Nihangs, the last guardians of the Sikh martial spirit, roam freely across the Punjab (western state of India). Their nomadic lifestyle is dedicated to praying the almighty and practicing the Sikh martial arts. They maintain these traditions from the time of the 10th Sikh Guru, who left this world in 1708 AD.
A description of them from an ancient text (Prachin Panth Prakash) is what we can continue to see today.
“Where the Khalsa (Sikh Army) had set camp the war drums were being beaten and battle standards were raised. He arrived at where the Singhs were based. Ahead he could see where the Singhs were congregating. The musicians sung the Gurus hymns while others read the scriptures. Some were grounding sukha (cannabis) and others were preparing mahaparshad (meat). Some Singhs were cleaning and sharpening their weapons. Some trained in archery while other did target practise with their muskets. The Singhs massaged each other while others fanned the congregation. Some set off far to fetch water for the Singhs to bathe in…Running around the Singhs served one another”. (Prachin Panth Parkash)
Each year, during the spring festival of Holla Mohalla, the Nihangs still come together at Anandpur Sahib (Punjab) from all corners. It is their time to show the world their dedication to the ancient martial traditions of the Sikhs.
In creating this series of “Guns of Nihangs”, I broke the barrier by striking dialogue with them. Having demonstrated my intent, I was able to partner in making them pose with their Guns around their tented habitats.
Comments(25)
1469 Blog says:
May 20, 2013 at 5:13 PMGreat effort. Very nice shots. Congratulations!
Tajir Singh says:
May 21, 2013 at 11:37 PMHello,
very good thanks! Awesome pictures – they are going to be my wallpaper! Waheguru ji ka Khalsa , Waheguru ji ki Fateh!
Parmeet says:
June 21, 2013 at 9:56 PMAwesome shots!
Umang says:
November 5, 2013 at 5:48 PMAmazing
Jas Singh says:
December 19, 2013 at 8:52 AMVaheGuru – These are amazing!
amarjeet kaur says:
July 18, 2014 at 11:30 PMYou have taken very rare unbelievable moments in your camera.lliked it.
Surupa Chatterjee says:
January 12, 2015 at 3:16 PMThe Camera assumes its own life when placed in your hands…Brilliant
Gurpreet Singh says:
January 12, 2015 at 4:25 PMAwesome pictures Amardeepji…….another fantastic attempt!!!
hammad says:
January 12, 2015 at 6:24 PMAmardeep g, I showed all your previous collection to 2-3 National College of arts Lahore students, and they were really impressed. this Nihang photo shoot will definitely impress them, as the basic three colors and the contrast between those three colors, blue main, is just wonderful. onething that comes in mind at once is that “if all these warriors always wear that clean cloths?
Geetali says:
January 12, 2015 at 6:41 PMAmardeep, you continue to surprise and amaze with your photographic insights. Thank you for this wonderful share.
Mantosh says:
January 12, 2015 at 9:33 PMyou are a master at bringing our the subjects by the use of light and some very interesting and natural backgrounds.
Indermeet Sial says:
January 12, 2015 at 9:34 PMyet another masterpiece!
mustafa says:
January 12, 2015 at 10:00 PMVahe Garu…amazing pics!
Loved pic 3…
Pradeep K Sharme says:
January 12, 2015 at 10:12 PMI used to see their congregation in 80s while travelling to NFL – Nangal (our client) from Chandigarh via Anandpur Sahib. Singh is King !
Arjit Mahal says:
January 13, 2015 at 5:22 AMGreat history aspect of this traditional sect along with their way of life pictures. Very well done
Nilofar Lilli Afzal says:
January 13, 2015 at 8:31 AMLove the guns and the colour.
Ashmeet Sidhu says:
January 13, 2015 at 8:32 AMAs always, inspiring work by Amardeep.
Ramanuj Ghosh says:
January 13, 2015 at 8:32 AMi am always fascinated by the nihang sikhs
Harmeet Singh says:
January 13, 2015 at 8:34 AMawesome
Bhavjeet says:
January 13, 2015 at 8:35 AMLovely shots
Amarpal Matharu says:
January 13, 2015 at 12:00 PMAmardeep, you do an amazing job in researching and taking photographs of Sikh history! Congratulations! We truly enjoy going through the photographs.
Rajan Bahadur says:
January 14, 2015 at 2:40 PMCan see a lot of passion and hard work put into this..terrific and very well done.
amarjeet kaur says:
January 14, 2015 at 7:39 PMAmardeep,very Sharp photography and you have taken excellent photos.Iknow you have taken very rare shots but here you have attached only those photos which show guns according to your subject. How beautifully they all are wearing their dresses. It seems an army.once I went to machhiwarha and saw these nihangs there.These nings are long in height.Nice to know more about them.
Himadri Banerjee says:
June 25, 2015 at 9:46 AMFirst, I must say: Oh! These are wonderful profiles of the Singh Nihangs. Thank you very much Amaradeep ji that I could get a glimpse of these people who often stand away from many other Sikhs. Their bold personality is prominent in these shots.I have seen a few of them recently in Nanded Sahib. They were having bigger sized headgears, here are possibly some differences. The study of Nidar Singh and Parmjit Singh (In the Service of the Master) also points a similar tradition.To me it is a deeply interesting world. Thank you Amadeep for bring to these lively photographs of Nihangs.
Karandeep Singh says:
March 27, 2017 at 7:36 AMThe guns in 5th pic costs how much and do they need licence for buying and do they really fire real rounds and from where they are bought?
What is the cost and name of cheapest gun?