by Diwan Manna
This foreword was written for the book Vandd, published by Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi for the exhibition of artworks by Mohinder Thukral, which was held at Punjab Kalit Kala Akademi at its Galleries at Punjab kala Bhawan, Chandigarh from 12th 19th November 2021
This exhibition by Mohinder Thukral is an endeavor not only to remind us of the horrors and sufferings of millions but also to help in understanding the intricate and complicated web of thought processes that prompted friends, acquaintances and neighbours, who had co-existed in peace and goodwill for centuries, to become the part of frenzied mobs out to loot, rape and kill. What was it that turned humans into blood-thirsty beasts?
Mohinder Thukral was only a year old at the time of Partition and heard these stories from his mother and her sister and later from his grandfather. Although he lived his life well as a wrestler and a commercial artist painting billboards for the mainstream Hindi Cinema of which his brother was a distributor in Jalandhar, yet throbbing memories and pangs of suffering never let him rest at peace. His inner voice was pulsating to find expression as the artist residing in the dark alleys yearned to translate those memories into visuals on canvas.
Now when Mohinder is almost 76, he resolved to hear that inner voice and what we see is a very powerful set of images that, in my view, would help us look at the haunting past with a new perspective.
Seventy-five years after the bloodbath that shook the conscience of the helpless and the humane, on both sides of the dividing line, there is still a stab in the heart. Silence became the surviving tool and the wounds were kept guarded. Many among the generations to follow remained unaware of the wages of freedom that were paid that side and this side as the Radcliffe line mercilessly divided the nation into two on the basis of religion. One may say that it is best that the ghosts of the past be banished yet for the sake of better understanding of the how and why of what happened, it becomes essential to have a considered review that finds expression in art, poetry, music and other creative modes, every now and then.
With the organisation of this exhibition the Akademi intends to contribute in the continuation of a dialogue by revisiting the wounds of the unpleasant past not to hurt but to find means to heal them in the hope of a beautiful and pleasant future.
-Diwan Manna
Artist and President, Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi