Sobha Singh immortalised this bird on canvas. With its strong form and predatory looks, the falcon continues to inspire many artists in this region

These two belong to the rare category of folios, which the Government Museum and Art Gallery possesses. Not just for their aesthetic value, reflected in the intricately woven forms with Persian text written in nastaliq script or its delicate illuminated border, but for the subject as well. The folios were once used to illustrate the craft of falconry. Even without the help of the text, one can see that the subject deals exclusively with the training of falcons or baaz, as known in Punjab.

A little help from the museum authority, which is too willing to supply whatever little text available on the matter, it makes for an interesting story, '…it is necessary that the young baaz is hooded for one night and day and made to perch on the hand while the hood has been put in proper place. This is to be done so that the bird becomes used to the hood. On the second night the string of the hood is slightly loosened, half the eyes are uncovered and then the hood is immediately replaced and pulled down….'

Looking at the folios and the flurry of activities undertaken by the men, it seems like a difficult task to be accomplished and for the first time see the bird in different light. After all, one only associate falcons with Guru Gobind Singh without sparing much thought on the bird.

Talking about the tenth Sikh guru with a falcon perched on his hand or shoulder, one immediately remembers Sobha Singh who made the falcon famous. Prints of his Lord of the White Falcon is seen in most homes. "In my long association with Sobha Singh, I have seen him painting the bird many times," says Mehar Singh, the 80-year-old disciple of Sobha Singh. Later, the bird became a regular feature in Mehar Singh's paintings as well. "It's a bird, which has been closely associated with Punjabi culture," says Mehar. He has painted it with Guru Gobind Singh mostly in hunting scenes. "It's a hunting bird, with powerful lines which make it an artist's delight." Like his guru, Mehar too painted the bird extensively in a realistic form.

Other known artists who painted falcon are Devinder Singh and Malkit Singh. While Devinder is known for its realistic form in the religious context, Malkit did a little bit of experiment with it, both in the context and form. During an art camp organised by the Haryana Government couple of years back, the artist painted the bird in the context of Ramayana. "Baaz is a religious symbol for the Sikhs, I wanted to assimilate it to Hinduism. So, when we were asked to paint taking the Ramayana as theme, I brought the bird as a symbol of power," says Malkit. He executed it in a semi-realistic form, something he like he has done in his goat series, with their elongated neck and vibrant colour.

The bird continues to live in many artists' imagination, mostly foreign ones in love with the wildlife. But it is our homegrown artists who have made this bird iconic.