Renovation SGPC style 8212; Gurdwara paintings are out, bathroom tiles are in

Not only are the tiles an aesthetic offense but they endanger the structure as they have been fixed with cement whereas the structure of the temple is of brick with lime and mortar. That8217;s not all: The entire octagonal building, a blend of Hindu and Muslim styles of architecture, has been coated with white enamel paint which is equally disastrous to the lime structure.

The fate of the 19th and early 20th century wall paintings, depicting a Janmasakhi of Guru Nanak Dev, which decorate the upper floors is worse. These are ruined inportions where the walls are crumbling. Cement plaster is being put over them, blocks of wood being hammered in or a coat of enamel paint being put in portions.

With complete control of repair or renovation vested with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee SGPC, concerned citizens are helpless witnesses. However, two Amritsarians, Punjabi poet and scholar Sheharyar and photographer and industrialist Brij Bedi have undertaken a project to photograph and catalogue the paintings. These are to be a part of a book to be brought out by the two, photographs by Bedi and text by Sheharyar, for the tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa.

8220;No one in the city but the two of us know the value of these paintings. I have managed to photograph what I could. With divine grace the pictures have come out well even when there was very little light. But I would photograph a painting and the next day a part of it would be under cement plaster,8221; says Bedi. Sheharyar is trying to do his bit by publishing articles inPunjabi newspapers on the value and quality of the wall paintings. 8220;These are masterpieces in both concept and execution and should be preserved at all costs,8221; says Sheharyar.

But will anyone listen? Sikh scholar Patwant Singh, who made a recent tour of Punjab to study the gurdwaras, says: 8220;Very little seems to be left of Sikh heritage when ours is just a history of some 500 years and 400 years as far as buildings go. When buildings which are thousands of years old can be preserved, why don8217;t we make an effort to salvage what we can?8221; He adds: 8220;However, in Punjab nouveau riche have taken over and it is all marble and bathroom tiles. It pains to see domes of every other gurdwara on the GT road with these tiles on the domes.8221;

Conservation architect Gurmeet Rai says: 8220;Baba Attal Gurdwara is not just a beautiful specimen of 18th Century architecture. It is very dear to the Sikh psyche.8221;

The gurdwara was built in memory of Baba Attal, son of the Guru Hargobind, sixth of the Sikh Gurus, whoestablished the Akal Takht. Baba Attal was a gifted child who performed a miracle to bring back to life a dead friend and earned the disapproval of his father. He died in remorse at the age of nine. The impressive structure of this tallest building in the Golden Temple Complex was completed and decorated with murals and frescoes during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

The construction on the Gurdwara started when restoration work was taken up after Afghan invader Ahmed Shah Abdali8217;s attack on the Harimandir Sahib in the 1760s.

To be concluded