Sardar Sobha Singh Art Gallery, Andretta (Palampur) :

Sardar Sobha Singh, a well-known contemporary painter, started his painting career in Andretta, around 18 km from Palampur. He stayed in this remote village in the foothills of the Himalayas for around 38 years. The place where he stayed and painted has been converted into an art gallery by his adopted daughter Bibi Gurcharan Kaur, and now managed by Gurcharan Kaur's son Hirdaypal Singh. At the art gallery, one can see a range of original works of the artist as well as some of his personal belongings. Sobha Singh Museum, displaying photographs depicting the life of the artist, has been added to the complex recently.

Sobha Singh is a veteran painter from the Sikh community and his masterpiece of Guru Nanak (with his one hand raised as if to bestow blessings) has brought him ample of fame. The art gallery displays some of the finest work of Sobha Singh, which include portraits of Sohni-Mahinval and Hir-Ranjha (famed Punjabi couples).

Today, Sobha Singh Art Gallery is an important art centre and holds great value in Punjab's heritage. Most of the paintings here have the influence Kangra School of art and are done-well in western classical techniques of oil painting. The art gallery also has sculptures and busts of some eminent Punjabi icons such as M.S. Randhawa, Prithviraj Kapoor and Nirmal Chandra, and an incomplete head-study of the Punjabi poetess Amrita Pritam. Apart from Sikh Gurus, Sobha Singh also painted portraits of Indian national heroes like Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Sobha Singh's cottage at Andretta has become an art centre, which was visited by scores of his admirers. Local hill-men and women also drop in. For their benefit he had constructed a separate gallery in which apart from his portraits of the Sikh Gurus, he has displayed the paintings of Sri Krishna, Sri Rama, Sheikh Farid and Jesus Christ.
Sobha Singh was revered by the Punjabis as a people's artist. In 1973, at the initiative of Mr. I.K. Gujral, the Union Ministry of Information and Broad-casting prepared a documentary on him. In 1974 the Punjab Government acclaimed him as the State artist. In 1982 the Punjab Arts Council gave him its highest award. In 1983 the Government of India conferred upon him a Padma Sri.

Sobha Singh worked hard to earn his laurels. He continued to paint with zest for thirty years. A disciplined life and methodical working have been the secrets of his creativity. No other artist has made such an impact on the spiritual life of the people of Punjab. When the scribbles and daubs of paint, which pass for abstract art are forgotten, Sobha Singh's paintings will live and be cherished as treasures, as they have a message to convey. They have undoubtedly a unique place in the art heritage of Punjab.

Early life :

Sardar Sobha Singh was born on 29 November 1901 in a Sikh family in Sri Hargobindpur, Gurdaspur district of Punjab. His father, Deva Singh, was in the Indian cavalry. He resigned from the Army and opened his own studio at Amritsar in 1923. He moved to Lahore, Delhi and Bombay before finally settling down in Andretta in 1947 as he was forced to leave Lahore due to partition of the country. Andretta Andretta (near Palampur), a remote and then little-known hamlet in the Kangra Valley on the foothills of the Himalayas but Sobha Singh brought this tiny village on International art map by his varioous classic works.Sobha Singh is fondly remembered as Darji and his daughter Bibi Gurcharan Kaur, assisted by her son Dr Hirday Paul Singh, has converted Andretta into an ever-popular tourist destination not only for art enthusiasts but for all who admire his work.

Painting

During his 38-year stay at Andretta, S. Sobha Singh painted hundreds of paintings. His main focus was Sikh gurus, their life and work. His series on the Sikh gurus have dominated to an extent that his paintings dominate the public's perception associated with Guru Nanak Dev Jiand Guru Gobind Singh ji.

The portrait he made in honour of the 500th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in 1969 is the one most people believe to be the visage of Guru Nanak. Sobha Singh painted pictures of other gurus as well, Guru Amar Das, Guru Tegh Bahadur and Guru Har Krishan.

His paintings of Sohni Mahiwal and Heer Ranjha were also very popular. He also painted impressive portraits of national heroes and leaders like Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Mahatma Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri etc.

His murals are displayed in the art gallery of Indian Parliament House in New Delhi. The panel depicting the evolution of Sikh history features Guru Nanak with Bala and Mardana on one side; and Guru Gobind Singh in meditation on the other. Sobha Singh also dabbled in sculpture, and did the busts of some eminent Punjabis such as M.S. Randhawa, Prithviraj Kapoor and Nirmal Chandra, and an incomplete head-study of the Punjabi poet Amrita Pritam. The originals of his works are displayed in his studio at Andretta. General public can also visit his studio in Andretta.

Sobha Singh died in Chandigarh on 21 August 1986. Andreta (Palampur) is so popular because of the Sobha Singh art gallery and Many of the visitors including tourists visit Andreta to see his art.