The Story Behind Arth – A Name Art Collection for Sikh Children | Punjabi Names for Boys and Girls | Sikh Name Art | Arth Collection
The need to create always stems from something personal.
For me, the source of most of my work for The Quote Potpourri is my childhood. My memories with my parents, brother, grandma have all expressed themselves one way or another through the art I make.
One significant and interesting memory is the feeling of being ashamed of my name! Gurnain. It was different, it felt disconnected.
I wanted to be named like the women I watched on TV (mostly Hollywood) Sarah, Samantha, Angelina, Rita… all appealed so much more. And now that I retrospect on it, I understand why it was so.
A disconnection from roots. Westernization of culture. English medium schools, English movies, English songs…English novels. We were surrounded by everything Non-Indian.
And as I grew up and started delving into my faith and culture, I decided to create work that empowers and uplifts Indian children: That’s how ‘Arth Collection’ was born. An exploration of Indian names through words and art.
Each artwork visualizes the name with fantastical imagery, a description and words to support the meaning.
Come to think of it, every Indian name is kept through ceremony. So much love & thought goes behind the meaning.
Most names are rooted in spirituality. All members of the family come together to name the new born. It is a special moment in every parents’ life.
Why would we not explore this? I hope kids understand the thought, the love behind their names…the story & history of where they come from.
“Arth” literally defines as ‘meaning’. Art that celebrates meaning, culture & the essence of what it means to be from an Indian household.
The hope is that no child ever feels ashamed of their name, because they feel under represented. The hope is that more art like this is available to see everywhere, so that it becomes second nature to see yourself with pride!
The mission is to represent, empower & remember who we are.
We would like to believe we helped name a few children!😊 Here are some beautiful Sikh names for boys and girls:
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