DR SS BHATTI: A Man of Many Parts

Dr SS Bhatti

Amritsar-born [24 June 1938] Dr SS Bhatti is India’s most versatile professional, nicknamed “Chandigarh’s Mr Versatility” by The India Express Chandigarh Newsline. The following report captioned “Awards” appeared in Chandigarh Newsline of the Indian Express dated May 29, 1995:

CHANDIGARH’s “Mr Versatility — namely Architecture College principal S.S. Bhatti — continues to leave his footprints on the sands of time. The American Biographical Institute has conferred one of its Twentieth Century Achievement Awards on him and described him “as most admirable and whose career achievements and social contributions have been selected for permanent documentation in Five Hundred Leaders of Influence designed for biographical reference and inspiration for present-day citizens of the Twentieth Century as well as future generations.” It’s a good thing the ABI has decided to document Bhatti Sahib. Otherwise, it might be difficult to believe that such an all-round outstanding individual actually exists.

He hails from a family of artists, artisans, builders, and craftsmen, associated with the art of Building Design since the reign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb [1659–1707 CE]. His ancestors built the Badshahi Masjid in Lahore during that period. His father Sardar Balwant Singh Bhatti was working on the Council Chamber Lahore in the mid-1930s when he told his colleague that if a son is born in his family he would make him an architect. Dr Bhatti was born four years later and took his B.Arch. degree from Sir JJ College of Architecture, Bombay, in 1960!

Dr SS Bhatti with his book GURU NANAK DEV

He inherited from his father creative versatility and the pursuit of excellence besides a love of Gurbani [Scripture of the Sikh Faith] and perennial fascination for the great art and cultural tradition of India. His father designed Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Hassan Abdal [now in Pakistan] and Takht Shri Kesgarh, Anandpur Sahib [the most significant of the Five Seats of Temporal Power in the Sikh tradition], and was a past master in Sikh Architecture [his article on this subject can be seen on the InterNet], painting, sculpture, wood-carving, Indian classical music, and Greco-Indian style of wrestling. He was for many years the Secretary of Amritsar District Wrestling Association.

Dr Bhatti has striven to extend the family tradition of versatile creativity to become India’s foremost protagonist of Holistic Humanism. He has made an enormous contribution to many different fields. This fact has been widely acknowledged by eminent professionals working in them. His Masters in Architecture research thesis done in 1983 from The University of Queensland, Australia, has made Chandigarh’s Rock Garden [with which he had been associated since 1973] known throughout the world. The Indian edition of Reader’s Digest in an article by Ashok Mahadevan not only acknowledged this fact but also carried his pen-‘n’-ink portrait of Nek Chand with the write-up.

Dr Bhatti has won over 20 national and international awards, published about 700 articles, and authored 27 books. He was The Tribune’s official Art Critic for 20 years and was Dean, Faculty of Design and Fine Arts, Panjab University [1984–1996]. His complete Curriculum Vitae [CV] would run into several thousand words! Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi has conferred the Best Book of the Year Award 2019 [Rs 25,000] on his Urdu poetry anthology SHU’OOR-I-BEKHUDI [Knowledge of the Unconscious-Self]

1. ARCHITECTURE

Although Dr Bhatti has primarily been a career teacher all his life yet he has done some important architectural projects. Despite the fact that their number is limited, he has successfully made worthwhile innovations in each case. Since the private practice was not permitted to the teachers under government rules he did not subscribe to the idea of doing Architecture on the sly unlike some colleagues in his own and other institutions in the country. Those which he did as part of Institutional Consultancy are outstation works done for the Government of Punjab numbering over a dozen. The information concerning them is not readily available for inclusion in this write-up. At any rate, the distinct merit of each project done by him is underscored in the examples listed below.

• ARCHITECT’S OWN HOUSE: 3314, SECTOR 15-D, CHANDIGARH

Built-in 1975, this House won the University of Roorkee Professor Mahesh Varma Construction Research Award for original contribution to Innovative Engineering. Dr Bhatti is thus the only Architect in India to have won an award for Innovative Engineering — a discipline perceived to be poles apart from architectural creativity.

MAJOR INNOVATIONS

• RBC [Reinforced Brick Concrete] instead of RCC
• [Reinforced Cement Concrete] slab [designed as continuous slab] was used for the roof and intermediate floors.
• Only 2.4 tons of steel was used as against 4.6 tons, which is still the practice for constructing a slab of 3,000 square feet. Cost of construction was reduced by 33%.
• Frameless doors and windows were innovated.
• Flymesh shutter was made part of the wood-panelled flap.
• The number of doors was reduced from 13 to 7 by ingenious planning.
• Lime mortar with kiln ash, not surkhi, was used in brick masonry instead of cement mortar.
• Windows for light and view were separated from ventilators thereby saving on curtains.
• No lintels were used for the door- and window openings.
• Substantial savings on the plastering of walls and ceiling were made by using a chemical intensifier: one litre replaced one bag of cement.
• TAKHARS’ RESIDENCE, SECTOR 35, CHANDIGARH

This house has been featured in “New Indian Homes” published by ED Galgotia, New Delhi. The authors have called it “the bold and beautiful”. As “musings in brick” this residence demonstrates how a highly personalised expression can be achieved while respecting the strict regimen of Building Byelaws such as is religiously enforced in Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh.

• PUNJAB KALA BHAWAN, ROSE GARDEN, CHANDIGARH

After the Chief Minister of Punjab, Sardar Parkash Singh Badal, as Head of the specially-constituted State-Level Committee, had given his approval to the project the Architect was commissioned to design the building for Punjab Arts Council [now called Punjab Kala Bhawan], under the chairmanship of the legendary Dr MS Randhawa. He called Punjab Kala Bhawan the most beautiful building in Chandigarh next to Le Corbusier’s Museum. This building houses three academies: Fine Arts, Literature, and Music-Theatre, and is the headquarters of Punjab Arts Council — an autonomous body set up by the Government of Punjab to promote the stated activities. As envisioned and designed by the architect, Punjab Kala Bhawan has become a most vibrant cultural centre for the State and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Punjab Kala Bhawan, featured in the Korean International Design Journal, along with the works of India’s top-ranking architects AP Kanvinde, Charles Correa, BV Doshi, AD Raje, Satish Gujral, Raj Rewal, and Nari Gandhi, has earned Dr Bhatti this enviable comment from the editors: “A prophetic world of works holding a wide-ranging sense of appreciation”.

· GURU TEGH BAHADUR BHAWAN, PANJAB UNIVERSITY, CHANDIGARH

This building is designed around a glass-dome-topped central light-well. The concept symbolises that Education to be received here would lead to inner illumination. The building houses six chairs of exclusive eminence named Guru Nanak Sikh Studies, Baba Farid, Bhai Vir Singh, etc. each with its own department, besides the central library, Punjab arts and culture museum, computer lab, complete with infrastructural facilities. Foundation-stone was laid by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. While respecting its context, the building makes a refreshing architectural statement as a psycho-spiritual academic theme!

SHAHEED-i-‘AZAM BHAGAT SINGH MEMORIAL MUSEUM, KHATKAR KALAN, PUNJAB, [PROJECT]

This building commemorates the unique contribution of Sardar Bhagat Singh, called Martyr the Great, who sacrificed his life to free India from the shackles of the British Rule. It was intended to be built at his ancestral village Khatkar Kalan in District Nawanshahr, Punjab. Martyr the Great changed his identity from a Sikh with a turban to an Englishman wearing a hat — an image which has become ingrained in the Indian psyche. The hat-icon has been used as a symbol recalling Bhagat Singh’s dynamic personality.

2. ART

[Drawing, Painting, Sculpting, Print-Making, Graphic Design, Mural]

• Hails from a family of Artists, Architects, Builders, etc., involved in art since the age of 5, participating in exhibitions when he was 12, though professionally trained as Architect.
• Awarded Highly Commended Certificate in All India Art Exhibition at 13.
• Works in Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Prints, Computer Art, Graphic Design, Murals.
• Produced about 3,000 works in the above-noted mediums, including illustrations for his English and Urdu poems along with cover-designs for published Poetry Anthologies.
• Painting titled “The Rose Garden” was selected by a national jury and published on the cover page of the Bengali magazine “Desh”.

· Articles on the Artist have been published in India Magazine; The Tribune; Alive; and other magazines. Dr Mulk Raj Anand has written an exclusive piece titled: “Bhatti’s Mastery of Paint” which was published in The Tribune.

· Original applied research in Art, Architecture, Landscape Design, Environmental Conservation, etc. was pioneered by him with his thesis: “The Rock Garden of Chandigarh — A Critical Evaluation of the Work of Nek Chand” [1983] done from The University of Queensland, Australia, which has made this “Outsider Art” world-famous.

· Published over 400 articles/essays on Art and Aesthetics in national and international newspapers and magazines; and delivered several public lectures and radio-talks on Art.

· Published Artbook titled “Journey of the Straight Line” on SK Sahni’s Drawings/Creativity.

· Won several awards/prizes in Art exhibitions and honoured by All India Arts & Crafts Society [AIFACS] as Veteran Artist.

· Entry appears in: (i) Who’s Who in International Art, International Biographical Art Dictionary, published and distributed in Switzerland, Edition 1996/97; (ii) Artists’ Directory, published by Central Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, etc.

· Appointed National Art Adviser for India by the National Academy of Arts, Sciences, and Literature, Italy.

· Dean, Faculty of Design and Fine Arts, Panjab University, Chandigarh [1984–1996]

· His writings as Official Art Critic of The Tribune during 1977–1997 created an Art Movement in North-Western India, which put the regional talent on the national/international Art-Map.

E-MAIL: ashokathegreat1938@gmail.com PHONE: +91–172–2773258 [R] WEBSITE: www.drbhattipedia.net

Biographical Sketch of Dr SS Bhatti

• Born in Amritsar on 24 June 1938, Dr S (urindera) S (ingh) Bhatti is India’s most versatile professional, nicknamed “Chandigarh’s Mr Versatility” by Chandigarh Newsline of The Indian Express.
• He pursues 55 disciplines/subjects, namely, Architecture; Art; Poetry; Criticism; Aesthetics; Engineering; Vocal Music; Musicology; Comparative Religion; Mysticism; Geography; Philosophy; Sociology; Mythology; Planning; Creative Writing; and so forth.
• He holds three PhDs: (1) “CHANDIGARH and the Context of Le Corbusier’s ‘Statute of the Land’: A Study of Plan, Action, and Reality” [1991]; (2) “CREATIVE MYSTICISM: A Study of Guru Nanak Bani with special reference to Japuji” [2000]; and (3) “SRI HARMANDAR SAHIB: A Study of Architecture, Engineering, and Aesthetics” [2008].
• He won the Fifth JIIA [Journal of the Indian Institute of Architects] National Award for Excellence in Architecture [Research Category] for his First PhD in 1993.
• His Second PhD was honoured by Guru Har Krishan Educational Society, Chandigarh, as the Best Doctorate did in 2000 at the Department of Guru Nanak Sikh Studies, Panjab University.
• By virtue of his rd PhD Third TtThird PhD, he was featured in Rajya Sabha TV Documentary on Golden Temple in 2019.
• He took his B.Arch. degree from Sir JJ College of Architecture, University of Bombay, in 1960. His Masters in Architecture [M. Arch.] research thesis done in 1983 from The University of Queensland, Australia, has made Chandigarh’s Rock Garden [with which he had been associated since 1975] known throughout the world.
• He hails from a family of architects, artists, artisans, builders, and craftsmen, associated with the art and science of Building Design since Aurangzeb’s times. His ancestors built the Badshahi Masjid in Lahore during the Mughal emperor’s reign (1658–1707 CE).
• His father Sardar Balwant Singh Bhatti [1905–1993] had worked in the mid-1930s on the Council Chamber Lahore designed by the British architect Basil Martin Sullivan.
• He inherited from his father creative versatility and the pursuit of excellence besides love for Gurbani and understanding of the great Indian art and cultural tradition. His father designed Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hasan Abdal [now in Pakistan] and Takht Shri Kesgarh Anandpur Sahib and was a past master in Sikh Architecture [his article on this subject can be seen on the InterNet], painting, sculpture, wood-carving, Indian classical music, and Greco-Indian style of wrestling. He was for many years the Secretary of Amritsar District Wrestling Association. Dr Bhatti’s sport in school and college was also wrestling.
• Dr Kharak Singh, the illustrious founder of Institute Of Sikh Studies [IOSS], was Dr Bhatti’s father’s student at Baba Bakala in Punjab.
• Dr Bhatti has striven to extend the family tradition of versatile creativity to become India’s foremost protagonist of Holistic Humanism.
• He has made an enormous contribution to many different fields which fact is widely acknowledged by eminent professionals working in them in India and abroad.
• He has to his credit 3,000 works of Art, and 5,000 poems in English, Urdu, Punjabi, and Hindi.
• He has won over 20 national and international awards, including IIA [Indian Institute of Architects] Professor MB Achwal Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Architectural Education.
• He has been honoured as a Veteran Artist by the All India Arts & Crafts Society [AIFACS] and appointed National Art Adviser for India by the National Academy of Arts, Sciences, and Literature, Italy.
• He has published over 700 articles on a vast variety of subjects/themes/issues in newspapers, magazines, and journals in India and abroad, and authored 31 books [out of which seven were published in America] and as many more are in the process of compilation and publication.
• He was the official Art Critic of The Tribune for 20 years, and Senator as well as Dean, Faculty of Design and Fine Arts, Panjab University, for 12 years [1984–1996].
• Dr Bhatti is the highest qualified architect-educationist-researcher in India.
• Those interested in knowing more about him may visit his website: www.drbhattipeida.net

E-MAIL: ashokathegreat1938@gmail.com PHONE: +91–172–2773258

LIST OF BOOKS AUTHORED by DR SS BHATTI

1. CHANDIGARH: An Irony of History — — — — — — -RoseDog, USA $134

2. GOLDEN TEMPLE: Marvel of Sikh Architecture — —RoseDog, USA $38

3. SONGS OF THE SOUL [Anthology of 275 Sonnets] — RoseDog, USA $24

4. REFLECTIONS [Reflective Essays on diverse subjects] -Red Lead Press, USA $18

5. WORDS [A New Dictionary of the English Language] — Red Lead Press, USA $13

6. LET LIFE LIVE — Poetry Anthology with Paintings — — — — — Partridge orders.india@partridgepublishing.com

7. MY POEMS MY PAINTINGS — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Partridge orders.india@partridgepublishing.com

8. JAPUJI — Exegesis & Poetic Rendering — — — — —Sanbun Publishers, New Delhi Rs 150 [$10]

9. AN ODYSSEY INTO MIND — — — — —White Falcon Publishing Rs 250

10. ARCHITECTURE — Theory Practice Research Pedagogy — — — — — — White Falcon Publishing Rs 2990

11. MODERN ART & Other Essays — —White Falcon Publishing Rs 1799

12. MY ART — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — White Falcon Publishing

13. SH’OOR-I-BEKHUDI [Anthology of Urdu Quatrains] — — — — — - White Falcon Publishing

14. DIVINITY’S DOORLESS DOME [Poetry Anthology] — — — — — — — White Falcon Publishing

15. ROCK GARDEN OF CHANDIGARH [Research Thesis] — — — — — White Falcon Publishing

16. IDEAS FOR ACTION — — — — — — — — — — White Falcon Publishing

17. MYSTIC ROSARY OF DR DIWANA — — — Kohli Publishers Out of Print

18. CONTEMPORARY URDU POETRY: Contribution of Poets of Punjab

19. PYAM-I-DARD-I-BEDARMAAN [Anthology of Urdu Poetry] Rs 125

20. PSYCHIC SHADOWS [Three-in-One Anthology of Poems] Rs 125

21. SHIV SINGH’S WORLD OF ART Shiv Singh [December 2014] Rs 1500

22. CHANDIGARH -2020 [Seminar Papers Edited by SS Bhatti] Chandigarh Administration Out of Print

23. GURU NANAK’S BANI — Revelation Mysticism Creativity — — — — Harman Publishing House Rs 500

24. JOURNEY OF THE STRAIGHT LINE — An Exposition of Sahni’s Drawings & Creativity

Dr SS Bhatti