Late Gurupurab Celebrations at Sikhi Art

Machhiwara was supposed to done by January, and was set to be released on Jan 5. At that point I had recieved the constructive criticism, I had asked for and I got back to work. Took a couple of weeks to straighten out the setting and composition, and so the painting was delayed.
But now that it is out... Happy late Guru purab to everyone!! :P

So, what's next? Well, I have no plans on working on any painting till summer. But when I do get started, Akali Phula Singh is next. It is a along awaited painting, and I have been aching to get to it!

So what is Machhiwara, what is it about?
Well, after being attacked several times by the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb's army, Guru Gobind Singh ji is forced to flee from the Anandpur fort to Chamkaur. During the escape, the weather was insane, and it flooded the river, Sirsa, that Guru Sahib had to cross. In the chaos, his mother and younger sahibzaadey's are separated from him, and are eventually doomed in the false courts of Sirhind.
As Guru Sahib takes shelter in a haveli in Chamkaur, he is again attacked by the Mughal forces. This time his older sons fall in the intense battle that takes place. Odds were stacked aagainst him, Guru Sahib had to flee once again. This time he had nothing left all his devotees had been martyred, and his family was lost. The great cause he was fighting for seemed to be slipping away from his grip. However, as Guru Gobind Singh ji meditates in Machhiwara, he keeps himself in the highest of spirits. Exhausted from warfare, he rests here overnight, and is eventually saved by his Muslim devotees in the morning.

Machhiwara, undoubtly, is a symbolic painting. Everything around Guru Sahib symbolizes his chardi kala attitude, and the rise of Khalsa.

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Weekly Sketch #15: Weapon X

Machhiwara is almost done! I can't wait to get it out there.

One my previous sketches of wolverine just wasn't good enough, so I did another one. I am not a fan of bollywood movies but they have released two good movies this year - Rocket Singh - Salesman of the year and 3 Idiots. I totally loved 3 Idiots and its message. Although, 3 Idiots does not have any Sikh main characters, there was one thing I noticed. If you look at Sikhs in the background, and there are so many of them. The producers show them like normal people, in all sorts of professions. I thought that was awesome. This was the background though, in the foreground Aamir Khan and his co stars gave a wonderful performance!

Weekly Sketch #14: Rocket Singh

First of all, Happy Gurpurab to all! I would have loved to have finished Machhiwara by today but it's going to need more time. For those of you who don't know about Machhiwara, the painting is about the time when Guru Gobind Singh ji had just escaped from Chamkaur after suffering defeat, he had lost his younger sons during a chaotic time period just before the battle, and his older sons were martyred during the battle. The legend goes to say that even after all this, Guru Gobind Singh ji did not let his spirits down, and stayed in Chardi Kala.

This is what Rocket Singh - Salesman of the Year (this week's sketch) echoes all throughout. I totally loved the movie. After Singh is Kinng and Love Aaj Kal, which were alright... Rocket Singh is definitely another step towards getting positive Sikh models in the media.