HEROES AND VILLAINS MADE BY LOBBIES ALLERGIC TO OBJECTIVITY;
THERE IS CULTURAL SIDE OF MIR MANNU GOVERNOR OF PUNJAB.

Often two civilizations are actually not at war. It is the representatives of civilization at one given time which involve themselves in atrocious acts. If we study regional history, the Sikhs and Muslims have their ups and downs. Many times indulged in unimaginable acts. Not ways of life but groups of people at one given time. But writing about such things in objectivity is really not possible, because history writing is not always in hands of sane people. War mongering is the name of the game. Fancy stories are fed. This is story of the Sikhs and Muslims in the 18th century. But E.M. Forster in his letters write of the conflict in 1783, which is very near the events that are spoken by historians. The most atrocious events are blanked in one party forays alone.

” The Siques….. they besieged… they took the city of Lahore…committed violent outrages. The mosques that had been ever rebuilt or restored to use by the Mohammedans, were demolished with every mark of contempt and indignation; and the Afghans in chains, washed the foundations with the blood of hogs.”

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In response what would happen? The same kind of treatment, if not less but even more. Whereas stories of Mir Mannu are painted as facts when many are just fancy fairy tales, Sikh historians fail to write their own failings in sequence. It is not for us to write all the misgivings, but few blatant truths. In the so-called paradise of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, the Muslims were not even allowed to say their prayers as “Azan” was not allowed. It was British who impressed upon Maharajah Sher Singh to restore same. About 3000 Muslim buildings such as mosques and monuments were ruthlessly destroyed. This is history not accusations. And what happened to trains and Muslims coming back to Pakistan is history in itself. Literally slaughtered. But Sikhs are emotional people (easily riled up), and so are we. We too have the capacity to forget and forgive. Let gone be bygone and start anew. It has not always worked, but one has to keep on trying in good faith. No alternative to peace and co-existence.

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But this is not a political dialogue. It is to approach the personality of Mir Mannu, Governor of Punjab in the cultural context. For some very important years, he was the ruler of the region, and all these petty States came under his direct rule. That Mir Mannu was held in esteem is known from the number of portraits made of him by various artists. Verses written on miniatures praise his victories and lament his defeats.  Indian scholars are adept at distorting history with innuendoes. Mention is hazardous to them. But one picture made at the Darbar of Mir Mannu beats them all. A pair of foreigners sexually attack dancers at a party thrown by Mir Mannu. An inscription calls them Europeans. However, the caps look Russian. Both young men have different colour complexions. Frilly hair styles. Both wild with sexual frenzy and Mir Mannu laughing at their follies. The Court amazed at this reaction too. Part of a group of paintings now lost.

Bought in Lahore by a European traveler in 19th century. Probably sold by first antique dealer of Lahore, Bahadur Shah. The dealer who used to supply things to Western museums. There is a family in Lahore, descendent from Mughalani Begum, and they have many documents about that period of time, as told to me by late Asghar Amritsari. Rarely followed. History is an ongoing process of time. Record and omit are lessons of life.

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The death of Mir Mannu is lamentable. Seen as an obstruction, he was poisoned to death. He fell from his horse, dead, and his upper torso had gone all black. The food he took before that. And other lament Hira Singh had his bones removed, and the skull of Mir Mannu was placed on his gutter (mori pay rakh deya), so that filthy water would wash the heroism of the valiant son of Punjab. All these things are concealed with time by historians. One version has it that his body was buried in Cognito in the graveyard of Hazrat Eshan. The proclaimed tomb housed the alcohol shop of Gurdit Singh. Who knows? No one even wants to know. Tell us myths, we will believe them. As time passes heroes become villains and villains become heroes. Allah knows best!

FROM THE FAME OF TAFSEER HUSSAINI OF HERAT,
TO THE MATALIB QURAN OF G.A. PERVEZ OF LAHORE

“Mawahib i aliyah” often known as Tafseer Hussaini is commentary composed between 897 A H and 899 A H, and dedicated to the famous Mir Al Sher Nawai, was done by Kamal ud din Hussain son of Ali Waiz Kashfi, who was Imam of the Jamia Masjid in Herat. This Tafseer Hussaini caught on with the people of this region and was used in most houses as well as Madrassas in our region. He died in 910 AH/1499 AD. A world figure himself, he was brother-in-law of the famous Maulana Jami of Herat, an additional prestige to his name. In all cases manuscripts of Tafseer Hussaini are in abundance and were much loved and respected in Lahore too. Chughtai Museum has prestigious copies of it too.

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There were tafseers written here earlier too, but those never became popular. Ghulam Ahmad Pervez was a revolutionary thinker of his own times. He lived in Delhi and from there he settled in Karachi, and finally moved to Lahore. He was an ardent student of the Quran and left in his own legacy, not a translation but an interpretation of the Quran, which was so much attractive to thinkers of our own times. Not many people know about the same but whoever has a thinking mind, gives credit to G.A. Pervez for making the Quran as a reference itself, in line with the introduction of Dr Allama Iqbal to take Islam in its original pristine value, instead of looking at the Persianized version of the same. Go to the Arabic context itself. This work is certainly a work of the future and will be attractive to people, once they get rid of the Mullah element in casting conspiracies about every aspect of Islam.

There is a manuscript of Tafseer Hussain written in Lahore by Lutufullah Ahmad Muhandis in his last days in two volumes. It has the seal of Muhammed Abid, another son of Lutufullah Ahmad Muhandis. More on this later. Till then enjoy!

MANIPULATING HISTORICAL RECORDS INTO DIFFERENT VERSIONS;
YES, LOH SON OF RAM CHANDAR NO WHERE IN HISTORY OF LAHORE.

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It is very romantic to speak of the twin cities of Lahore and Kasur and link them to perhaps two brothers Loh (actually Lava) and Kasu (actually Kusa), son of the legendary god Ram Chandar of Hindu religion. Certainly, Loh is remembered as the son of Ram Chandar, but little is known of a brother Kasu. This Lahore idea was first floated by a Hindu writer Munshi Sujan Rai  perhaps in 1691 AD (the amazing fact is that no old manuscript is known, and when it covers 40 years of Aurangzeb’s reign, all manuscripts have date of death of Aurangzeb too (years later), and the earliest manuscript is dated 1168 AH or 1754 AD and even that has some missing and replaced pages, and even more amazing of the five manuscripts known, not one has his name in it) in Khulasatul Tawareekh, as compared to simple statement of Lahori writer Ahmad Zanjani in Tuhfa Sawaleen in 1043 AD (648 years previous) which ridicules this conjecture. But nowhere was mentioned that his Mandir exist in the Lahore Fort. No mention of same even with Kanhaiya Lal in 1884, and up to the best of my knowledge it was Judge Muhammed Latif in 1892 AD, who narrated the existence of Mandir, and speaks of it being in a deep hollow which is descended by wooden stairs. Or rather ladder if you call it. Not very clear really. Made to mention but no image in his book.

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Mian Muhammed Fauq is a well-known historian of our region and has written on Lahore too. Rare to find his books, we come across the in different conditions. But very strangely there is a strange mention in his book on Lahore, related to the Lahore Fort. Let us translate what he has to say in understandable terms:

“Besides the mosques in Lahore Fort, there is a Mandir in the fort, that even today proves the bigheartedness of the Mughals Emperors, This Mandir is in a space with a huge pit in it. It is said that this pit is that of Raja Loh, son of Raja Ram Chandar, who is responsible for making New Lahore. The level is same as the Fort, there is a reason for it that it is very old and Mughals left it intact. In reference to this Mandir, the society Sanatan Dharm Yudah Salba were having letters communication with the Government. So on 11th December, 1923, members of Yud Sahba, and Superintendent of Archaeology went to see the same, and this area was covered with debris, the same area was cleaned from all sides. Cleaning the Mandir or Samadh, and one can see a dilapidated dome (gum band) and under two feet one could see leaves and earth all around. This two feet deep one could see a flower. Its level is same as that of Hazuri Bagh. After cleaning and digging, on 13th December, 1923, there were discovered bones of hands which at present generation comparison, were very large, and the face had very sharp teeth which were also discovered there. After studying them it seems that at that time, humans were much taller and stronger at old days. These bones were taken into possession by Sanatan Dharm as being the bones of Loh, son of Ram Chandar. However, the Department of Archaeology thought that these bones were of pre-Buddhist times of some extra ordinary large person. “

Ahmad Hasan Dani, a world-famous scholar said the same in different terms:

In 1973 the legendary scholar of Pakistan Ahmad Hasan Dani delivered a lecture on “Al-Beruni” in the city of Kabul. Amazing that Kabul is seen as hosting a Pakistani scholar. But Kabul was a city of intellect and arts for a long time. Not surprising that it happened then. Dani Sahib in his erudite way explains everything. His dismisses the so-called connection of Loh son of Ram with Lahore and we attach the paragraph on same. Worthy of being read. But most interesting he isolates different Lahores and capitals and names. And he says that the city was founded near the river IRAWATI (present Ravi), and that is why it was called IRAWATIAWAR. It was later modified with use as RAVAWAR. He says Panini’s grammar tells us that RA and LA are interchangeable grammarian words, and that is why we have the word LAHAWAR, or presently LAHORE itself. Lahore is simply by tradition CITY ON RAVI.

If this had existed in Emperor Jahangir’s time, he would have built a grand mausoleum over it. It was certainly not a prehistoric structure and nor could one call it a Neanderthal grave. It was a combination of Sikh and British architecture for the various bricks used were of Sikh and British period. The Dome was naturally a poor fluted melon dome of the late Sikh period. It was so small in structure with a circular window on opposite end that it actually looked merely like a small well.  The depth of the inside was not comprehended, and the inside floor was closed too. No one could enter it nor lit anything over it. No lingam there. It had no match with any Mandir in the world. But it was asserted as Mandir of Loh, thousands of years old. The structure was not even 150 years of age. Everybody wanted to jump to their own conclusions. The pressure of international lobby of Sanatan Dharm, founded by Bhadashi Maraj in Trinidad and Tobago in 1881, was very evidently there. The Hindu lobby was asserting itself.

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Every day science is discovering missing links in human evolution. Very recently the DRAGON SKULL came out of China, and scientists excited over a new link to human story. One does not know what happened to the bones taken by Hindu lobby, but if there one could trace its DNA and finish once for all this absurd story about LOH and KASU related to Lahore. A silly hypothesis without any proof of any kind. And the amazing part is that these are the two same sons who fought with their father for questioning the fidelity of their mother after return from Shri Lanka. People do not read history, just follow directions of foreign lobbies.

DEATH AND BLINDING OF TEN THOUSAND MUSLIM MONGOLS,
LAL MAHARA MAUSOLEUMS INSCRIPTIONS MONGOLIAN SCRIPT.

The history of Mongols in India is diverse. We find them attacking India and facing heavy odds here. But certain chapters are missing from usual enquiry. That Sultan Jalaluddin Khilji was kind to them, and welcomed their conversion to Islam. Delegation from Tabrez Al-Khanid was a success. Allowed to trade in the outskirts of Delhi, they were given charge of four villages in Sarhad area. All this is on record. After the death of Sultan Jalaluddin Khili, they faced different situations under Sultan Allauddin Khilji. Faced with suspicions and held in contempt too, Allauddin Khilji was persuaded to blind and assassinate ten thousand of them. It was a BLOOD INCIDENT, that is the incident of LAL MAHARA. The graveyard exists to this day, and it is the last homage to those Muslim Mongols who were martyred here on this soil.

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Dr Taj Ali is a great Islamic Scholar, now retired from the University of Peshawar. He studied the Lal Mahra monuments in great depth and he had an idea that there was epigraphic evidence on the monuments themselves. He wrote this to his German university requesting research and clarification. The University was not in a position to know and this epigraphic evidence was termed as mere pseudo epigraphic evidence. Language not known or deciphered. Fortunately, I have been studying Mongols too for some time and their first great book THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE MONGOLS in Mongolian script. And I realized the Mongolian script is the actual script on the Lal Mahra monuments. It will require diligent research and a Mongolian expert to do all this but it can be done. Arghaun Khan grandson of Halaku Khan was slaughtered along with his nobility. He was even husband of a daughter of Sultan Jalaluddin Khilji. That is a brother-in-law of Sultan Allauddin Khilji.  It was not possible to throw these royal bodies into dust heaps. After all they were Muslims too. Even the symbol of LAL LAGATAR can be easily understood as CONTINUOUS BLOODSHED. A reappraisal is required by scholars on our important history.

Must read: Sultan Allauddin Khilji by Dr Ghulam Sarwar Khan Niazi.

Read this also:
http://blog.chughtaimuseum.com/?p=11309

MARK COOPER STRONG FEELINGS FOR SAFETY OF CHUGHTAI MUSEUM;
ARCHERY EXPERT ALSO WISHES WOLVERHAMPTON TO MAKE MUSEUM.

Chughtai Museum is effort of father and son for nearly 100 years. Sixty years of Chughtai’s effort and decades of effort of his son. And ruthless politicians without even an iota of ideological wellbeing, aim to acquire rich properties at all costs. The land was bought by the artist in 1960, we got it cleared at great effort in 1997. From 2008 we face the wrath of a ruthless Government of Punjab. Instead of helping us in anyway, the plan to take our hard-earned property for NATIONAL GOOD remains there.

Pakistanis are least concerned about culture and museums. How many museums have come out in Pakistan? Most were made by the British. The ones that people tried to make were destroyed by bureaucracy, like the Fyzee Rahamin Museum in Karachi. So many galleries were destroyed too. Zubeida Agha’s efforts gone with the wind. Indus Gallery of Ali Imam no more in work. Moyene Najmi’s effort gone in vain. Only those have survived who came to terms with people in power to share the spoils of cultural war.

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Whenever we are in trouble, foreigners are concerned and they try their best to help us. It is not a long list but the concern is very genuine. A United Nations Police Officer posted in Pakistan wrote a thesis on cultural destruction in Pakistan and mentioned us in same. Mark Cooper, who is an archer of Wolverhampton, always write to us for our welfare. He himself wants to build a museum there, and even the English in power, refuse to see his point of view. But we love him from the bottom of our heart. He keeps our faith in humanity alive. A nun in an American church prayed for our wellbeing. A grandson of a famous educationist tried his best from the USA to save us. It is not time for details but for feelings of concern which matter. In 1975, Nelson A Rockefeller, Vice President of USA, wrote to us about our plans and said:

“It is indeed a great loss to you and his family, and to Pakistan., which for so long was able to claim him as one of its most outstanding artist. I do hope that you or the nation have plans to preserve his work in a suitable memorial.”

A suitable memorial we have tried to do. Let us see if someone helps us or not.

LOST LEGACY OF IN LAWS AND PROSPECTIVE IN LAWS, OF
M.A. RAHMAN CHUGHTAI, WORTHY OF BEING RECORDED.

According to the traditions of the time, Abdur Rahman Chughtai was married to his relative, Wazeer un Nisa in 1911, when he was about 14/15 years old. The family was an old Chughtai family of Lahore, living outside Masjid Wazeer Khan. That family was of Bindri-gars as such with artistic traditions. The great grandmother, namely Imam Bibi of Wazeer un nisa, was a direct relative of Chughtai Sahib. The lady died in 1966 in Lahore. It was reputed that she attained an age of 120 years and had seen the parade of Maharajah Kharrack Singh in her life time. This happened outside Masjid of Wazeer Khan and Kharrack Singh’s elephant got bogged down in mud after heavy rain.
The parents were Mian Muhammed Chughtai and Khairunnisa (otherwise Baybay).

In his visit to Europe in 1932, Chughtai Sahib, was attached to Elza Huiffner, and if conditions had been otherwise, it would have resulted in a marriage, but it never happened. However, the artist remained attached to her all his life. Elza Huiffner had an unsuccessful marriage and migrated to the United States, where her daughter survives as an individual artist. Not much is known about them, for they prefer to remain incognito for their own reasons. A grand daughter (probably) did call here also with a hidden identity. The mother Mrs Huiffner does not look like a typical German lady, although her overly tanned face must be due to stay in a sunny place. There are signs of a removed necklace, where the tan did not work. 

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In 1944 Chughtai Sahib was married to Kishwar Iqbal Bano in Amritsar. We have already written about the same. A wedding enquiry which went to a house in Amritsar to a Railway family was refused by those people, with demands that the artist could not meet. Bhou Din Muhammed also from the Railways invited Chughtai Sahib to his own home. There Ayesha Bibi met the artist and was very impressed with him, and muttered that her cooperation will give a legacy to this handsome and famous man. She was instrumental in the acceptance of the marriage proposal, which got solemnized on 13th December, 1944. The journey which ultimately resulted in the legacy of M.A. Rahman Chughtai.

MOST FUNNY VIDEO ON ART CRITICISM AND VINCENT VAN GOGH;
CAN DIE LAUGHING AND ALSO THINKING CLUES OF CIVILIZATION.

AN EXPERIMENT WITH CHUGHTAI ART WITH VILLAGERS

After seeing the tribal experiment of tribals with Van Gogh, I remember we experimented with Chughtai Art with similar type of villagers in a mela of illiterate people. We threw a print of Chughtai art in the midst of a group of such people. We threw it from a nearby high point. The print flew to the ground, and a child rushed to pick it up. He showed this to his mother, and the mother saw it. Then she folded it and put it safely in her clothes. That is, she enclosed it in her bosom. It was an amazing sight. That spoke of Ideology of Pakistan, Islamic art and Chughtai art. Art that is understood by all kinds of people. From illiterate to the professional critic. Well done, Chughtai Sahib!

AN UNKNOWN DIWAN OF NAWAB WAZEER KHAN TAKHALLUS WAZEERI;
SOME CONFUSION PREVAILS AS TO THE IDENTITY OF THE SAID PERSON.

On 5 May 1738 Nadir Shah began his march into Northern Afghanistan. Kabul was taken on 19 June 1738. One month later he left Kabul for Lahore, where he received the keys of the city on 12 January 1739. On 26 January he continued his invasion of India. That actually means he was in Lahore from 12th to 26th January, 1739. An invading army with nothing else on mind except literal looting of all resources. Surely, he besieged Lahore and defeated the Mughal governor Nawab Zakaria Khan for same reasons. It is reported by an eye witness that the Qizilbash and the Georgians made a great slaughter while taking the city in early January 1739. But certainly, they looted what they could. But administration of Lahore, knew the best way to handle them. Give them whatever they want. We can only imagine what they took. And certainly, a manuscript with a record of Nadir Shah on it, must be part of the loot. It was the Diwan of Nawab Wazeer Khan. And the uncertainty in Afghanistan decades back, brought these manuscripts back to the region, particularly Lahore. Scholar Khalil ur Rahman Daoudi was acquiring them from the Pathans.

It was 2001 that Daoudi Sahib consulted a Persian language expert, who obviously knew the language well, but history less. After studying same, he made the following points into consideration. It is known that Daoudi Sahib did not agree with him and told persons about his misgivings, and same were communicated to me too. The manuscript was of a poet with valuable information:

1. The takhallus of the poet was WAZEERI.
2. No poet of this takhallus was known from any source. It was a unique manuscript. 
3. The poet was supposedly of Mughal origin and had migrated from China to the Mughal Court.
4. Qasidas present in the Diwan related to Emperor Akbar, Khan e Khanan, Prince Saleem; etc.
5. A number of historical personalities of past were mentioned too.
6. The poet himself asserts us that he is Nawab Wazeer Khan.
   
7. Mention is also made by him of his profession of being Hakeem and tahbeeb, as well as an astrologer. The chart made is of last days of Emperor Akbar. Then Emperor Saleem is mentioned. That is 1605 AD. Wazeer Khan died in 1640 AD. He fell from his horse as the Governor of Akbarabad.
   

Wazeer Khan was attached to Prince Saleem. It is possible that this Diwan is Part one. Part two may be missing. The script is clear. Corrected at times. Number of seals. Re-written colophon with change of names and date. The owner stresses his link with Nadir Shah. In fact, he draws his ancestral tree on the manuscript itself. It seems that the manuscript landed as a waqf in some collection of Habib ullah. From its repaired looks, it is clear that it has passed through tough times.

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Confusion starts with the assertion that the poet belonged to China and migrated here from there. A person working in China and finding an excuse to come here is not only doubtful, but no solid evidence exists of the same. The title “Nawab” also belongs to our region, and nowhere else. Wazeer Khan is not a name but a title is obviously understood by us. Why this confusion? Not many references are there. I saw one with reference to “Cheen”, but it is forgotten that the short term for Chiniot was Cheen. In fact, travelers referred Chiniot as Little China, or Chota Cheen. I have seen this in a manuscript on Chiniot. Otherwise, traditional reference is of the place being named after a Princess by the name of “Chandniot”. On the bank of river Chenab, it was a famous trading post for travelers. Old name which was still in use even in 1862. It gained international importance when on 20th September, 1948, the Ahmadiyya’s migrated from Qadian, India, and leased opposite place from the Government of Pakistan. From a security point of view a long travel on a bridge makes this place a perfect hide out from prying eyes.

The changed date on the manuscript (changed to hide identity of owner and manuscript, usual for stolen things) is 1186 AH, and amusingly a note on the first page is dated as 1152 AH. There are other dates too. 1152 AH means 1739 AD. 1186 AH means 1773 AD. The interesting part is that in 1739 AD, Nadir Shah was very well in Lahore. It clarifies the source of the manuscript as to have originated from Lahore. Later the colophon is changed to 1773 AD, which is totally wrong. The manuscript very much looks like 17th century and it certainly belongs to Wazeer Khan era, and possibly is an autograph of the man. The manuscript requires serious research. Persian language expert can do the job to an extent. Even more the requirement is of a qualified historian of the period. If time permits, we will try to get more done. I was getting research done on a manuscript of Nur Jahan, and mentioned the scholar from Quetta. Malignancy surrounded a person who approached the Quetta person and got the work stalled, due to threat of commercial sanctions on that poor man. There is ruthless dictatorship in research work. No one interested in research but making their own name famous. My job is to open things, not close things due to some megalomaniac tendency. Often research is stalled due to petty self-aggrandizement. We are all happy with new information. 

M.A. RAHMAN CHUGHTAI OBSESSED WITH REGIONAL PICTORIAL HISTORY;
RESEARCHED ON “DABISTAN MUSSAWARI” OF LAHORE AND ITS OFF-SHOOTS.

An article on the background of pictorial history generated by both artists of Lahore as well as other artists of the Punjab. The pitfall was that as in other ways of life, the two-nation theory came here in this aspect of life. Hindus kept on generating their point of view. Muslims were not even interested in this aspect of writing. The result a myth was created and the truth driven out lost in the woods of anarchy. Talking of Punjab, it was forgotten that Lahore was a Mughal city, governed by Mughal Kings and Governors. In this particularly important period, by the son of Wazeer Qamaruddin, that Mir Muin ul Mulk, that is Mir Mannu. Mir Mannu was Governor of both Mughals as well as Ahmad Shah Abdali, and all the Hindu Rajas paid homage to him. In fact, pictures exist with reign of Mir Mannu as inscriptions. And not only those miniatures of Mir Mannu are there too. Scattered in museums all over the world, some are published, some remain unpublished. Berlin Museum has a most interesting miniature done by the famous Nainsukh himself.

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M.A. Rahman Chughtai had great plans for pictorial history. An article appeared in a local literary magazine. Then after his death, Chughtai Museum published his research to that date. The book was a block buster. Very soon we ran out of print. We published a second edition too. This was distributed free of cost by Chughtai Museum. It generated upheaval in research work. Students and scholars borrowed information from it. In fact, a few PHD thesis written owed their debt to this little booklet. An English edition was made but has not been printed yet. It reveals to the world a plethora of artists of Lahore, unknown and unresearched. It even revealed that there were streets named after artists in Lahore itself. We even had reference of a mohalla and gali of Sheikh Basawan the Mughal mussawar. Our finances are meagre, but our ideas are unlimited in scope. We will continue work on same.

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Gaur Suhai were the first signed miniatures of a Punjab artist. M.A. Rahman Chughtai collected signed works as an obsession. We published a book on Gaur Suhai, who signed his works in Persian language as “saqt Gaur Suhai”, with his links to Muslim courts. Two works were with N.C. Metha, a collector of Bombay. A few works by Lahore based painters, who migrated from Lahore, and were ancestors of Chughtai’s first wife, Wazeer un nisa, of Chowk Nawab Wazeer Khan. One of them was ELIA NAQASH, and his work is in a museum too. We are working on these features ourselves. Our collection was noticed by Dr Karl Khandalavalla. Scholars like Bautze as well as B.N. Goswamy went through our book.Excellent work these people are doing on their own. Surely no one is free of bias. Truth is inevitable! 

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TWELVTH SERIES EXPLORATION OF CHUGHTAI ART:
STORY OF OPPORTUNITIES OF AN ADVERTISING AGENCY;
EXPLOITATION OF TALENT GENERATION OF RESOURCES.

Unless you have seen Chughtai art in original, you are in no position to even make a judgment. The observation skill of most people is limited. Look at the whole, never in parts. No time to observe the details, which tell everything. When you look at the whole, you are bound to hide many things. The paper used by the fake makers is nothing short of being ridiculous. Not only do they have no access to original Whatmann, they ae not in a position to buy expensive drawing paper. Handmade paper is beyond them. Where 300 gms is required, you cannot do much with 100 gms cheap paper meant for struggling students. And instead of pigment colours, cheap chemical paints. No ability to mix paints and take out original tinge of Chughtai art. Lines cannot be drawn by them, so they print a weak image of a standard work on paper. Size unknown to them. Compositional size also not known. Chughtai used to cut his paper to suit his composition. That is why fakers shorten or extend works to meet size of paper. Afraid of cutting an 18 by 22 size student paper to size required for an original Chughtai. Imagine some reduce sizes from 26 by 36 inches to 14 by 19 inches. The best fake makers raise their hands in their lack of ability to copy a Master.

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STORY OF A FAKE MASTERA very famous head of an Advertising agency, in 1950s, used to buy works from Chughtai himself, to sell in Karachi, as well as other clients. He had a lot of original work, believed to be stuck in a police custody now. But he was a gambling addict. He stopped paying people their due amount. Due to these lapses, the artist Chughtai stopped giving him his works for sale. It was then that he asked am artist in his advertising studio, if he can make Chughtais. The poor man volunteered to try his best, and he innovated things. A faint image of a Chughtai was printed on paper, and on same English photo-colours were used to finish a painting. No technique, no washes. Nothing but cheap copies. A person in Islamabad got the idea. This faker used to sell his works for Ten thousand Rs, the man in Islamabad used to sell the work to a party in London for Rs One lakh. From there it went to auction houses, who had absolutely no knowledge of original or fake enterprises. A lot of money got generated in this way. Everybody felt happy. No consequences. The funny part is that Pakistani moronic analysts and critics had no mood to even look into this matter. Perhaps the spoils were divided amongst various people. Only I remained the Socratic gad-fly.

It has been an arduous work. Going through these series of exploration. Just look at the three Karachi fakes presented in a separate way. The fakes are about 14 by 19 inches. Laugh your heart off. The originals are huge works. Look at the faded textures. Karachi fakers become zero when you see the original side by side. All this must come in a book. But at the present it is out of financial reach for us. We will try in the future to expose the hideous faces of both sellers and buyers. We are alays available. Seek our opinion on everything related to Chughtai art. We will give you the facts and figures.