PRESENT CHANTING OF BULLEH SHAH ENDORSED BY FOREIGN LOBBIES
SINISTER DESIGNS TO PUT FOG AROUND REVIVAL OF ISLAM IN ACTUALITY
NO OBJECTION TO ANYONE’S FEELINGS BUT DO NOT HURT MINE

This is a land of Babas. Babas dared to say anything, as they were considered above board and censure. Everyone has a right to their belief and I have no objections. Welcome to the world of Babas! But negating basic Islamic tenets is not my idea of our way of life. Though ijjtehad we can do anything collectively except permanent values, but then foreign lobbies pay our locals to endorse things, there must be something wrong somewhere.

Punjab and the whole region is full of Babas. Are the Babas endorsing Islamic way of life? Or the Babas are taking us away from basic Islamic principles. It is up to you to decide. Bu do not look away. Jumping up and down or in a swirl will not bring us closer to Allah. Allah asks us to THINK AND PONDER all the time. Anything which taking us away from thinking and pondering is not my way life. Nor it is the Islamic way of life. People in foreign lands fear the resurgence of Islam and in all ways, Babas are being used maliciously to curb this going back to the pristine values of rising Islamic awareness all over the world. Islam is against terrorism in all ways. But it is also against anything which prevents us from seeking knowledge. Education is to bring us civilization. Rewriting our history and curbing our Ideology is not fun for us. It gives us pain and when you inflict pain, you touch Allah’s Law of Mukufat. Doing wrong will bring wrong results. Love is important and having compassion is a divine thing. But closing our minds is a sin.

P.S. Enjoy a first look at a handwritten autograph of unknown book by Inayat Qadri Lahori, teacher of Bulley Shah, in our archives.

ON RAVI ROAD A CREMATION PLACE IN LAHORE FOR HINDU LADIES
WAS MS AMRITA SHER GIL CREMATED HERE? RESEARCH REQUIRED!

The ladies of the area recall the acute burning smell of human flesh in the area. It was a place made in 1901, for the cremation of Hindu ladies of Lahore. Opposite is the European Cemetery of Lahore, made after 1849, and having graves even today dating to 1852. On the other side in Minto Park, was the Towers of Silence of the Parsees in Lahore. The Zoroastrians graveyard. Then it was shifted to Gulberg, Lahore. Once upon a time the river Ravi ran right there and then it became stagnant, and was named as Buddha Darya. In the vicinity many years back a boat was discovered. On this bank was the area (takia) of the Patrangahs the dyers of clothes in Lahore. This was their work place on the banks of river Ravi. Their Mohalla was inside Bhatti Gate, Lahore. Once upon a time Emperor Akbar’s ships traversed the river Ravi. It was intact some years back, although inhabited by immigrants from India. A chabara of red stone in the front. There was an inscription on the main gateway. It specified its history as Radha Kund. The inscription is interesting reading.

It says that this cremation site was erected by Mohan Lal and Lal Chand, sons of late Rai Munshi Gulab Singh, in memory of their beloved mother Shri Mati Radha Devi, in the year 1901.  Rai Munshi Gulab Singh was a famous publisher of Lahore, who published many books in different languages. In fact, there is even a medal named after him in the University of the Punjab, given even today. In a city with a recorded history of more than 1000 years, this is plainly a modern era. But can one imagine the thousands of Hindu ladies who were cremated here. For us there is a clear possibility that Amrita Sher Gil was also cremated here. After all this is Ravi road, and these are the banks of old river Ravi, and it was the main cremation place of Hindu ladies of Lahore. In fact, outside the city walls, one still comes across pots, filed with the ashes of the Hindus of Lahore. Amrita died on Saturday, 6th December, 1941, at 1.30 am. That means 12 pm had passed, and the new day had begun.

That very day there was an appointment Amrita had made with M.A. Rahman Chughtai, to see him in his studios. Chughtai Sahib waiting for her to appear, heard the news of her death. His condolences were published many places, basically in short it was:

         “I did not believe that she had died. And I still do not believe it. She is living and will ever live.”

M.A. Rahman Chughtai was introduced to Amrita by her father Umrao Singh Sher-Gil. Umrao Singh was a valued and respected friend of the artist. In the meeting Dr Allama Iqbal was also there and he too, was introduced to Amrita. The father, Umrao Singh expressed high hopes for her. The father was a specialist on Omar Khayyam as well as on Sufi poetry and Chughtai had many discussions with him. When Amrita Sher-Gil came to settle in Lahore, and wanted to hold an exhibition here, people co-operated with her. And the show was held after her death. The death was on 6th December, the exhibition was held on 21st December, 1941. A rare exhibition show in Lahore. It is a strange anomaly that her dead body must have passed right in front of the house of the artist. In fact, a journey she could not make while alive, but her dead body traversed the same route. Indeed, a spiritual journey.