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The Damdama murals are the earliest specimens of wall paintings in
Punjab. These dramatic, simple and bold murals occupy an outstanding
place in the history of Punjab paintings.
Damdama Sahib is
Situated at a distance of 28 kilometres from Bhatinda. This area
falls in the Malwa (plateau) region of Punjab. Damdama or Talwandi
Sabo is sacred to the Sikhs because Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th
guru of the Sikhs, had stayed here around 1705-06 A.D., devoting
himself chiefly to converting people to Sikh religion. Thus it came
to be known as Damdama Sahib.
In the north of the
present Gurudwara is Bhai Dallas samadhi by the side of the tank.
Bhai Dalla, a native of this place, met the Sikh guru, and impressed
him by his skill in archery and was blessed by him. This building
was fully embellished with murals on the interior as well as
exterior. Now the outer walls have been completely whitewashed
obliterating the murals. But the murals can still be seen on the
walls and the ceiling inside the samadhi. They are in a fairly good
state of preservation. These murals are historically very important
in that they are the earliest specimens of the Punjab murals. They
were executed roughly between 1705 and 1740 AD. And were discovered
by K.C. Aryan in the 1960s. The themes painted here are derived
mostly from Hindu mythology and legends. The most notable are those
depicting Durga riding on her lion; Hanuman and an ascetic absorbed
in meditation seen in the front; the gigantic figure of Ravana being
attacked by monkeys and bears; Surya riding in his chariot driven by
a seven-headed horse; Kartikeya riding on his Vahana, the peacock,
etc. A few episodes from the Krishna legend such as the Gopi
Vastraharana are painted with equal skill. The most unusual scene is
the one depicting Shravan Kumar, the epitome of filial love and
service, carrying his parents in a palanquin.
Probably because the
village of Damdama was one of the important centres of Sikhism, the
Sikh themes were painted on the walls of Bhai Dalla’s samadhi
alongside themes from Hindu mythology. An impressive and forceful
mural shows Guru Gobind Singh astride a horse.
The historical
importance of these murals lies also in the fact that they are the
earliest specimens of wall painting in the Punjab and Pahari areas
and also of paintings on Sikh subjects. Some murals depict. Hindu
themes with Guru Nanak and other Sikh gurus. Plants, the branches of
which from a kind of arch, are painted between each figure. Below
the arch, we find Guru Gobind Singh riding on his horse with
attendants. In front of him, a Sikh Bhai is seen reading the holy
Granth. It is a well known fact that in Amritsar and Lahore Sikh
subjects came to be painted only in the latter half of the 19th
century.
Another remarkable
feature of these murals is the use of Gurumukhi script for
inscription. It is possible that the painting of Sikh subjects and
the use of Gurumukhi script were due to the fact that Damdama was one
of the earliest strongholds of Sikh religion.
One of the peculiarities
of these murals is the depiction of secular and unusual themes such a
Sant Kabir and his family, a lady playing a musical instrument and
entertaining a man seated on a chair (this portion suggested the late
Mughal period), a lady learning music from a master, etc. Kabir is
shown in a standing posture, looking down on his wife Mai Loi who is
weaving. Kabir’s son Jamala and daughter-in-law can be seen
seated on the other side of the loom, while his daughter is shown in
the foreground, grinding. The names of all these persons are
inscribed on top of their heads in Gugumukhi script.
It is difficult to say
anything precisely about the style of the murals because no specimens
of paintings or wall paintings earlier than these works are found.
After a careful study, it may be concluded that the style of the
murals is a mixture of Pahari and Rajasthani schools. Varied
influences can be traced her. For instance, the crowns and costumes
worn by the Hindu deities and other figures are similar to those seen
in Basohli painting.
These murals have most of
the characteristics of Basohli school such as an: archaic style, an
essentially simple composition and the figures having a savage
vitality dominating the scene. The practice of painting the figures
in colours and leaving the background completely bare and unpainted
reminds us of similar treatment in Mandi school of painting. The
Mandi artists also painted elongated figures as to be seen in these
murals. The facial expressions of practically all the figures, the
floral designs and certain motifs such as the plants twining round
the figures of Sikh gurus reflect the joy in floral decoration common
to most paintings of western (Rajasthani) school. The sun painted in
the centre of the ceiling has a typical Rajput beard. The entire
treatment of the Surya is peculiar to the Jodhpur school of painting.
Another notable figures
is that of the prancing horse of Guru Gobind Singh; the same
character is to be seen in the paintings and wooden carved horses of
Jaisalmer. It is likely that there was an encounter of Pahari and
Rajasthani artists at Damdama, and from that encounter was born this
particular style.
On the whole, what
strikes one most about these murals is their intensely dramatic
character, amazing simplicity, predominance of folk elements such as
crudity, lack of sophistication and distortion and total absence of
classical finesse.
Despite the fact that
Damdama murals are crude and unsophisticated, they are undoubtedly a
bold experiment in style and occupy an outstanding place in the
history of Punjab murals. The colours most commonly used the yellow
ochre, Indian red, orange and green. In the four corners of the
small room are to be seen peacocks painted in conventional style;
their necks are in low relief. These murals are outstanding not only
for the richness and variety of colours but for their lively drawing
intelligent stylization and the refinement of the decorative pattern.
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