Exhibition of paintings “Udasian of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji” put up by eminent poet and artist Swarnjit Savi

Ludhiana, November 1, 2019: Commemorating the auspicious 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the four-day celebrations kicked off at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) today. On the inaugural day, an exhibition of paintings “Udasian of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji” was put up by an eminent poet and artist Swarnjit Savi at Dr MS Randhawa Art Gallery of PAU. The paintings depicted the humanism and spirituality of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji who was also an ardent worshipper of nature and considered work a sacred activity. Inaugurating the exhibition, the chief guest Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon, Vice-Chancellor and Padma Shri Awardee, remarked: “It was pleasure to see paintings on the four Udasis undertaken by Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. It is an outstanding work and a result of hard work over the years.” Dr JS Mahal, Director of Extension Education, said: “It is simply spellbound to see the wonderfully depicting Udasis of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.” The exhibition provides an opportunity to the young faculty, students and staff of PAU to know about the philosophy of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, he added. Sardar Gurbhajan Gill, Former President of Punjabi Sahit Academy and Former Senior Editor (Punjabi), PAU, appreciated the work and use of soft colours in the paintings of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Mr Swarnjit Savi said he started painting Udasis of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji in 2010 using natural pigments. Apart from being displayed at several art galleries, these paintings have been displayed at Southhall (England), Toronto (Canada), California State University (USA), Fresno ( USA), Austria, Thailand, Afghanistan, etc., he informed. An author of nine books in Punjabi, Mr Savi has presented papers on art and literature at various seminars. Present among those were eminent Punjabi litterateurs Sardar Ravindra Bhanot, Sardar Jaswant Zafar, and senior officials, deans, directors, additional directors of extension education, additional directors of research, faculty, students and staff of PAU. On the occasion, tree plantation drive was also organized in the University premises, where 550 saplings of different trees were planted. Meanwhile, a week-long “Inter-College Youth Festival” began at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) today. Dedicated to the 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the students of five constituent colleges of PAU, namely College of Agriculture, College of Horticulture and Forestry, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, College of Community Science and outstation institutions are participating in the youth festival. On the first day, students demonstrated their creativity and speaking skills during poster making, extempore/elocution, clay modelling and poetic recitation/haas rass competitions. Participants recited poems on the topic “Happiness, Hope and Relation” whereas during elocution, they spoke on the topic “Changing Face of Values in Contemporary Times.” In her inaugural remarks, Dr (Mrs) RK Dhaliwal, Director Students’ Welfare, who was the chief guest, said youth festivals play a pivotal role in personality enhancement of students. She referred to Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s message of universal brotherhood and oneness of mankind. Exhorting the students to work hard and perform good deeds, she said Baba Nanak had said: “Make your mind the farmer; good deeds the farm; modesty the water and body the field.” Results Poster Making: 1) Manpreet Kaur (College of Horticulture and Forestry), 2) Karun Katoch (College of Horticulture and Forestry), 3) Ragini (College of Community Science) Elocution: 1) Pratistha (College of Basic Sciences), 2) Shubhreen Kaur (College of Agriculture), 3) Harsh Mithani (College of Agricultural Engineering) Extempore: 1) Khushboo (College of Agriculture), 2) Hitashi Aggarwal (College of Agriculture), 3) Gaganjeet Singh (College of Basic Sciences)