THE EXPERIENCES OF SHAUKAT THANVI IN LAHORE – THE HUMOURIST ARRIVES IN LAHORE 1943

THE EXPERIENCES OF SHAUKAT THANVI IN LAHORE

THE HUMOURIST ARRIVES IN LAHORE 1943
Shaukat Thanvi
Shaukat Thanvi

The allure of Lahore brought humourist Shaukat Thanvi from Bhopal to Lahore. An Urdu speaking person pitted in a very Punjabi town. The writer wrote a book on Lahoriath with his varied experiences here. He says it is difficult to ask a tonga driver to take him to Radio Station, when most probably he would take you to the Railway Station. He talks about Bazaars like Anarkali, where he says there are lots of damsels moving around, and warns that short of calling them sisters and daughters, one should not enrage their modesty in any way. He expresses an opinion that in Lahore you see both things at the same time, destruction of things going on as well as construction of things going on too. You have to decide what to choose to see. He talks of the clean Mall road, the Kulfa shops in Anarkali, made not of Vanaspati Malai but that of Desi Ghee. He talks of the Mausoleum of Jahangeer being separated from own, deserted Shalimar Bagh and even talks of the low attendance of Namazis at Badshahi Mosque. He observes that as a spectator for he was not from here.

Cartoon of Shaukat Thanvi
Cartoon of Shaukat Thanvi

Shaukat Thanvi suggests that you choose big chadars (sheets) for your charpai, for there are plenty of mosquitoes and qatmals in Lahori hotels. He says it is best to sleep under the charpai to avoid them. He took charge of Pancholi Art Pictures and as he lived on Mayo road and his office was in Muslim Town, he had to travel on a bicycle at least five miles one way both sides, making it a ten mile journey. The result he says that with this travel he was constantly hungry. He talks of second hand book shops outside Lohari gate, and enjoys the company of Zaheer Sahib of Urdu Book Stall, who hesitated to take money from him  for his own book. Wives in Lahore never blame their husbands but blame the friends of their husbands for his wrongs.

Lahoriath by Shaukat Thanvi
Lahoriath by Shaukat Thanvi

Shaukat Thanvi ended up in Lahore and his death in 1963 was a national loss. I think one of his sons was a well known television artist.

 

A RAREST PERIOD OF PAINTING IN LAHORE – 18TH CENTURY WORKS ON WALLS AND PAPER

A RAREST PERIOD OF PAINTING IN LAHORE
18TH CENTURY WORKS ON WALLS AND PAPER

Lahori Walls 1
Lahori Walls 1

In search of Lahori painters

Lahori walls 2
Lahori walls 2

Lahore has a history of a thousand years of Art and Culture. Different periods, different kind of works. Obviously different artists, different innovation. Different inspirations. The earliest works of Lahore are inspired by Central Asian as well as Chinese works. The Sultanate period has its own dynamics. But the rarest period in Lahore is from 1750 to 1800, an otherwise dead period of life here. Obviously there was a continuity of traditions here, but the patronage had changed in a very drastic manner. We hope to find dated things in our path of research.
Not an easy task.

Details 1
Details 1

M.A. Rahman Chughtai wrote the phenomenal work LAHORE KE DABISTAN MUSSAWARI and we already have had it translated in English. We are editing it, finding specimens of what we can find and we will eventually publish it in book form for the world. All this is not easy, with no one to help us in any way. But the journey we started alone, may end alone, but in the long run, a trail of a caravan would be there. That delights us.

Details 2
Details 2

The Hindu works are from a demolished building in Lahore dated around 1780. But if we see the faces, there is no relation with the works done in Lahore during the Sikh period. The faces are all of a different kind. A strange kind of Shiva’s personification as well as of Krishnas. But the Lingam worship is there. The Raja is a different kind altogether. Not a Sikh of any kind. More research is required here.

Death of Demon 1760
Death of Demon 1760

On the other hand the Rustam we have is a different Rustam too. But there are round facesa in both Hindu as well asa Muslim subjects. People look more real of life than idealized ones. According to another historian, Kanwal Khalid, that is the test of Lahori paining in itself.
Enjoy our efforts!

THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE, BEING – PEACE PALACE HAGUE AND M.A. RAHMAN CHUGHTAI

THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE, BEING
PEACE PALACE HAGUE AND M.A. RAHMAN CHUGHTAI

Message of peace to the world

Peace-Palace-Hague
Peace-Palace-Hague

A long time back the Governments in Pakistan were Pakistani friendly and promoted our interests all over the world. Today the morons can only think of making money for themselves and their cronies. Liaquat Ali Khan presented a painting of M.A. Rahman Chughtai to it at the residence of International Court of Justice at Hague, namely the Peace Palace, Hague. People from all over the world go there and are introduced to the artist from Pakistan represented there. Our relatives have enjoyed VIP treatment there by mentioning their links to the artist. We visited the place too, and received a grand reception from the Director of the place.

International_Court_of_Justice
International_Court_of_Justice

When we picture jurists from all over the world assembled there, with Chughtai Art at their back, it sends a message of great contentment to us. There are other lobbies who are trying to sabotage such places where Pakistan is represented, and we all the bigotry of that lobby. There were various attempts to shelve the painting. Obviously by our neighbours. We do not know the latest for 2015. We will find out.

THERE IS NO DEMOCRACY IN GODS – OUR ALLAH IS ONE AND THE ONLY ONE

THERE IS NO DEMOCRACY IN GODS
OUR ALLAH IS ONE AND THE ONLY ONE

GOD
GOD

Our Allah cannot be compared to gods of other religions

Another concept of God
Another concept of God

It is fashionable in modern jargon to equate all gods as one. It implies that all gods are the same and fashionable songs have been manufactured to equate Allah with other gods. Mind you our Kalma tells us straight that THERE IS ONE ALLAH AND THERE IS NOBODY ELSE WITH HIM. Even if we study monotheistic religions, their concept of their God is very different from our reality of Allah. Our Allah has no wife, no family, no children, nothing at all except Allah himself. When Jesus Christ is termed as a Prophet, we Muslims love and respect him. But when he is termed as son of God, we in our way of life, can possibly never accept that, for it is a blasphemy to even think like that. Similarly Jewish God may looks like ours, but when we saw that God raining destruction on people, we know that, it cannot be our Allah, who is only Beneficent and Merciful. So all other concepts are in vain.

Shiva the Hindu god
Shiva the Hindu god

We are talking of the positive concepts of god. There is also the negative concept of gods. Take Aries from Greek mythology who is the god of destruction and war. Similarly the Freemasonry believe in Baphomet (a deliberate respelling of our Prophet) to malign the person Lucifer as a god too. Nothing is moire ridiculous than that. But there are other groups who are allergic to the concept of God itself. In fact they have not studied the personality of Allah and consider most tales from Christian and Jewish sources as fairy tales only.

Aries Greek god of destruction
Aries Greek god of destruction

We Muslims rely on what Allah has revealed to us. For us Allah has revealed NINETY NINE NAMES OF ALLAH or ATTRIBUTES OF ALLAH. These names tell us about the personality of Allah. Obviously there may be infinite more things, but Allah thought it only worthy for us to know these. Mind you Allah tells us to respect all other ways of life and we do that all the time. But our children cannot grow up thinking that all gods are the same. There is no democracy of Gods. Al-Mighty Allah is alone!

Freemasonry god is devil known as Baphomet
Freemasonry god is devil known as Baphomet
The personality of Allah
The personality of Allah

THE FRENZY OF UNCULTURED ILLITERATE MULLAH – 126 YEARS MUGHAL TYPE MOSQUE BEING RAZED TO GROUND

THE FRENZY OF UNCULTURED ILLITERATE MULLAH
126 YEARS MUGHAL TYPE MOSQUE BEING RAZED TO GROUND

No stoppage or restriction on heritage destruction

Janazgah Mosque in ruins
Janazgah Mosque in ruins

Mosque building in Lahore is an activity which has spanned over a 1000 years. All Muslim rulers opted for grand mosques. Even a misgot like Ranjit Singh could sponsor a mosque built by his courtesan Mai Moran in Papar Mandi, Lahore (although he was responsible for banning Azan in Lahore for decades in his reign as well as after). But when Royal patronage failed, individual communities and individuals carried on the tradition of building of mosques. We know this well. Our ancestors were involved in designing and building mosques from last many centuries. Hundreds of works of mosques in Lahore are related to the descendants of Ustad Ahmad Mimar Lahori.

Mughal type panels
Mughal type panels

Mosques are jewels of one given time. They reflect the best of architectural achievements of those times. In a city where Badshahi Mosque as well a Wazeer Khan mosque was in ruins, what about the others? However mosques did survive those bad times, till they got in the hands of the Mullahs. These Mullahs are not related to Lahore, they are the migrant vagabonds who came from rural areas of India, to impose rigidity on the grand mental framework of our city.

300 Makrana Marble tiles thrown out
300 Makrana Marble tiles thrown out

Look at what is happening today? In process. A 126 years old mosque in JANAZGAH LAHORE is being demolished for a new mosque probably from Arab funds from abroad. The uncultured,uncivilized and illiterate Mullah is destroying a WORK OF ART for his own nefarious concepts. For a person who has no aesthetics with no dress code and barbarian beards, what else can be expected from them? WHO WILL BOTHER? WHO CARES? No one. Heritage will be lost today and will be continued loss for tomorrow. Our own leaders are so moron that they have the capacity to even demolish the Badshahi mosque to replace it with some design of a Japanese or English architect. Wrong, no absolutely right. It is happening like that in the Arab world. We are losers all the way!

COMING NEXT YEAR AN ART FESTIVAL IN LAHORE – SEEKING GUIDANCE OF WESTERN AND INDIAN SCHOLARS

COMING NEXT YEAR AN ART FESTIVAL IN LAHORE
SEEKING GUIDANCE OF WESTERN AND INDIAN SCHOLARS

All we have left are boot polishers and morons in Pakistan

Leela Gandhi
Leela Gandhi

The lady Leela Gandhi seems to be an exceptional person. A Professor at Brown University in USA, she has climbed the rungs of American intellectual corridors. Good luck to her. We wish her well in life. The blood of Mahatama Gandhi is in her veins, and she believes in the dogmas that:

“Reframing the way we think about some of the most consequential political events of the era, Leela Gandhi presents moral imperfectionism as the lost tradition of global democratic thought.”

I am a little confused about MORAL IMPERFECTIONISM, and would not know what that would mean. For me the source of my moral education is the HOLY QURAN and there is no confusion there. I am not confused about the TWO NATION THEORY and know what Allama Iqbal told us and what Quaid Azam did for us. I am not confused about our Islamic Aesthetics too. The artist M.A. Rahman Chughtai represented the ultimate aesthetic developments of the 20th century and Western critics have dubbed him in 1976 as the greatest Muslim painter of the 20th century. In all ways he was the FATHER OF PAKISTANI ART and his role in development of aesthetics in Pakistan can not be denied by anyone.

Quaid e Azam and Mahatama Gandhi
Quaid e Azam and Mahatama Gandhi

The interesting part is that the Festival is scheduled at Alhamra Lahore. Many people may forget that Alhamra is a place of which the artist M.A., Rahman Chughtai is the FOUNDING FATHER. The idea behind the Art Council was his, the name Alhamra given by him and it was inaugurated with a show of Chughtai Art by Governor General Khawaja Nazimuddin in 1949. But no one will take the name of Chughtai there. Pakistani pseudo critics and scholars shudder at his name for he represents PAKISTAN and PAKISTANI ART. The ideological context is too great, it makes the enemy quiver with pain.

I love Art Festivals. It is good that Art Festivals should happen but festivals should not come with predetermined agendas to derail us from our Ideology. Patronize all kinds of Art in Pakistan. Everything. When you hold ART GIMMICKRY better than our own traditions and develoments in Art, then it is a an agency of ideological change. This change is only imagined in the media. The Ideology of Pakistan cannot be derailed in any way.

I am in no mood to get personal. We should respect everyone, and I do. But an incident is present in the history of our Quaid e Azam and Mahatama Gandhi, which can be remembered and it is there in books as well as on the internet. The incident is:

One day M.K. Gandhi was busy in his Prarthana in his Shivgram Ashram when a snake entered the Ashram. M.K. Gandhi kept himself busy with his Prarthana. The snake took a round of the hut and quietly went away. The Hindu newspapers unduly publicized the event attributing it to Mr. Gandhi’s miracle. A correspondent came to Quaid and asked his comments over the incident. He very seriously heard the whole story and remarked “yes professional etiquette.”

Welcome Leela Gandhi to Lahore! We await with love and respects. Hear point of views of all, and not merely sycophants who await to polish your shoes.

PARTITION STORIES AND THE NEW DECEIT PROGRAMME – BUT HERE IS A HAPPY STORY YOU WOULD NOT HAVE HEARD BEFORE

PARTITION STORIES AND THE NEW DECEIT PROGRAMME
BUT HERE IS A HAPPY STORY YOU WOULD NOT HAVE HEARD BEFORE

NO ONE CAN COMPLETELY WASH THE REALITY OF THE MASSACRES

Abducted women list
Abducted women list

We know the realty of partition well. We know the factual background of the Two Nation theory and how certain lobbies maneuvered the massacre of millions of innocent lives, all the more so in West Pakistan, and particularly in the Punjab. The Sikhs were made to go on rampage prodded by others, with promises of a Khalsa land of their own. My own mother was in Amritsar with my sister and how she escaped from there is an adventure story in itself. Brought to Lahore on a jeep of her brother in law from Hall bazaar to Shahdara with five armed gunmen to protect them. But others were not lucky. She saw all this on the way here. My father also saw the train loads of beheaded women, cut into pieces, after being raped by villagers. With writings in the blood of the martyrs mocking their freedom struggle. Littered with blood of the martyrs, Pakistan was made for the freedom and for the promise of the first Islamic State in a thousand years. Now that is being mitigated with creation of partition stories being attributed to mouth of people, who say different, and the recordings are different, after careful editing of things. A conspiracy is already in the making.

Official endorsement
Official endorsement

Here is a story you would not have heard. I came across an official document signed by various officials and coming from the coffers of the Intelligence Bureau. A list of ABDUCTED HINDU AND SIKH WOMEN AND CHILDREN were made by the Pakistani authorities, and each case was investigated properly. The total missing persons were 7956 from West Pakistan. Out of these 5609 were from Punjab and 2347 from other provinces. Each name is written. Most of the women and children were recovered and handed over to India by 1952. Yes, no rapes, and no one killed them. They were found, and sent to their families in India with respect and dignity. The funny part is that many did not want to leave Pakistan. The complete list is in our archives. Was there such a list from India, I do not know!

Muslims as one
Muslims as one

For India truth is something they do not believe, and want to falsify things. Their reporters look mockingly simpletons, trying to befool the world with trumpeted falsehoods. Truth wins in the end. And that they will find out eventually. The modern Privthviraj has forgotten the fate of the original one. Remember that before you go to sleep!

Muslims refuge
Muslims refuge
Okay in eyes of none
Okay in eyes of none

A WELL COMMENTED SHOW OF LAHORI GIRL AT OXFORD – RAZIA SIRAJUDDIN STEALS THE LIMELIGHT OF CRITICISM

A WELL COMMENTED SHOW OF LAHORI GIRL AT OXFORD
RAZIA SIRAJUDDIN STEALS THE LIMELIGHT OF CRITICISM

English newspapers, BBC all wrote about same in praise

Razia Sirajuddin Show at Oxford
Razia Sirajuddin Show at Oxford

Sir William Rothenstein Principal of the Royal School of Arts was very fond of Razia Sirajuddin and viewed her future as an artist well. Razia Sirajuddin went to the Royal School of Arts and cleared same in flying colours. She made few paintings, first in Oils and then in Water colours. She was not interested in Western concepts and wanted her art to remain Eastern in its nature. Cubism and Sur-realism did not fascinate her. She never wanted to be another Picasso. In many ways her fascination was with M.A. Rahman Chughtai and she wrote the Introduction to his famous book CHUGHTAI’S PAINTINGS.

Araish by Razia Sirajuddin
Araish by Razia Sirajuddin

Razia Sirajuddin was at Oxford. The organizers requested her for a show and the same was held at Oxford. A lot of English critics covered her show. BBC carried reports about it. One of her paintings namely BLACK BURQA was heavily commented and appreciated by Western critics. The artist Chughtai spoke eloquently about her and her art. Unfortunately at the present moment we hardly know of her or have any reports to follow her. That is the tragedy of life!

Sanghar by Razia Sirajuddin
Sanghar by Razia Sirajuddin

There were a number of women artists in Pakistan and a number of names are with us. All stand forgotten with time. This society dos not nurture those who cannot do something about themselves. When the artist dies, so does his art. Another artist Razia Ferozuddin met the same fate. I saw many sketches done by Razia Ferozuddin and most of hem were nude studies. People threw them in the dustbin at risk of embarrassment. But luck saves Art, that is lfe too!

THE MOST UNIQUE PICTURE GALLERY OF THE WORLD – LAHORE FORT’S EXCEPTIONAL HERITAGE

THE MOST UNIQUE PICTURE GALLERY OF THE WORLD
LAHORE FORT’S EXCEPTIONAL HERITAGE
STORY OF NEGLECT AND DESTRUCTION

Mughal Angels fresco
Mughal Angels fresco

Shamelessness of our caretakers and apathy of leaders

Angels Wazeer Khan hammam
Angels Wazeer Khan hammam

William Finch is supposed to have walked in the Lahore Fort around 1615, and was wonder struck at the most magnificent gallery of pictures in the world. The whole open space and verandahs, and each verandah had a number of hand made paintings on the wall. There were pictures of the Emperor and his ancestors and family, as well as his courtiers. But there was also pictures of other kind. To our view the gallery exhibited most of the pictures of DASTAN AMIR HAMZAH, commisioned by Emperor Humayoun and Emperor Akbar in large size format, mostly on cloth rather than on paper. But the Mughals were not just content with visuals they could see, they had to have drawn all that they had not seen in life. And that meant all things! Unfortunately for us this record is gone. The list given by William Finch is extensive, but looks exaggerated, as perhaps he never even entered the Lahore Fort. These travelers were often gossip makers from bazari tales.

Angels Mughal Style
Angels Mughal Style

But outside the walls of the Lahore Fort, the Mughals did another thing. They had a gallery of frescos painted as tile mosaics, which also exhibited all kinds of subjects. But hold on, one thing is missing! There are hardly any women in the same. And that is a strange phenomena. These pictures would be visible to the soldiers standing on the ramparts on the outside walls, including the King and the Generals. No women! The Mughals loved women in all ways, then why? In fact here the inner world was for the King, the outer world was for all see. The plan perhaps was not to excite the warriors in any way with images of women. That is why we have elephants, camels, antelopes, courtiers, domestic scenes, professionals a work, but no women at all.

Nothing like this in the world
Nothing like this in the world

The one thing which has puzzled researchers for centuries is that the Tile Mosaics of Lahore Fort exist to this day, but no Mughal or even Western writer has ever mentioned them. Slight references are made in the Sikh times by travelers like William Barr (who ridiculed Sikh paintings as well as thought of the tile mosaics as “Passing through gateway decorated with paintings of figures,wild animals, etc, fashioned in the most grotesque style” ) and Dr Honigberger (only notices them), but no time before that. It is agreed that the mosaics were started in the last period of Emperor Jahangeer and were finished in the initial period of Emperor Shah Jahan. Why are the Mughals silent about their own creation? To this day no satisfactory answer is there.

Mughal helper fresco
Mughal helper fresco

But even today people do not listen to their aesthetics calling. No one observes them to this day, and that is why the neglect is phenomenal. Decay surrounds the Tile Mosaics to this day and many have disappeared with time, except for the kind drawing recordings of Vogel. It is a must requirement that a tour be made of visitors and they be allowed to climb the ramparts to see this WONDER OF THE WORLD at closest possible sight. Let us call it is a Gallery Tour of Mughal Paintings. Anybody listening!

GOLA SERAI

Emperor with Black Antelope
Emperor with Black Antelope

A strange fact is mentioned by E. D. Maclagan in his writings, when he says that Angels appearing in Lahore Fort Tile Mosaics are also made on the gateway of the GOLA SERAI in Lahore. I find this mention nowhere else. What was this Gola Serai? We find similar angels in the hammam of Wazeer Khan and immediately come to the conclusion hat we are here talking of the Serai of Nawab Wazeer Khan. E.D. Maclagan points out that the Serai has been dismantled now, that is around 1910. But we do have photographs of the Serai dated 1904 and instead of myself, I find that mentioned by no one else. That in a separate blog.

Attendant at Mughal Court
Attendant at Mughal Court

OUTSIDE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN U.N.O NEW YORK – THE CAFE HOUSES THREE WORKS OF M.A. RAHMAN CHUGHTAI

OUTSIDE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN U.N.O NEW YORK
THE CAFE HOUSES THREE WORKS OF M.A. RAHMAN CHUGHTAI

UNO Headquarters New York
UNO Headquarters New York

Only four painters represented at United Nations at that time

After the formation of U.N.O, art works were requested as donations from member countries. Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan decided to present three paintings of M.A. Rahman Chughtai to the U.N.O in New York. Pitras Bokhari was Pakistan’s representative to the UNO and a personal friend of the artist. Not only the works were presented, they were placed at a very important venue. After people met at General Assembly, there was a cafe outside the hall to accommodate the delegates to the General Assembly. The works were hung there and admired by the most important diplomats of the world. In fact New Year parties were held in this Cafe and Secretary Gebneral Kofi Annan used to be seen dancing in front of these art works on international television.

Chughtai Art Works at UNO New York
Chughtai Art Works at UNO New York

When the news of the death of M.A. Rahman Chughtai reached the U.N.O, the Secretary General Dr Kurt Waldheim sent his personal as well as official condolence to the Chughtai family on the sad loss of an international figure. I visited New York to thank him personally for the same in 1976. We were in touch for a long time. Dr Walheim even recommended our case to the Government of Punjab related to the building of Chughtai Museum. A great man indeed!

Another Version of Sultan and Saint at UNO
Another Version of Sultan and Saint at UNO

It is a shame that so many people as well as Heads of State visit the U.N.O headquarters, but pay no heed of the art representation at the U.N.O from Pakistan. Either they do not know, or they are not even interested in same. Would it hurt the pride of Prime Minister Nawaz Shareef to be seen with them in New York? Only Allah knows better.