The Magic Realism of Punjab

The stunning mural creations of Orijit Sen and his 13 collaborators at the Virasat-e-Khalsa multimedia museum in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab. This electric work done over 3 years takes the visitor through sights and insights of Punjabi life today, with sudden whiffs of the legends and stories that Punjabiyat is so soaked in. So one can see the alcohol shop right next to the chemist's as anyone who has experienced the alcoholism in Punjab will tell you and then there's a Heer Ranjha dreamscape. What is truly unique is that it is done in a style which revives the best of miniature painting traditions that undivided Punjab was once known for. What takes it one ravishing step further is when the play of light and specially sung folk tunes of Punjab give the visitor a live commentary of the parallel lives and times of the Punjab. Past and present rub shoulders like buddies who know each other affectionately. Yes, the gurus and the pirs are never far from the open hearted spaces of a people who live very much in the now. Punjab has always been a historical conveyor belt caught between love and war, so fast flowing canals are etched in a way that have to intersect with power lines. 5000 people have been coming to see this free entry - museum daily since it opened in November 2011. Designed by Boston-based architect Moshe Safdie, twin buildings tower over the landscape — one topped by five crescents. The other by five petals. Together, representing the 10 Sikh Gurus. Orijit's work is part of a larger narrative that takes the viewer through every significant bullet point in Sikh history or virasat-e-khalsa. Photos by SHAILAN PARKER and text by Tisha Srivastav.

An imagined dhak tree put next to a trucker washing session. The dhak was replaced by poplar and eucalyptus in most parts of Punjab. So historical reminders pop up right by the most regular daily occurrences. In another scene, do try and spot the homecoming of the army jawan

The emotional dominance of the land of the rivers and canals is beautifully recreated in this near dreamland. Most of the canals today do not have the thick forested feel evident in this. But what they do have are the roads snaking into public imagination, come vehicle breakdown or baraat (or marriage procession right in the middle of the road) If you do some mural sleuthing, there is a darker tone of a cantonment which could be hinting at another more violent decade in Punjab.les

The depth of a story was a specialty of the miniature tradition. The perspective was never meant to be literal and multiple action tales would come alive on 1 wall as they do in this one mural. Can you locate the historical element here? Hint: Its work you find in museum walls and gift items, not often in or on homes anymore.

1. 1. 1. 1. An imagined dhak tree put next to a trucker washing session. The dhak was replaced by poplar and eucalyptus in most parts of Punjab. So historical reminders pop up right by the most regular daily occurrences. In another scene, do try and spot the homecoming of the army jawan.

         2. The emotional dominance of the land of the rivers and canals is beautifully recreated in this near dreamland. Most of the canals today do not have the thick forested feel evident in this. But what they do have are the roads snaking into public imagination, come vehicle breakdown or baraat (or marriage procession right in the middle of the road) If you do some mural sleuthing, there is a darker tone of a cantonment which could be hinting at another more violent decade in Punjab.less 

         3. The depth of a story was a specialty of the miniature tradition. The perspective was never meant to be literal and multiple action tales would come alive on 1 wall as they do in this one mural. Can you locate the historical element here? Hint: Its work you find in museum walls and gift items, not often in or on homes anymore.

         An imagined dhak tree put next to a trucker washing session. The dhak was replaced by poplar and eucalyptus in most parts of Punjab. So historical reminders pop up right by the most regular daily occurrences. In another scene, do try and spot the homecoming of the army jawan.

      2. The emotional dominance of the land of the rivers and canals is beautifully recreated in this near dreamland. Most of the canals today do not have the thick forested feel evident in this. But what they do have are the roads snaking into public imagination, come vehicle breakdown or baraat (or marriage procession right in the middle of the road) If you do some mural sleuthing, there is a darker tone of a cantonment which could be hinting at another more violent decade in Punjab.less 

      3. The depth of a story was a specialty of the miniature tradition. The perspective was never meant to be literal and multiple action tales would come alive on 1 wall as they do in this one mural. Can you locate the historical element here? Hint: Its work you find in museum walls and gift items, not often in or on homes anymore.

      The depth of a story was a specialty of the miniature tradition. The perspective was never meant to be literal and multiple action tales would come alive on 1 wall as they do in this one mural. Can you locate the historical element here? Hint: Its work you find in museum walls and gift items, not often in or on homes anymore.

      The depth of a story was a specialty of the miniature tradition. The perspective was never meant to be literal and multiple action tales would come alive on 1 wall as they do in this one mural. Can you locate the historical element here? Hint: Its work you find in museum walls and gift items, not often in or on homes anymore.

   
   

   The depth of a story was a specialty of the miniature tradition. The perspective was never meant to be literal and multiple action tales would come alive on 1 wall as they do in this one mural. Can you locate the historical element here? Hint: Its work you find in museum walls and gift items, not often in or on homes anymore

Punjab is the one state in the country which after the Green Revolution, has urban and rural settlements sitting cheek by jowl.

Sikh martial history with the historically present and currently absent trees of the land. When the imagined becomes very, very real.

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