As requested fresh information sent to us by direct nephew of Mohammed Rafique. One a photo with artist M.A. Rahman Chughtai and another news clipping. Adds to our information. We will add more.

The brothers of Chiragh Bibi were all talented people and worked in the Indian Railways. They were involved in various engineering feats, and their talent was used in the coronation darbar of King George in Delhi in 1911. Elahi Baksh was the most talented brother of them all. The children of these brothers were talented too, but none rose to the prominence of Muhammed Rafi. His talent was brought to the notice of the Saudi King, and on Royal command, Muhammed Rafi electrified Mecca and Madina, and even was responsible for an initial rail track on same. Shah Saud trusted him deeply and at time, Muhammed Rafi had the custody of his many sons. Relatives remember how once Muhammed Rafi  brought the Saudi Princes to Lahore and they lived in the house of Gulzar Chughtai, another person related to M.A, Rahman Chughtai.

Muhammed Rafi had a house in Crown Bus Stand Lahore, and it was maintained  for many years. The paintings presented by M.A. Rahman Chughtai were either stolen or distributed to family, who had no rapport with same. He was also involved with the Pakistani movement and was friendly to Sir Abdul Qadir, editor of Makhzan magazine. Sir Abdul Qadir was father of foreign minister Manzoor Qadir.

The services of Muhammed Rafi were recognized by the Saudi Government and he was blessed with favours many times. Once a Rolls Royce was presented to Muhammed Rafi as a gift, but as he had no money to pay the Customs duty, it went back. He was married a few times and some of his wives and children were on a Royal pension all the time. He  also married a Turkish girl and had children from the same wife. Many of their close relatives read this blog and can update details of the family which we may not know. All obsessed with westernization have lost their roots to Pakistan.

Mian Kareem Baksh Mimar father of M.A. Rahman Chughtai died in 1913 in Lahore and was buried in Miani Qabarastan Lahore. Chiragh Bibi, his second wife, died in 1925, on the 27th of Ramazan. The widow was left with three sons to rear and with no resources at their disposal. The estimated age of the sons at the time of death of their father was around 16, 13 and 10 years. The eldest Muhammed Hussain was on his own from the start.  People owed Kareem Baksh money but no one came forward to give same. Gradually the property owned by them started getting sold as was expected in that times.

The rebellion of M.A. Rahman Chughtai was not a rebellion but an assertion of his personality. The parents remember that as a young child , the family was going to a wedding and put on some clothes for the son. The son  refused to wear those clothes and when forced to do so, was not willing to go to the marriage. The young son was left crying at the stairs for he was aghast at the clothes chosen for him.

M.A. Rahman Chughtai was as such not adjusted in his teens. His creativity was bouncing out of him and in his seventh class, he ran away from home with some other boys of the mohalla Chabuk Sawaran. The destination Karachi to be part of some theatrical company. It was in those times that Chiragh Bibi made a strange analysis of him. She would utter out loud that instead of him, Allah should have blessed her with a CHATOO WATA (Mortar and pestle), for then at least he could have been of some use. She could never realize at that time what kind of a son she was nurturing, who would rock the world of art in no time.

Chiragh Bibi was so happy when her son became an instructor in Photo-lithography at Mayo School of Arts for Rs 30 per month. But her contentment was for a short period. Irritated with the manipulation of Samarendranath Gupta, Lionel Heath questioned his integrity at matter of a school leave. At the questioning of his integrity, Chughtai resigned from Mayo School of Art and said goodbye to the salary of Rs 30 per month, which was phenomenal for those times. This was the second shock that the son gave to his impoverished mother. There was no other support for the family. But the son boldly said to his mother, not to worry at all. The sun will shine all new in the future.

And it did indeed. A the very first exhibition of M.A. Rahman Chughtai in 1920 at the Lahore Museum, all the works got sold and he was able to raise 2625 Rs. He brought all to his mother and she could not believe as to what had happened to their luck. Indeed Chughtai took care of her mother like a devoted son. Once she was sick and he was by her bed side all night, with a glass of water, she wanted to drink but fell asleep before that. Her eldest son had proved to her the mettle of an artist. Chiragh Bibi was so proud of him and never uttered words against him. In fact it was on her mouth now that with the turban on his head, as he would walk the mohalla, the ladies would swoon at the handsome young man. Strange words for an elderly woman.

A piece of art advice was given by the  mother to the son. She said the water you use for painting is often muddled with colour. Always use fresh clean water for your work, and there would no no parallel to your creative output. Well said!

Guy Davenport

Books, research books, poetry books, more than 500 blog articles, and extensive analysis of Pakistan’s history and Art. That is Arif Rahman Chughtai today. There are numerous references of other intellectuals of the world. Sharing them in future.

The direction of the Ideology of Pakistan was as clear as crystal. International lobbies understood this well. There was  need to displace everything that had ideological mooring. Art was under direct scrutiny. A group of young artists were engendered, imported and forced onto the audience. Their claim was very wide. Western art was to be forced onto Pakistan by imitating it in one way or the other. Even their costumes reflected same in shape of jeans, french beards and smoking pipes. Natural preferences unaccounted. Modern artists wished to give modern images of themselves. Another great change was the shift of water colour painting to oil based works in Pakistan. Various artists handled it in their way, but certainly they were being patronized to upset the existing reality. The 1949 grand show of Chughtai artist upset-ed Shemza. Anwar Jalal Shemza boldly said at Alhamra that he was there to uproot Chughtai artist, and he was heard not by few, but even by my cousin, who tells me the same all the time. Although Chughtai does not take the name, an attendant (guess whom?) of a lecture, he gave at Alhamra, heckled him about his art being Indian and not Pakistani. The reply of the artist was simple, “It was Chughtai Art then, it is Chughtai Art now!”. Did they achieve their goal? They tried their best, now lobbies are trying their best for them.

In Giza Egypt various mummies of Pharaohs are studied every day. Newer and newer research is done. But the mummies are dead. Their art keeps interest in them alive. The Pharaohs left plenty art for study. Pakistani artists of that period left little at all. In recent years western scholarship is working on the remnants of art left by the modern movement in Pakistan. Very little indeed. Interesting I had an opportunity to talk with some of those who are trying to revitalize the mummies of that period of art. One is certainly Ms Simone Wille with her book on Modern Art in Pakistan. She does mention the stereotype of Chughtai’s connection with Calcutta (hundred percent false) but had to mention the concept of Punjab School and Lahore too. I sent her relevant things but she did not avail them at all, for her own reasons. However she did assert Chughtai as ” the first artist to anticipate a Muslim cultural position”, absolutely correct. Gemma Sharpe, a very interesting English girl working in New York is working on modern art, including Shemza, and others. Working on the miraculous power of the kind of Jesus Christ, she wants to blow life in the left overs of that period. Best of luck to her! Shakir Ali the doyen of them all had a heart attack at YMCA on 18th January, 1975, while addressing a condolence seminar on Chughtai artist.  He did not recover from that attack, but did utter the words, “If this was done to Chughtai, what would they do to me?” Moyene Najmi too ran a gallery for some time. His able and beloved wife Atiya carried him through various storms. Indeed Moyene Najmi was a gentleman  and I met him various times at the Punjab Council of Arts. Ali Imam’s art gallery collapsed, and he made his living selling art of others. But he freaked out many times in his analysis of Chughtai art (the ridiculous conclusion about the bangles on a lady’s arm), and I discussed it with him in Karachi in Indus Gallery, and this was told to me by owner of Dawn, who visited us once here with another lady. In fact he was trying to buy a Chughtai painting from a collector which was a family heirloom in Hyderabad Deccan, as told to me by Nusrat ullah Shah, also originally from same place.

We used to hear all the time a saying of our culture and that was “Dhobi ka kuta na ghar ka na ghat ka”, and we tried to understand the implicit message. There was confusion in many people, their direction was not clear. They were stupefied by environmental pressure. True Masters do not get swayed by circumstances. They stick to their guns (brushes) all the time. The clarity of vision is always there. You can never be a Van Gogh just by calling yourself Van Gogh. Pablo Picasso was an exceptional draftsman, and he mocked people all the time. No relation to any local rebel in art.

Is M.A. Rahman Chughtai no more? Certainly his art is living as he himself would want it. Going forward with time. Dr Iqbal’s Reconstruction of religious thought in Islam is evident in the paintings of M.A. Rahman Chughtai. Evolution of Islamic art through innovation. Cubism, Vorticism, Picasso and what not, were in no way Pakistan. Nor is Post-modernism. Nor any fad that West may impose on us. The list is numerous, the results are zero for ourselves. Our naqashi patterns can make fun of Suprematism any time. Neo-colonialism does not work at all. We went to our roots and evolved with time in newer and newer grafts on the evergreen plant of our art. Imitation can actually never be great art. From Mani to Behzad to Mansoor to Chughtai, we have it all. Blowing horns of other civilizations is a joke on our society.

There is no doubt that there is total lack of professionalism related to Art in Pakistan as well as our history of art. Like our landay bazaar politicians, our art historians  (with exception of some few in the past) are totally devoid of art knowledge. Coupled with this they have no ability to look at art. The fake journalists who cover Pakistani Art Shows are in the same moronic line as our chief guests who stroll in front of each painting, nodding their heads as thy may have grasped the intricacies  of the painting in depth. In fact it is difficult nowadays to even find a VIP willing to inaugurate an Art show. M.A. Rahman Chughtai used to say if he had spent a lot of time in making a painting, the viewer can spend some time in looking at it, to discover its various meanings and symbolism. He cited the example of European viewers of art who stand in front of a paintings for days or even months to grasp its totality, as he himself saw in Europe, mainly London and Paris. The journalists who cover the Art shows have no knowledge of art and are there for the refreshments being served or even actual monetary payments. Many Art galleries in Lahore have such people on their pay roll to advertise their things.

Cultures do clash, and generate complexities of inferiority complexes, and to wriggle their way out, confuse other nations, by literally distorting the truth. The legend is of the travel of Sir Thomas Roe to Hindustan as the Ambassador of England. The talk is of a journal, which was actually never found and consisted of a portion, some letters here and there. Even a partial Dutch translation. A portion was published, but the full journal was not there. Imagine such an important colonial evidence could only be published in 1899, that is around 300 years after the actual travelogue. In our view it is a manipulated journal. The journal is at odd with other journals of the period. We need not comment on same here. We find actual publication of the travelogue of Edward Terry who was chaplain of Sir Thomas Roe, who visited (or wrote about) Hindustan in 1655 and 1665, reputed to be presented to the Prince of Wales in 1622, and amazing it speaks of the geography of Hindustan and devotes only a chapter to Emperor Jahangeer. Jyotsna G. Singh calls it colonial ethnography and out rightly says:

In January 1975 Pakistan lost two artists poles apart in thought and action. M.A. Rahman Chughtai died on 17th January, 1975, and there was a condolence meeting held at YMCA on 18th January, 1975. Amongst others who attended was Professor Shakir Ali, Former Principal of NCA. Strange words uttered from the mouth of Shakir Ali, when he said that if the authorities have done this to Chughtai, I wonder what will they do to artists like me? And there in YMCA he had an heart attack and was rushed to Mayo hospital. There was no chance of his recovery and he succumbed to his attack. By 24th doctors had given up. Reputedly he died on 27th January, 1975.

NCA strangely stepped in. Head of the Department of Fine Arts Zahoor ul Akhlaq organized a condolence seminar in the college auditorium. Retired Chief Justice S.A. Rahman was to preside over the meeting. A few people spoke on the occasion. There were a few faces I could recognize. Tanveer Kroders was there. I think Ghayour Baig was around too. S.A. Rahman Sahib spoke as well as Zahoor ul Akhlaq. Probably Principal Khalid Iqbal too. In any case it was a rare event at NCA honouring M.A. Rahman Chughtai and for some time the usual allergy was removed from the scene.

Emperor Zaheer ud din Babar was not only a staunch Muslim  but a warrior to the core of his heart. No one tied to convert him. Emperor Humayoun bound by the help of Shah Tahmasp of Iran for recovering his throne, was showing some softness to Shia Islam  but died as he was born, a Muslim to the core of his heart. Emperor Akbar played the most political games of them all, misleading all those who wanted to convert  him, and died a Muslim and recited the Kalma before his death. The same attested  by his own son, Emperor Jahangeer in his Tuzuk Jahangeeri.

Jahangeer played the most trick with the conversion tactics. To please the Goa people, Jahangeer permitted his nephews, Tahmur, Baisunghar and Hoshang, sons of Sultan Danyal to embrace Christianity, and they  became Dom Filipe, Dom Carlos, and Dom Henrique. The Mughal courtier Muqarrab Khan became known as Dom Joao Laurengo de Tavora. Things were artificial. The Portuguese were quickly disillusioned with these imperfect conversions. Once back in his land, Muqarrab Khan reverted to Islam as well as the three nephews of Jahangeer, with little regard to Christianity. There was apostasy as the Portuguese called it and the dream to make the Mughal State a Christian one evapourated in the air.

The myth prevails with emphasis on the number of Christian paintings done under Jahangeer and the funny part is the exaggerated importance of same. Amongst host of fake copies made under the patronage of the British rulers with cherubs everywhere, if the Mughals created say a total of ten thousand paintings, the number of Christian subjects of the paintings would not even be hundred. If anyone claims so, they should easily match their claim with figures, which will prove our assertion of mere hullabaloo on part of bigotry of Western scholars. It proves that the Christian oriented games were merely political tactics on the part of the Mughals. Edward Terry in his journal does not even relate one meeting of the Ambassador Sir Thomas Roe with Emperor Jahangeer, although illusions are made of same. Even the portrait made of Jahangeer is a man with an overload of womanly hair. And Terry rests at peace the aspersion that Jahangeer loved religious pictures. On the contrary he clearly says:

And those who debunk Akbar as a confused personality, his final moments as recorded by his son Jahangeer, can  be stated, directly from the Tuzuk Jahangeeri:

All the Mughal Emperors died as hundred percent Muslims. Effort of Western Kings and missionaries totally wasted, and today the modern research scholar continues to resuscitate the vision of a Christian Mughal State. Every one forgets that the Quran itself tells us of our Prophet Isa in a clear cut way and no missionary could add more than the Quran itself.  Muslim love for Jesus Christ is supreme itself.

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru knew the value of M.A. Rahman Chughtai. He started a campaign to lure Chughtai to India. The very first step he collected about 15 paintings of M.A. Rahman Chughtai and made a special room namely Chughtai Room in the National Museum of Modern Arts in Jaipur House Delhi. He also persuaded the publisher Dhoomi Mal Dharam Dass to print a volume of Chughtai Art on Hindu themes which was done in 1951. Nehru had already enticed some talents of Pakistan to India, like Baray Ghulam Ali and Amrita Pritam. He went on a quest to promote Chughtai art and continued to present Chughtai originals to foreign Heads of State (including China) assuming  Chughtai as  an Indian artist. Actually even in 1960 in Lahore in front of Field Marshal Ayub Khan at Governors House Nehru was still trying go persuade Chughtai to leave Pakistan for India. Not realizing the companion of Dr Allama Iqbal would die before doing anything like that.

On the other hand the Indian Press was doing their natural thing. The same magazine offers different opinion in 1946 and then in 1951. The world changed objectivity of review maker. Some pages of the Illustrated weekly of India shows the sinister things. For instance the reviewer writes of him as:

The MISSION OR MESSAGE was what made M.A. Rahman Chughtai the father of Art in Pakistan. But the weekly went further. A Bombay critic simply said of Chughtai Art:

It clearly shows the two nation theory in full perspective. The venom of the sinister Hindu would not come to rest and objectivity was alien to their thinking and feeling. The beautiful aura of a Chughtai’s painting had a paradise aroma and for such Hindu writers it stank. There are many things which actually stink and have charm for them. Obviously they can indulge in drinking stink. Need we say more!