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Legacy of the Sikhs

An eye-opening exhibition at the School of Oriental and African Studies has highlighted the rich heritage and religious inclusiveness of Sikhism.

By Shyam Bhatia

MODEL OF EXCELLENCE: The Golden Temple, shown here as reproduced at the SOAS exhibition, was a centre of devotion and learning

Sikhs from around the world have been offered a rare insight into their heritage, thanks to a stunning London exhibition about the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

The exhibition, staged at the Brunei Gallery at London University's School of Oriental and African Studies, lasted from July to the end of September this year and attracted record crowds.

Much credit for the exhibition goes to a group of UK-based Sikhs who came together under the umbrella of the UK Punjab Heritage Association with the single-minded aim of ensuring its success. Polite and attentive, they each emphasised the inclusiveness of their faith and how it drew devotees from all religions. Hence the tradition of allowing Muslim rababis to sing within the temple alongside the Sikhs.

One member of the group is Davinder Singh Toor, who was previously apprenticed as a tour guide to an earlier 1999 Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition in London entitled 'The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms'.

'For me it was a revelation,' says Davinder, a 33-year-old London-based optometrist. 'It suddenly became real. I was brought up reading stories about the Gurus and things like this, but there was always something mythical about it and because of the myth there was a bit of a disconnect. This was different. Now I had the artefacts that proved the existence of these people to me.'

The son of a Ludhiana, India-born engineer who emigrated to the UK in 1962, Davinder soon discovered he had a passion for finding out more about his heritage. His father was a clean-shaven Sikh, but Davinder started wearing a turban at the age of 14. By the time he was a second-year student at the University of Aston in Birmingham, his collection included daggers, paintings and other bits and pieces of Sikh memorabilia.

Another member of the group is exhibition curator Parmjit Singh, who delights in talking about the Golden Temple. 'When it was at its peak, the temple was not only recognised as a centre of devotion for pilgrims of many other faiths, it was also a centre of learning,' he said.

Although the immediate aim of the organisers was to draw attention to the Golden Temple, how and why it was built and the followers it serves, the exhibition has served a much larger purpose by reminding visitors about Sikhism, its history and traditions, including the arts that flourished under the patronage of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the first half of the 19th century.

A vast perspex model of the Golden Temple itself as it once stood in the 19th century was on display for more than two months on the lower ground floor of the Brunei Gallery. A later black and white photograph of the temple complex depicted trees and 'bungas' — tall buildings where intellectuals would meet and debate — and even a Gothic church within a stone's throw of the Akal Takht.

One floor up was the hugely impressive re-creation of what a Sikh warrior looked like more than 100 years ago. This full-sized mannequin dressed in its original helmet, armour and weaponry was easily one of the most impressive items on display.

Like 80 per cent of the exhibits, the mannequin belongs to Davinder, who admits to buying it from a dealer in London's Notting Hill. He will not say how much he paid for it, but he does explain that it is insured for £100,000.
Also on display was a replica of the Kohinoor diamond and a receipt for its transfer to the British authorities.

For the devout, one of the most important exhibits was the ground floor painting done in gouache of Guru Nanak — the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh gurus — meeting the yogis, an early original miniature dating back to the early 19th century. Another painting of Guru Arjun overseeing the construction of the Golden Temple was also made from gouache, which Davinder explains is a type of watercolour made with the powder of crushed precious and semi-precious stones.

A separate painting depicted Maharaja Ranjit Singh and General Hari Singh Nalwa seated together. Hari Singh, born in the same village as Ranjit Singh, was a famous general often described as the terror of the Afghans. He hardly ever came to the Punjab because he was mostly on the North West Frontier among the hill tribes. The setting of this painting is at the Rambagh Palace in Amritsar.

Elsewhere on the ground floor room were earrings that once belonged to Maharani Jindan Kaur, the mother of Maharaja Dalip Singh. Next to them was a 19th century necklace with an image behind the rock crystal face of Guru Nanak flanked by his Hindu and Muslim companions, including Bhai Mardana.

Still another painting — and one that is considered controversial — showed a group of Sikhs being entertained by courtesans. This rare picture from the Awadh School of painting dates back to 1770, a full 30 years before the formal start of the Sikh period of art.

'It's amazing to see how long it's survived,' comments Davinder. 'The pigment, so long as it's kept at the correct temperature, there's no reason why it shouldn't survive…

'For me as a collector, I really believe that the renaissance of Sikh art is beginning and it's going to come from the West. Not one of the pieces you saw on show was bought in India. 'Firstly, India, although there may be things that survive there, there are very strict export laws. If you buy anything in India, you have to keep it in India. You can't take anything out that's over 100 years old. And, more importantly, the best stuff is out of India because of the nature of the [British] empire. That's why these objects exist outside.

'I go to India and I say to people to show me something old and they come to England and ask to see something new. And this is just the nature of it… unless a value is put on something.'

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