Poet & writer
Manjit Bawa
ਮਨਜੀਤ ਬਾਵਾ
Painter from Dhuri whose flat fields of pure colour, flutes, cows and Sufi figures made him one of India's best-loved modern artists.
Manjit Bawa was born in Dhuri, near Sangrur, in 1941, and studied in Delhi and London. Against the grey and brown of much Indian modern art, he painted in flat, glowing reds, yellows and purples.
His figures, Krishna with his flute, Ranjha with his cattle, Sufi dancers, float in open space, drawn from the Punjabi folk and Sufi world he grew up in.