Ashwini’s book ‘Amrita & Victor’ paints the intimate, flamboyant, free-spirited, colorful life of celebrated painter Amrita Sher-gil/ GREATER JAMMU/ Rashmi Talwar

Ashwini’s book ‘Amrita & Victor’ paints the intimate, flamboyant, free-spirited, colorful life of  celebrated painter Amrita Sher-gil

Rashmi Talwar

Book: ‘Amrita & Victor’ by Ashwini Bhatnagar

Pages: 214

Publisher: Fingerprint

Ashwini’s book ‘Amrita & Victor’ paints the intimate, flamboyant, free-spirited, colorful life of  celebrated painter Amrita Sher-gil

Rashmi Talwar

AMRITSAR 9th June 2023—Through the prism of letters exchanged between Amrita Sher-gil and Victor Egan, her cousin, who became her beau and life partner much against the standard norms of society, Ashwini Bhatnagar’s book ‘Amrita and Victor’ explores the celebrated artist’s tumultuous journey of love and colours across continents, that created a rare bridge between Indian and Western art.

The book weaves a love story interspersed with Amrita’s creativity that astonished art connoisseurs, including Jawahar Lal Nehru. “The extraordinarily talented, incredibly beautiful, and deliciously free-spirited Amrita refused to paint Nehru- she found him too handsome!

Amrita born in 1913 in Budapest Hungary, to a Sikh Aristocrat and named after Amritsar or the Amrit Sarovar of Golden Temple, was the daughter of Umrao Singh Shergill, scion of royal Majithia family of Majithia- a Township 25 Kms from Amritsar. Umrao’s forefathers were generals in Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army. Amrita is the daughter of a man who missed by a whisker, to become the grandson-in-law of the Maharaja, had he not fallen in love with Hungarian Marie Antoinette, a travelling companion of the Princess Bamba, whom he was to marry; Bamba, being the daughter of Prince Duleep Singh, son of the Maharaja.

During a talk with Majha House founder Preeti Gill, about the half-Hungarian, half-Punjabi renowned and unconventional Hungrian-Indian artist Amrita Sher-gil and her Hungarian cousin Victor, Ashwini disclosed to a packed audience how the book, on the distinguished artist, lingered in his mind for 20 years after a discussion with renowned writer Khushwant Singh, where I heard Khushwant using unsavory language to describe Amrita. “I confronted him, although I had no clue about her, to be told to go find out about her and write a book. This triggered me to explore the life of this mysterious Hungarian Indian artist,” shared Ashwini.

On whether Amrita was moral? Ashwini said – “It is not a question of morality but ethics, and aesthetics”. “I never really saw Amrita through the moral glass. I saw her as a highly sensitive artist, who drew and triggered her creativity not only from her traumas in early life but also her explorations- of the rational and irrational, the state of wild and untamed, from a place of the unknown, the rough, the bare and the nude.”   From her partner she felt a high voltage need for support, acknowledgment, and justification for her wild bouts involving multiple sexual partners and unconventional behavior. “And as an artist, seeking and finding support is as natural as life,” the author answered.  

Drawing a comparison with a book he wrote on actor Meena Kumari, Ashwini said he could draw parallels between the two extremely talented beauties Amrita and Meena Kumari, who flouted every social bond and emerged on the wings of their own talent.  Though illustrious in their respective field of arts both sadly, died young.  Their talents didn’t go unescorted there was someone who gently supported and encouraged them to take a flight to fulfill their inner rushes of creativity. I never felt Kamal Amrohi to be the villain in Meena Kumari’s life and didn’t pen his personality as such. Similarly, the character of Victor too is supportive in my book much to the chagrin of those who felt he was a sissy and dumbo to Amrita’s untamed promiscuous life. From a place of exploration is where Amrita drew her creativity to paint unusual human and other subjects with intensity and a refreshing style. In fact, my take on both these men is varied and gentle, supportive and humane for the flamboyance of the frothing fountain of talent of both women, that they loved and supported.”

Ashwini, the author-journalist, also a film writer, having worked in editorial positions in top national dailies, was in Amritsar, for the book release, at the city’s cultural hub -Majha House.  

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When Germany and Pakistan met in India, Amritsar / Rashmi Talwar / Kashmir Images /

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When Germany and Pakistan met in India, Amritsar

Book Release

Rashmi Talwar

AMRITSAR 11^th December 2022–

In an afternoon with a nip of a winter chill, at Majha House, a literary hub in Amritsar, German writer Bernhard Moestl and Pakistan writer Tahmina Aziz Ayub shared the stage for the release of their respective books in the border city.  ‘Shaolin: How to Win Without Fighting’, a book by Moestl, and ‘Forgotten Legacies of Sir Ganga Ram – 1851 – 1927’, by Ayub.

Majha House founder, Preeti Gill, introduced the two – ‘Bernhard and Tahmina are not just writers but explorers of different philosophies”.

While introducing his book, Moestl said, “As rightly pointed out, my book was an exploration of the ancient Shaolin way of life, insights, life skills, and philosophies to win in life.” And, opined –“We don’t need to win, but we do need to fight all through our lives!”

Adding –“Many people live all their lives trying to prove to other people that they are the best. But in the Shaolin way, we do not need to ‘prove’ that we are stronger than others; we just ‘know’, and in this realization lies the win! The question is not what we can do, but what we think we can do. It is all about harnessing and realizing the power of the mind.”

Differentiating between ‘mindfulness’ and ‘meditation’ he said, “To me, ‘Mindfulness’ means being aware and conscious of actions and reactions. For instance -If a person does not act or react according to our expectations, that person controls us. We react to his behavior, because he presents himself as different from the ordinary, as someone mysterious. But if we rise above this ‘expectation’, then that is ‘meditation’.”

The second session saw Tahmina talking about her book “The forgotten legacies of Rai Bahadur Sir Ganga Ram 1851-1927,” about the person, beyond the renowned Ganga Ram Hospitals, which we in North India are familiar with.

“To me, Sir Ganga Ram- the iconic engineer and philanthropist, is an unsung hero whose life and art need to be known widely”, the author opined. Delighted that her book was being first launched in Amritsar, even before its book launch in Lahore, her hometown, she said –“I have strong ties with Amritsar, as well as the protagonist of my book ‘Sir Ganga Ram’. Not many people know that Sir Ganga Ram’s early life was in Amritsar, living in the area of Katra Ahluwalia in the ancient walled city near the Golden Temple, as this Aggarwal family arrived from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. After going to Lahore College, Ganga Ram did his engineering at Thomason Engineering College, Roorkee. His first major project was in Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan, and later went on to shape the architecture of the city of Lahore with his valuable additions.”

Sir Ganga Ram’s contributions spanned the field of architecture and women’s rights with a special focus on widows and empowerment. Sir Ganga Ram when talking about the importance of Lahore in his life had famously said-“It was a –‘love affair’!”- If Lahore changed him, he too shaped Lahore.

Among his many contributions was ‘DAV college in Lahore designed by him, as were Aitchison College, and Hailey’s College of Commerce; he renovated Tollington Market, created Mayo School of Arts (now National College of Arts, Lahore), the General Post Office, Government College Chemical Laboratory. He built Lady Maynard Industrial School for Hindu-Sikh women training, who faced financial difficulties. Along with iconic buildings – the Lahore museum, Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore,- presently a 700 bedded state of art low-cost Hospital, besides the General Post Office, Lahore among many others.

Extolling the philanthropist’s intellect Aziz says-“His intelligence and vision went beyond architecture, and dedicated to the cause of education, women elevation and empowerment. He is credited with much including the introduction of the subject of Commerce, as a full-fledged institute in Lahore.

“There are many projects which are his ideas and we still practice them- such as carpet weaving, and furniture making for jail inmates. In addition, the novel concept of lift irrigation and hydel power, and enhancement of agro-industry, all came from his visionary mind. He also got made schools for children, homes for widows and destitute children, “she said in conclusion.

Significantly, the closest Sir Ganga Ram came to naming places after himself were the two Ganga Ram hospitals in Lahore and Delhi, and a model village ‘Gangapur’ with new irrigation techniques and a farming system. Along with this, he created a unique transport system of single horse-drawn twin-train carriages on a narrow rail track; carrying 60 people at a time, a matchless marvel carrying people from his village Gangapur, to Buchiana to and fro, for trade and other activities.

Along with an innovative hydel project for irrigation that turned acres of barren land into gold; Ganga Ram also founded  Widow’s Marriage Association and according to his Biographer- Pyare Lal Bedi,  is known to recite verses of Munajat-e-Bewgan  -The widow’s prayer, a poem written by Urdu poet Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali and was moved to tears while reciting it.    

As the evening fell into dusk readying for another golden dawn to usher in the energy of the magnificent man -Sir Ganga Ram, whose aura and gifts are remembered fondly long after his passing, on both sides of the partitioned borders, it gave a glimpse to the German foreigner about our neck of the woods, and the history of two nations painful divide.    

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