some families in the Malwa region ofPunjab who have had the privilege of re-ceiving the Gurus’ blessings, which theyhave cherished and preserved. “Some ofthe relics of the Gurus that my family isblessed with, went for an exhibition toLondon, and it was there that the idea ofwriting a book on these treasures wasborn,” recalls Sikandar Singh, a scion ofthe Bagrian family, whose ancestor BhaiRup Chand was blessed by Guru Har-
gobind, the sixth Guru. “One thing led to another and took a meaningful con-text,” adds Roopinder Singh, a journal-ist, photographer and author of Marshalof the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh DFC(2002) and Guru Nanak: His Life andTeachings (2004).
Besides other sources, the authorsrelied heavily on Bhai Kah SinghNabha’s Gurshabad Ratnakar Ma-hankosh, an encyclopaedia of Sikh re-ligion. “The effort was that each ele-ment in the book should be authentic.We depended on oral tradition, vari-ous records and were in touch with thefamilies who possessed these relics, todo this book, with four years of re-
search,” the authors add that they tiedthe text together using visualmetaphors. Footnotes at the end ofeach page, informative and detailedcaptions and a narrative that gives thevisuals a new meaning, make the bookappealing to a wider audience. Theauthors worked closely with their de-signer Peali Dutta Gupta and publish-ers Rupa for creating a book that’s avisual treat. “Ensuring that all ele-ments fit in was an enriching experi-ence and we are happy that we have,through this book, preserved an inte-gral part of our heritage and will beable to reach out to brand new audi-ences,” sum up the two.
SUANSHU KHURANA
IT was a little over two decadesago that musician Eric Mou-quet, who calls himself “a folk-lorist”, began recording andsampling music from the worldover. The result was a series ofalbums, which not only gave theoften-confused term of “worldmusic” a new dimension, butalso won him and his outfit,Deep Forest, the hallowedgramophone for their album Boheme. After recordingsounds and poring over textsfrom various countries, Mou-quet, who is based in France,has found inspiration in Indiansounds and collaborated withsantoor player Rahul Sharmafor an album titled Deep India(Sony Music).
“India has a rich culturalheritage and the appreciationfor music is immense here. Thediverse nature of the country’smusic is what made it an excel-lent destination for innovation.That’s how Deep India cameinto being,” says Mouquet, whorecently performed in Banga-lore and will regale audiences inMumbai and Delhi later thismonth. “I was astounded by the energy of the people in India,”he says.
Mouquet had never metSharma and came across histracks through the music com-pany. “I instantly knew that we could create great music to-gether,” he says.The 52-year-oldis famous for being able to turn the most basic musicaround on its head, mixing them with electronica soundsand creating a sort of jet-age mu-sical philosophy.
The album comprises eighttracks that draw inspirationfrom folk sounds from Jammu,Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, theNortheast and South India. “It
was for the first time that Iheard someone play the santoorand the instrument is magical. Ittranquilises your senses, andRahul is a genius at that. It was acreative challenge to work withit and, after finishing the album,I couldn’t be happier,” saysMouquet. Sharma travelledacross India to handpick folkmaterial and the two sharedtheir work through the internet.Mouquet mixed it all, mostlywith a lot of electronic beats tocreate a slew of aural collages.The result is a “folk-santoor-electronica” genre.
Mouquet is travelling on-wards. He is now working on analbum titled Deep Africa, which islikely to feature a host of uniqueAfrican percussions. “Creativity,unique sounds from various re-gions and, of course, collabora-tions inspire me to create music Ican cherish,” he says.
Eric Mouquet will perform inDelhi later this month
VIDYA PRABHU
WHEN JacquelineFernandez arrivedon the red carpet
at the 19th Annual ColorsScreen Awards on January12, she made heads turn. Shesported a bouffant and lightmake-up — except for brightred lipstick, but it was herblack Kandyan sari, de-signed by Sri Lankan de-signer Darshi Keerthisena,that set her apart. “This is atraditional Sri Lankan sariand I have been wanting towear one for a while now,”said Fernandez.
Her sari was different al-
right — it had no pleats, in-stead a sequinned band thatlent her outfit a peplum ef-fect. The ornate pallu kissedthe floor while a blackmidriff-baring blouse and aBottega Veneta clutch com-pleted the look.
Film awards ceremoniesmaybe all about celebratingtalent, but they are also aboutsoaking in some fashion. Asin previous years, gowns anddresses ruled the red carpetthis year too. Leading theglam brigade was DeepikaPadukone in an emeraldgown by Dolce and Gabbana.Roberto Cavalli emerged asthe designer du jour, with Chi-
trangada Singh, PriyankaChopra and Genelia D’-Souza Deshmukh opting forhis gowns.
While Singh sizzled in acream gown, black appearedto be the most popular colourof the night. Both Chopraand D’Souza Deshmukhwore black for the function.As did Katrina Kaif, whoturned up in a black Naeem
Khan off-shoulder gown andSonali Bendre, who was clad in a Shahab Durazi gown with a net bodice and adupatta. Parineeti Chopra,too, flaunted a blackSabyasachi Mukherjee en-semble. Sonakshi Sinha wentbold with a black-and-goldfeathery Falguni and ShanePeacock creation.
Also looking ravishingwere Aditi Rao Hydari andYami Gautam. Rao Hydariswitched to princess glamwith a pristine white Gauriand Nainika gown, whileGautam was swathed in agreen Carmen Marc Volvodress with snake print. Back-less silhouettes dominatedthe red-carpet — right fromShruti Haasan in a brightpurple Amit GT dress andSunny Leone in a whiteRohit Verma creation toAmeesha Patel in a RamonaNarang outfit and MalaikaArora Khan in a lacy number.
Indian ethnic wear didn’thave too many takers, thoughloyalists Vidya Balan andRekha did put their gorgeousKanjeevaram saris on show.Dressed in an orange AnitaDongre sari, Jiah Khan wasanother exception as was GulPanag who had also slippedinto an ornate anarkali byAnita Dongre.
The awards also saw ac-cessories take a backseat.Earrings and clutches, how-ever, remained a favourite— particularly the BottegaVeneta Knot beauties thatplayed arm candy to Fernan-dez, Bendre and Dhupia.
Gowns and dresses made a splash at the 19th Annual Colors Screen Awards
TheIndianEXPRESSCHANDIGARHNewsline I TUESDAY l JANUARY 22 l 2013
RNI Regn. No. 51555/93. Printed and Published by Manjit Chopra on behalf of The Indian Express Limited and printed at IE Press, C-5, Institutional Area, Sector 6, Panchkula 134 109, Haryana and published at SCO 2441-42, First Floor, above Jagdish Jewellers, Sector 22-C, Chandigarh. Editor (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh) : Vipin Pubby*(Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act). Chairman of the Board: Viveck Goenka, Managing Editor: Raj Kamal Jha, Executive Editor: Unni Rajen Shanker. Copyright: The Indian Express Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any manner, electronics or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior permission is
One half of Grammy-winning outfit Deep Forest,Eric Mouquet has collaborated with Indiansantoor player Rahul Sharma for an album
Wandering Minstrel
Comes to IndiaTHE Punjabi film industry is on a rollwith multiple releases lined up in thecoming few months. Already garner-ing attention for its title is directorNavniat Singh’s forthcoming film,Singh Vs Kaur. While the film will hitscreens on February 15, the music byMV Records was formally launchedon Monday afternoon in Chandi-garh. The event at Hotel Park Plazawas a star-studded affair with thefilm’s lead actor, Punjabi singerGippy Grewal accompanied by di-rector Navniat Singh and specialguest, Indian cricketer Harbhajan
Singh doing the honours. With musicdirector Jatinder Shah at the helm,
the album features seven songs withGrewal lending his voice to six of
them. One of the tracks, SinghaSingha is already climbing the charts.But more than that, Grewal is visiblyexcited about his look in the film,“This is the first time that I’ll besporting a turban on the silverscreen,”said Grewal who stars along-side well-known Punjabi actors suchas Binnu Dhillon, Surveen Chawla,BN Sharma, Japji Khaira, KaramjeetAnmol and Avtar Gill. At the musiclaunch, Navniat, who has earlier di-rected Tera Mera Ki Rishta, Mel Ka-rade Rabba, Dharti and Taur MittranDi said, “The movie has been pro-duced by Dr D Ramanaidu underGurfateh Films and Sippy GrewalProduction. This is the first time thata producer from the south Indianfilm industry has produced a Punjabifilm. This, indeed, is a good sign forthe future.” EFS
Loud &Clear
Singer-actor Gippy Grewal (in red) with cricketer Harbhajan Singh(centre) at the music release of Singh Vs Kaur
Custodians of HistorySikh Heritage: Ethos and Relics, a new book, presents
an unseen treasure of well-preserved relicsbelonging to the Gurus
Authors Roopinder Singh (left) and Bhayee Sikandar Singh; (left)pictures in the book, Sikh Heritage: Ethos and Relics
