Senior research scholar and intellectual Prof Dawar Khan Daud is widely known for his unique research pursuits in Pashto literature. His recent attempt at exploring and preserving different aspects of the renowned artist Arbab Sardar who through his exquisite art pieces has popularized the cultural identity of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its people both at national and international levels. Arbab Sardar is a silent artist who remains always engrossed in his artwork but keenly interested in new ideas and themes. He has garnered a widespread fame for his deep insight and flowing thoughts in his art pieces presenting and representing art, history and culture of the militancy -hit province through different art mediums.
Beginning with pencil sketch, Arbab Sardar has taught art education at Abaseen Arts Council Peshawar and has attended numerous seminars and workshops where he has delivered lectures and participated in solo and group exhibitions while having received great appreciation from art lovers. Also he has represented Pakistan in foreign countries especially Italy from where he has got a diploma in art as well. He has a great hand in landscapes both in water and oil colours.
Being a great and ardent lover of his people and land he has recently completed a project on peace landscape with beautiful charming textures showing various breeds of flowers grown in different parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which in fact are reflective of the politeness and innocence blended in hospitality and regard for the guests. Large number of his hand-made murals, paintings and life-size portraits in fibre glass are still displayed and hung at various places and points in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and elsewhere in the country.
More than 500 art pieces which Arbab Sardar has worked on over past five decades are still displayed at his home at Arbab Landi a village in close vicinity of Peshawar for art lovers and causal visitors. Being a multifaceted personality he is expert in the art of calligraphy, decorative art, sculpturing and painting says that he has loved colours and sketches since his tender age. “My love for colours and portraits is very old, at my very tender age I would prepare sketches, sculptures, portraits and landscapes with plaster of Paris, Char -coal and water colours and would also do calligraphy at my sweet will,” Prof Dawar Khan Daud writes while quoting Arbab Sardar in his book under review.
Born in 1934, at Arbab Landi village, Arbab Sardar qualified his matric from Government High School No 1 Peshawar Cantt in 1960 and did his intermediate from the historic Islamia College Peshawar (now University) in 1962 and the same year he got his first award for his pencil sketch at a Student’s Art Exhibition when he was still a student of ICP and has yet to attend the Fine Arts department university of Peshawar, this proved a turning point in illustrious art career, Prof Daud narrates.
Arbab Sardar’s father wanted him to get agriculture education so that he could serve his own lands but Nature had destined him only to serve and art and culture as he used to draw human figures and animals sketches on his school wooden- table . Landscapes, flowers and human figures would always fascinate his fertile and creative imagination.
Therefore, he withdrew his admission from Agriculture University and stuck to receive art education. He qualified diploma in the Decorative Art from the Institute of Professional Carara Italy in 1975 in the city of the great artist ‘Michael Angelo’. The book on Arbab Sardar’s art and personality in easy fluent Pashto by Prof Dawar Khan Daud is a must read not only for art lovers but also for general readers.
With printed pages 125, price 400 the book carries some pictures of Arbab Sardar’s rare paintings and sculptures.
