‘Sikh Empire’ exhibition centre of attraction at Punjab craft mela

 According to the Indian Express “ Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Monday inaugurated the exhibition titled “The Sikh Empire (1710-1849): Perspectives of International Artists and Authors” at the ongoing Punjab Sakhi Shakti Craft Mela at Sheesh Mahal. “The Sikh Empire Empire” exhibition has garnered significant attention from the visitors. The exhibition will continue till March 2.

This is the 14th exhibition organised by the Panjab Digital Library (PDL). This is also in collaboration with the archives department. The Punjab State Archives Department has put up such an exhibition after nearly two decades.

The archive department (Chandigarh and Patiala) officials said this exhibition showcases the department’s valuable documents. They said the archives have displayed materials such as Khalsa Durbar records from 1839-1840 and 1841-1846 Toshakhana (treasury) records, the Punjab Gazette of 1857, the royal court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Tawarikh-e-Raj Khalsa, a map of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s kingdom, the royal genealogy, military records of the Khalsa Darbar, and the first book written about Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1840. 

On this occasion, Punjab Digital Library’s Outreach Director Dalbir Singh and coordinator Geetanjali said the exhibition presents the perspectives, in the form of documents and portraits, of foreign artists and authors who visited Punjab during the Sikh Empire. 

It offers visitors a unique opportunity to experience original archival materials, historical artifacts, and rarely-seen perspectives in the royal heritage atmosphere of Punjab, and artistic and literary connections between Punjab and the Sikh Empire, the officials said.

This exhibition was prepared by the interns of the Panjab Digital Library. 

Dalbir also said with the digitization of 100 million pages, PDL is the world’s largest repository of Punjabi heritage. He said that this allows Punjab’s history, memory, and cultural richness to be shared globally.

At the venue, the Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Career Hub of Punjabi University has also set up an exhibition of traditional items crafted by students under the sub-group of Rural Tourism & Traditional Arts.