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Downstream of the river Beas, on the western extremity of north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, the village of Dada Siba lies close to the state border with Punjab. Sometime towards the middle of the fifteenth century, the erstwhile princely state of Dada Siba came into being as an offshoot of the kingdom of Guler. And while its rulers had surprisingly short periods of reign - rarely exceeding a decade - the state also managed to preserve its identity and independence through the period of Mughal rule and even past the rise of Ranjit Singh’s powerful kingdom in the Punjab.

Surrounded by lush fields and mango groves and bordered by the waters of the Maharana Pratap Sagar, today’s village of Dada Siba may be unimpressive at first glance and yet it holds a rare architectural and art marvel in the shape of the stunningly striking temple of Radha Krishan. The temple is regarded to have been commissioned in 1830 and completed in 1835. This was during the reign of Raja Gobind Singh and the work is inferred to have been executed by his son Raja Ram Singh - who later succeeded him. Legend has it that that an image of Lakshmi Narayan was found at Chaplah which is about four km from Dada Siba. Ram Singh sought to bring the image to the town, but the palanquin on which the image had been placed could not be moved - and this is the image which was then installed in the temple at Chanaur where it still rests.

Meanwhile, disappointed at not being able to bring the image to Dada Siba, Ram Singh decided to create a temple of his own. Specialised craftsmen for the structure were employed and the finest bricks - the ‘Nanak Shahi’ ones - were placed at their disposal. A portion of the stone came from Jodhpur and this was transported by bullock carts and labourers from Hoshiarpur. Special stone for the door posts and lintels was quarried near the fort of Mangarh on the opposite banks of the Beas and ferried over to Dada Siba. From Jaipur came the image of Radha Krishan which was ceremoniously installed in the temple - and interestingly, an ‘Ashoka’ tree was brought at the same time and still grows in the temple compound.

While these elements created the building, the true worth of the temple’s structure lies in its paintings. The panels by the images are in marble relief and have been delicately coloured. The sanctum itself has barely an inch of space that has been not been adorned with frescoes. Various styles in the area can be discerned in the panels - Mughal, Sikh and of course, various schools of Pahari painting find expression in assorted sections. The ceiling is also covered with paintings and tucked within the adornments, various deities from the Hindu pantheon - Sarasawati, Garuda - are also portrayed. One of the most interesting panels, which lies by the left of the sanctum, is the depiction of an elephant using multiple female forms. Other frames depict deities, processions and a host of other themes.

Noted critic and historian of ‘Pahari’ paintings, Dr. BN Goswamy has traced the painters of these exquisite creations to the remarkable family of Pandit Sen, his sons Manaku and Nainsukh, and the further progeny of Fattu, Kushala, Candu, Nikka and Ranjha.

While some changes in the essential styles varied with the patrons, the essential benchmarks established by the schools of Kangra and Guler are all there. At the moment both the structure of the temple and the paintings require exhaustive restoration.

On the hill above the village and at distance of a couple of kilometres from the bazaar, lie the remains of the old palace of Dada Siba. A rather sanguinary tale is told of the place. When the walls of the palace were being raised, they repeatedly collapsed. A learned Brahmin attached to the court declared that they would stand only if the Raja sacrificed someone dear to him. The infuriated Raja declared that the Brahmin who spoke these words was dear to him and promptly had him buried alive by the foundations. The Brahmin cursed the Raja and declared that the palace would never have a roof. Even today, the structure remains open to the skies. Interestingly, the scions of the erstwhile ruling house, who still live in area, do so in ‘kuttcha’ structures as they say that they are forbidden to live in solid houses!

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