December

These 3 drawings are the most personal to me, for the subject matter and as my mother was greatly involved at every stage. She chose these three Sikh pieces for me to draw, and contributed to the look, feel, and message which each drawing portrayed. My original vision for each piece was quite different, but with my mother’s input, they became the final version, which I am really happy about, as they are now some of my most popular pieces.

Over the years I had seen quite a lot of artwork portraying these significant moments in Sikh history, but I did not feel that they portrayed the whole story. I chose to show a different perspective with the martyrdom of Sahibzade Zorawar and Fateh Singh in 1704. The two young boys are normally shown with their hands held up defiantly in “Fateh.” I wanted to depict a more emotional side, to show the love between the brothers, and how they comforted each other during those last minutes, knowing they were facing certain death.

I had seen many depictions of Mata Gujuri and Sahibzade Zorawar and Fateh Singh in the Thanda Burj, cold tower, laughing and playing, with the weather being quite warm. This was not accurate as they were imprisoned at the top of a tower open from all sides, without any warm clothes in the freezing month of December. My artwork shows the harsh environment that they were in, with Mata Gujuri cuddling her grandsons to keep them warm. In the background is Moti Ram Mehra, who snuck into the Thanda Burj and served them milk for three nights. Moti Ram was later executed with his family for his kindness. Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh were bricked alive, and upon hearing the news of her grandsons execution, Mata Gujri collapsed and died.

The other drawing is of Guru Gobind Singh Ji's elder sons Baba Ajit Singh Ji, aged eighteen, and Jujhar Singh Ji, aged fourteen. Both sons were martyred at the Battle of Chamkaur in 1704. I attempted to show the bravery and unity that a handful of Sikhs had, whilst being heavily outnumbered by thousands of Mughal soldiers surrounding the fort. These included Guru Gobind Singh Ji's elder sons, about forty Sikh soldiers and the Five Panj Pyare. This drawing is to honour all the Sikhs who fought so bravely and lost their lives at the Battle of Chamkaur.