Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Entertainment | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

From politics to painting

Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala talks to deepa h ramakrishnan about his passion for painting at an exhibition of his works in Pondicherry

Photo: T. SINGARAVELOU

FAMILY AFFAIR Tamil Nadu Governor S.S. Barnala with his grandson at the exhibition

"Being in solitary confinement is hard. You lose track of who you are or where you are. One loses his head sometimes and starts speaking to oneself. I used to ask myself `Are you ok?' and answer myself `Yes, yes I am.' It used to be a very small cell and I could only see the treetops through the window. Once a day I used to be brought out of my cell, to be walked about 100 paces for a few minutes and then it was back to solitude with no one to talk to and nothing to see," this is how Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala described solitary confinement that he had to undergo twice — during the Emergency and after Operation Blue Star.

It was painting that helped him tide over loneliness. He used to paint beautiful landscapes. Since childhood he had a passion for drawing and painting, one that he has steadfastly held on to. "It is a very absorbing hobby. When I was in solitary confinement, the moment I touched the canvas, I would just forget everything, even sleep and food," said Mr. Barnala. He was in Pondicherry recently to inaugurate an exhibition of his paintings at the Aurodhan Art Galleries in Rue Francois Martin, Kuruchikuppam. "In the beginning, I didn't know I was being sent to solitary confinement but my wife gave me some paints when she came to visit me. I was denied any paper to draw on and so I asked the cook to give me a tea chest on which I could paint. Seeing this, the jailor asked me if I would paint for him and I said I would if he gave me the material," he recalled.

In the 1970s, when the Central Government imposed Emergency, Mr. Barnala, who was then the general secretary of the Akali Dal was arrested a day before he was to leave for London to counter the Government's stand on the Emergency. He was in prison for 16 months.

His painting of a Kashmir girl done while in solitary confinement is part of the exhibition. "I had her image in my mind. She had taken me through a beautiful valley there. Most of my other paintings of that time arelandscapes". He has captured the beauty of places such as Ooty, Dehradun and Nainital. Garden gates, flowers, long winding pathways, waterfalls and lakes also find place at the exhibition.

Though he has been to almost all the countries in the world, most of his creations are of India. "I have just one painting of Switzerland. There is so much beauty here — the plains, mountains, the sea, villages, lakes, waterfalls and flowers. Wherever I go, I make it a point to visit the art galleries of that place.

My guide Sardar Sobha Singh, a well-known artist of Punjab, whose painting of Guru Nanak is quite popular — and I have visited Rome, Florence and other places because I told him that an artist is not complete unless he visits Rome. I follow his footsteps in not depicting violence on canvas," he said.

Asked why he hasn't done any modern art, Mr Barnala said, "I don't like modern art, but I respect the artists who practise it because they are great in their own sphere." Asked why he chose painting as his medium of expression, he said that he has also penned a couple of books. Having been under security cover for long periods in his life, Mr Barnala does not like to be under constant watch. When his life was under threat in 1994 and when he was not holding any office, he wanted to experience freedom. One night he left home and was absconding for 16 days. "I changed my appearance and roamed the country side. On the 16th day, I was caught by the police who thought I was a terrorist," he recalled with a smile on his face. He has also written a book, "Story of an escape", on this incident.

On how he finds time to pursue the art, he said "I paint whenever I can. For instance, when I am holidaying in Ooty, I finish three to four paintings. Sometimes when I am too busy, one painting can even take a month. My wife, sons, grandson and daughter-in-law also paint ."

At the exhibition, a painting of his grandfather made of lamp black stands out. "My father died when I was very young and my grandfather was the one who raised me. When I went to college, I drew the portraits of national leaders such as Nehru and Gandhi and at that time I drew the painting of my grandfather also, who was a retired engineer."

The exhibition is on till November 8.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail