WESTERN EXPERTS LACK EVEN BASIC KNOWLEDGE ABOUT CHUGHTAI ARTIST COUPLED WITH ARROGANCE NOT TO CONSULT THE SOURCE OF THE ARTIST
We come across references in Western sources including so called auction circles PROVENANCE statements , and what can we say? An auction coming up in September narrates the presence of M.A. Rahman Chughtai in San Francisco. One can die laughing but we are not amused. M.A Rahman Chughtai visited Europe by ship in 1931 and 1938 and that is on record. Except for a couple of trips to India as well as one to Hyderabad Deccan, and two trips to East Pakistan, he went nowhere else. Around 1951 he was given a grant to lecture at Columbia University in USA but he never accepted that offer. So factually he never went back to Europe or that he ever visited USA. The reference of a meeting to someone with the artist in San Francisco is TOTALLY WRONG. So the provenance is not known or perhaps contrived by someone. We do not know! Anyway check the reference yourself and to read about his foreign trips read and down load EAST MT WEST from our blog and check this direct:
PROVENANCE Property from the collection of a friend of the artist, who met Chughtai at a reception in San Francisco and fostered a friendship with him through exchanges of art books for his paintings Bequeathed to a Canadian private collector by the above Christie’s New York, 21 September 2005, lot 256 Acquired from the above by the present owner
THE PHENOMENA OF HORSES IN INDO-PAKISTANI REGION
AND HARDLY USED BY HINDUS AND JAINS IN WAR AND LIFE:
IMAGERY OF ELEPHANTS AS HINDU GODS AND IN BATTLES
A study of Elephants and horses in this region is like a study of the two nation theory. The history of horses in this region is an uncharted territory. Some people have written about ancient horses. The Hindu epic Mahbharata mentions horses but as sacrificial animals. And relate them to Bhadeswar, historically known as Bhadvarti. History speaks of a shipwrecked Ismaeli ship in the coast of Rann of Kutch and the survival of seven thoroughbred horses. From these horses sprung the lineage of all thorough bred horses in the region. This reference is more than a 1100 years old. It is strange that in a Surya temple the figure is repeated as Surya the Sun rides a chariot driven by seven horses. That is:
“The iconography of Surya in Hinduism varies with its texts. He is typically shown as a resplendent standing person holding lotus flower in both his hands, riding a chariot pulled by one or more horses typically seven. The seven horses are named after the seven meters of Sanskrit prosody: Gayatri, Brihati, Ushnih, Jagati, Trishtubha, Anushtubha and Pankti.”
Seven a magic word. Strange that the ship wrecked horses were also seven.
The legend was so true that even courtier Abu Fazl in times of Emperor Akbar tells us about the same. And there is no doubt that Ismaelis loved horses, and they happily co-existed with Hindus and Jains as seen in the ruined city of Bhadeswar itself, where mosques and temples exist side by side.
But a study of major battles in the region show that Hindus preferred fighting on elephants and the Muslims loved to fight on horse backs. The fight of Muhammed bin Qasim and Raja Dahir was between elephants and horses. Research work is all possible on this aspect of history. Even the Central Asian Mongols invaded this region on back of horses. And this applies to most of the entrance of fighters to the region, including Ghaznavids, Tughlaqs, Lodhis, Mughals and Durranis. Strange that we hear of horses being used as sacrificing animals in Bhadeswar etc, and the strange part is that sculptures exist of Hindu rajas having sex with horses and these are there is famous temples. That is around 1250 AD, or about 800 years ago. Some images are included but cut to preserve sanctity of our writing. Check original on link:
The foreigners preferred horses for agility and speed of traveling. The Hindus preferred elephants for their might and relative safety for ground fighting. It is also related to class consciousness. On horseback all fighters fought on egalitarian footing, while on elephants the riders were in fact sitting on an upper strata of things. Class consciousness in reality! No comradeship there. In any case horse history is worthy of extensive research.
LEGENDARY HASSAN NIZAMI AND MAH RANA IN LAHORE 1926
100,000 LAHORIS RECEIVED THEM AT RAILWAY STATION LAHORE
An earth shaking incident in Lahore in 1926 and we find it absent from historical narratives, and no one goes back in memory lane to remember them. Khawaja Hassan Nizami the legendary scholar of Delhi with his output of more than 200 books plus numerous journals, and his involvement with ruler of IMOOD GUJRAT Mah Rana Nahr Singh alias Naserullah Khan. Mah Rana proudly declared that there was no coercion in their conversion to Islam and they did it out of their free will. In a famous address at NAPPA, 7500 Rajputs declared Islam as their faith and swore allegiance to the Mah Rana.
A train journey took them to various cities in 1926 and their presence in Lahore was outstanding. On 16th April, 1926, late at night (train one hour late), one lakh citizens of Lahore received them at the railway station and they were the guests of the town. A jaloos took them into town though Mochi darwaza to Delhi Darwaza. Received by Inayat Shah. Various meetings took place. Sir Muhammed Shafi welcomed them. Anjuman Himayat Islam arranged a reception. Mah Rana went to see Dr Sir Allama Iqbal at his residence (requested people to read Shikwa and Jawab Shikwa), helped poor people on the street and even gave shoulder to the funeral of a Muslim passing by his car entourage. People loved and welcomed him with open arms.
The two nation theory was in full play. Whereas Muslims and Muslim Press was welcoming the Mah Rana, the Hindu Press chose to spite him fully. Arya Samaj was on the fore front of same as well as Lala Lajpat Rai who opposed the guest in filthy terms, by accusing Khawaja Hassan Nizami of duplicity and being an agent of the British. Debates started in Muslim and Hindu press and Hassan Nizami replied to each of them in his scholarly way. Even cartoons were made of the events in the newspapers, ridiculing the role of Hassan Nizami as a stinging bee.
In the step towards Pakistan we cannot discount the conversion of Mah Rana Nahr Singh as Naserullah Khan and his loyal band of Rajput followers. A Rajput haven of Imood embraced Islam. The case for Pakistan was getting stronger with each day.
MEN, WOMEN, TRANSGENDERS: ALL ARE EQUAL IN EYES OF ALLAH
BUT ALL ARE NOT SAME, DIFFERENT IN PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TERMS
EXCELLING OVER OTHERS AT POINTS AND LOWERING AT OTHER POINTS
The Mantra of Women’s emancipation comes from societies which have enslaved women from centuries. To compensate for their ages old sin against women, they preach revolt in society, which is another way of demonizing human relations. In the Wisdom of Allah all are equal in front of Allah. Without going into details at this moment, Allah preaches emancipation of entire humankind. Islam was the first to recognize the importance of freedom for both men and women. Cultures interpreted the Quranic injunction in certain ways but could not evolve the perfect harmony envisaged in Divine laws.
The physical differences between men and women are obvious. Testosterone and progesterone plays a role in aggressive men and compliant women. But there are internal differences too, and science itself recognizes them. For societies which even today make women twist and turn on poles, with the mockery of hooting barbarians, preaching freedom seems a joke of it all. Horrifying surveys are there all the time. One third of women in Japan face sexual harassment., Similarly a large percentage of girls are molested in British Schools. Even Church padres have been found in such child indulgence. Where is the respect ordained for women, which was always there in Islamic injunctions? In Pakistan fuss is made about tribal societies and their treatment of women, and not realizing that those practices predate Islam and are not leftovers of Islam in any way. Obviously all societies must respect citizens of any kind, and making media hype in bashing Islam is no way the answer to things.
Paradise lies under the feet of women, says Allah. Motherhood the supreme system of being. In our culture our elders forced us to respect women, to love children, to be fair to others. Those were values of civilization. Our greatest example was Hazrat Khadija herself. A business women who hired our Prophet and impressed with his credentials, proposed marriage to him. That is how free our women were in the past. Modesty part of their lives. Men and women have different erogenous zones. The zones need to be covered and not overtly displayed for everyone. If revealing ones body is being modern, then it is purely shameless in design. Provoking people in an unnecessary way on the streets is not conducive to cohesion in society.
Allah has given the capacity for men to be like women and women to be like men, when required in the advent of time. But there are professions which suit men, and professions which suit women., There is no inferiority or superiority here. It is simply common sense., We see women filling petrol at petrol stations, but how many women we see as car mechanics, with grime, oil and dust on their hands. Would women allow oil grime to be under their nails most of the time? Is denting a car a woman’s profession! How many women want to be kick boxers, or be dropped in parachutes in combat zones? Yes women can do all those things too, but that does not suit the ARCHETYPE of Jung’s psychology of self. And let us say that we make men women and women men, what do we solve? Is engendering such a state conducive to social growth!
Any analysis of genetic traits makes us realize the subtle differences between both sexes. Human spermatozoa is produced in male testicles all the time from puberty to even a very old age in literally millions in number. A female is born with a fixed number of ovaries and get released every month in the cyclical menstruation periods. Very very different but very equal in terms of Allah’s blessings on both sexes. Fertility period varies due to Divine wisdom. The male Y remains the same even beyond 500 generations, the woman’s mitochondrial dna goes ages back, with only six genomes in history. Different but objective same. United male and female as one, the Ashraf ul Maklooq in living beings.
The gaffe lies in our indoctrination to become MODERN and that is a Western hype thrusted on us each moment in our life. The West broke the family to foster its own programmes. Making a house wife a dirty word and a faithful wife unbelievable archaic. No one has right to dominate any one else, freedom is a sacred word in relations. We all need emancipation from Western Modernism. Perfection lies in development of personality, not responding to silly terms. Islamic way of life is emancipation itself, and is neither religious, nor secular. In fact Islam is a challenge to both outmoded terms in life.