Sohni-Mahiwal
| Support Type: | Canvas |
| Paint Type: | Oil Paint |
| Current Location: | Sobha Singh Art Gallery in Andretta (Kangra) |
| Location History: | -Sobha Singh painted Sohni for the first time in 1937. But in 1947, he left the first painting in Lahore. -The second painting took two years and was completed at Andretta in 1949. On the request of Dr MS Randhawa, it was presented to the Royal Air Force at Ambala. Now, it is believed to be at the Air Force Officers’ Mess at Secunderabad -The third painting was done in 1952 and is with Karan Singh, but the rights of printing were retained by Sobha Singh -The fourth and fifth paintings were done in 1957 and 1980 at Andretta and are part of Sobha Singh Art Gallery, Andretta |
Sohni-Mahiwal is an intimate piece, dripping in abundance with emotion and spiritual tension. Perhaps the two lovers look similar to depict a dissolusion of boundaries of self, and mark their monumental love (in the sense that, there is not much that separates one from the other, they are both one, together). The painting operates within a tradition of visualising Punjabi folk romance as a vehicle for spiritual longing: the human beloved as a figure for the divine. Sobha Singh painted Punjab's love legends alongside his portraits of Sikh Gurus, and for him the two were not separate concerns. The chosen colours and composition mix so that there is no way one cannot interpret symbolism and philosophy from a still of a famous romantic tragedy. The detail that went into making this piece, Sobha Singh's different models, his effort in getting the effect of the wet duppatta on skin correct by using his own references, as well as the fact of there being 5 different renditions of the piece, speak to the vitality the artist has endowed onto his work.