Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi Mourns Loss of Artist, Mehar Singh

           

Senior artist and former President of Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi, Sardar Mehar Singh, known for his lively portraits and paintings on Sikh history, passed away on the morning of August 26 at his son's home in New Delhi. Born on October 1, 1929 Singh had not been keeping well for some time and due to his deteriorating health he was taken to Delhi from Chandigarh last year in December. His body was put to rest in a crematorium in Delhi on August 26, 2020.

"Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi and Punjab Kala Prishad expressed their deep condolences at the demise of the senior artist who was equally well respected for his humanistic qualities, gentleness and kindness towards others fellow beings," says Diwan Manna, Chairman of Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi, Chandigarh.

Among his famous paintings included an oil painting depicting Guru Nanak Devji's visit to Kabul on the way back from Mecca. The painting shows the local population gathered to see the Guru.                                   

To mark the birth centenary of the legendary artist, Sardar Sobha Singh, Sobha Singh memorial award has been constituted by the Punjab govt in the year 2001. And Mehar Singh, who was the then President of Punjab Kala Bhavan and a self-confessed disciple of Sobha Singh became the first recipient of the award.

In an interview to TOI in 2001 when he had received the award, Singh had said, "I began learning from Sardar Sobha Singh when he was in Lahore in 1946. After Partition when we came here I travelled with him to Andretta (in Palampur, Himachal), Ambala and Bombay. After that, I needed money for my family so started working with the American embassy's United States information service as an artist."

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/punjab-lalit-kala-akademi-mourns-loss-of-artist-mehar-singh/articleshow/77771420.cms

Dr. Gurdeep Kaur
Associate Professor
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College
University of Delhi