WHENEVER ANYTHING WHICH MAKES HAPPINESS;
MOST SABRE RATTLING STARTS FROM QUARTERS,
THE FESTIVAL OF BASANT MAKES MAULVIS QUIVER,
NOT ONE CAN EVER GO TO HEART OF REAL MATTER.

The Quran has splendid stories to tell. Even hadees tell us a lot about things which are hidden from the eyes of the pseudo Islamists. To them Islam is about suppressing happiness. Anything which makes you happy, dancing, music, arts and everything pleasant is repugnant to those who teach us morbidity of religion. Never understand the difference between Deen and Mazab. Here we are talking of a Kite flying festival which happens every year at the advent of Spring in Lahore. But Kite flying was an everyday normal activity.

To degrade it, the first sign of pseudo scholars’ morbidity is to classify Basant as a Hindu festival. Let me make something clear. Spring is the time of rejoicing. Winter is over and with it things blossom again. It is the best time. Flowers burst forth in a beautiful display. Birds start singing again in ecstasy. The farmers celebrate Spring with the harvest season. Some societies indulge in Music and dance. Basant  in Hinduism is not a religious festival. It’s a celebration of Spring. When Allah’s creatures rejoice in Spring, so does humankind in various forms. One form which was taken in Lahore was to coincide it with the festival of kites flying.

A historical leap in studying Basant Panchami is to go back to the times of Hazrat Nizamuddion Aulia, the famous Saint of the region, and the Star of Delhi in all ways. The Saint was advising ways to make things secular so that both nations, the Muslims and Hindus could unite in some ways. One way out was the making of the Urdu language. The job entrusted to Amir Khusro to blend Persian and Sanskrit in new form and Urdu was born. In the same way  the saint united two Nations in moments of rejoicing. There came the joining of two traditions, yellow harvest colour  and the beat of qawalis. To this day Basant there is a secular activity.

The scene of Delhi was interpreted in other areas in other ways. Although kite flying is part of Basant there. It came much later in a subdued way of square kites flying in sky. This flying is meant as a relaxation exercise, we call it locally “Kichean”. We can compare this practice with the rest of the world. We come across no record of kites in Mughal period. Even the mention is not there. A study of kite flyings in whole world  can be noted. England has a long record, as we have paintings of 18th century showing same. Spool and square kites with long tails too. America tells us of Benjamin Franklin’s discovery of electricity  by flying kites. Even in our region different areas, different handling of same. Take Malaysia for instance. Comparing kites can be informative. We see that there is resemblance but there are differences too. The differences are not that many but are related to the type of winds in Malaysia and the type of winds in Lahore. The Lahori patang is an evolution of the patangs from Malaysia. The Lahori patang is not made of RICE PAPER, but of GUDDI KAGHAZ and that is why its shape can be different and in all ways, it can go so far away, as to touch the skies themselves. Most Kites of the world have a limited span of flying distance, but not the ones from Lahore. We have seen them recede into the skies all the time, at times even clouded by the clouds themselves. The extent where even their visibility is gone. Here we have to seek historical references for same.

There is a reference in a travelogue of a German traveler, Baron Charles Hugel in Lahore, in which he tells us about the celebrations of Basant by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1836. With this he adds an interesting thing. He saw the ridiculous way the young men ran after the CUT KITES in the sky, with DANGS (long bamboo sticks) in their hands. A practice which was seen to the day that RAW started the campaign against Kite flying in Lahore, and ruthlessly brought it down, with use of their own agents in the bureaucracy of Pakistan. More on that later.

Nur Ahmad Chisti was a prolific writer of Lahore, and in an unpublished manuscript (which Imtiaz Ali Taj Sahib later saw in print), he narrates BASANT IN LAHORE around 1850s A.D. The most interesting thing in his writings is that although he talks of so many details about the festivity of Basant in Lahore, in no way he relates it to the ACT OF KITE FLYING at all. At some other place we will write about the details of Basant in Lahore, but it was more of wearing Yellow clothes. Chisti says that Basant happens in Lahore like in India on the 3rd of Jamad ul Sani, and the festival is of many days. The routine is presence of people at Mazars of Saints and graves of their loved ones. In Lahore Basant was celebrated at the Mazar of Madho Lall Hussain, and both Hindus and Muslims used to celebrate Basant there, as Madho and Lall Hussain were two lovers of medieval times and that is a separate story in itself. Chisti talks of the prejudice of the Hindus who shifted their Basant festivities to the Samadh of Haqeeqat Rai and left the Muslims in lurch. The Muslims started assembling at the Sarai of Muhammed Sultan Tekaydar. Mind you, no reference of kite flying at all. And there is the first sign that Muslims not knowing how to celebrate Basant, mixed it with kite flying and started a new trend in Lahore. We can presume the answer that bored young boys turned to kite flying to make it their day. Tea time scholars cannot understand the concept of two nations at work here.

A clear line is found. Chisti tells us of this SPECIAL GROUP OF KITE MAKERS AND FLYERS in a separate note and does not relate it to Basant. He says this group of people make and sell kites in Winter, and in Summer, they make bamboo cages and traps and sell SURAQS that is Red Robins of Lahore, who actually migrate here from Russian areas to this day. Suraqs and Choomonas (bird rearing) is another passion of Lahore, and Suraq fighting is there to this day as an entertainment. An impossible task to train the little red bird to fight with another red bird, often to death itself. There is every possibility that this group of people had migrated to Lahore from other areas, and may have been gypsies of some order. The link of this gypsy group may be linked to Malaysia itself. But that is a separate research experience. All this analysis is being DONE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY.

There is mention of Lucknow style of kites and kite flying even in Lahore. A Gudda with a small “par” at lower end. More usually plain thread was used for flying in olden times. Tangles were very civilized if any, as are the people of Lucknow famous for sensitivity. Compare it with Amritsar and the Sikhs rejoicing in harvest season. They forgot the word Basant and added the word LOHRI to their festival. Same thing, even kite flying at present. But again the value of Spools to their handiwork. But in all ways the concept Amritsar stole was from Lahore itself.

FESTIVAL OF BO-KATA IN DISGUISE OF BASANT AND EVEN LOHRI:

Kite flying got tremendous changes in the city of Lahore. Spool use as a carrier of string lost its count, as Lahore made the innovation of “Pinas”. An image of Pinas is given. A tightly wound kite thread in different direction in form of “Piris“. The biggest innovation is that to make a kites tangle successful, need for sword was there. This came in form of innovation of powdered glass and making a paste out of it by mixing it with local sarehayss (glue), obtained from the bark of certain tree. Even eggs of eagles were put in the paste in olden times to make it smooth to the use for hands. The shape of kites took many forms. Guddis both big and small (some with small tails, some with long tails called machars), Guddas both big and small (the smallest Gudda was called Pad); (the addition of humour as Machars related to sound of mosquitoes by the small guddi, and Pad related to sound of fart created by flying that small gudda. Patangs various types including a more elongated one as “Kups”, and even Flying Lanterns holding Diwas in them, known as “Burgs”. Different designs even got different names, a certain designed Guddi is called a “Pari”. A shaped Patang called Tira. Various designs got various names.

There were unwritten laws related to flying kites. The dos and don’ts. If you did the unthinkable, aggressive people would call at your door steps to give you a literal thrashing. One such action was related to “Hath marna”, which was to take a lesser flying kite, under a long distance kite, and pulling it with full vigour, to make the other cut away. The Art of PECHAS soared to new heights. But the most sophisticated was the flying of Patangs at Minto Park, the place of Yadgar Pakistan. Every Sunday serious Pechas with contesting parties, resulting in Trophies, or even financial bet between two parties. The standard of Minto Park Patang was the highest as well as their used thread. The epitome of kite flying, peaceful and done in full grace on the ground itself. All year round this went on in utter peace.

The artist Abdur Rahman Chughtai was not only a kite flyer, but also a kite maker. His Patangs were not only famous for excellence, but also beauty. He innovated many naqashi designed Patangs. More usually the “Pan wali” became  famous to this day for its beauty. These were made with Burma bamboo, and German gudi kagaz. The thread was either J.P. Coats number 8, or Deer no 12 Gutermann Goeinginger made in Germany. But his field was not Minto Park but the Mian havelis in Baghbanpura, seat of his many Mian friends. In fact not long ago Mian Majeed Professor of Photography at NCA boasted that he still preserved some of the Patangs made by Chughtai artist. I am not a Kite maker, but a kite flyer all my life. Kite flying was not a Basant occasion but an everyday activity after school and after home work. It brought us many things but it was the most economical  way to seek happiness in Lahore. Not expensive toys or chatting at Facebook and Whatsapp, but taking the kite high in the air to contest with another one. Bo kata filled the sky of Lahore not on Basant but every day. And those who had no money to buy Kites or Strings, did other things. One was use of tangle with KATIS. A kati was a small stone tied to a length of string and both opponents used the katis to cut the other kati. Again a competition and a healthy one. If even that was not there, then two boys simple handled a small piece of string and grazed it with string of the other person. It was called a Khasra competition. Believe it was pure fun for boys. It was a way of life in Lahore. This was resented by India who put RAW on the game to make things like Cricket and Kite flying hell for us. The Indian James Bond Ajit Duval probably planned the ruin of our kite flying by exporting for first time Indian thread to Lahore. Referred as Chinese thread in Amritsar. The Chemical as well as the stretchable thread came into existence. With it the use of steel wire at first few feet of the kites thread to facilitate Chamorna. That is to fly a kite in desire to catch another kite in the air and bring it home. A great endeavour. The result the wire fell on electrical wires and created booms in Lahore. The bad end had started.

Everything has been stolen from the common many. Lahoris are  harassed in all ways. Under economic stress and lack of democratic rule, and at the mercy of political thugs. They are slaughtered everyday. The curtailing of kite flying was slaughtering all the happiness of the poor people. It has transformed into an activity of normal people to the recluse of the dirty rich. Not being able even to afford kites and strings, their faces have left smiles which were habitual to them. The common many wants to shout BO KATA on their own, and have nothing to do with 900,000 cars which entered Lahore on the three days of so called Basant. I saw not even one Patang in the sky. I saw ridiculous Pinas and useless strings and hardly any refined Manja. But Lahore will not take it lying down. The germ is there again. Lahore will shout again. BO KATA IS IN THE AIR!

A GEM OF LAHORE HIDDEN FROM VIEW OF RESEARCHERS;
IDENTITY MIYAN BAI OF BAGH JAHAN ARA OF CHAUBURJI;
REFERRED AS PRIDE OF WOMANHOOD BUT NOTHING ELSE;
AND YET HER MAUSOLEUM STOOD IN LAHORE ALL THE TIME.

The word Chauburji is on the lips of most people of Lahore. It is a place on which they regularly travel and in the centre see a gateway to a Bagh which is no longer in existence. Floods and an earthquake of 1846 seems to have done the damage. Yet the Bagh is on record. It was made in 1056 AH (0r 1646 AD), and when completed she asked the opinion of her religious patron Miyan Bai for approval. Miyan Bai expressed her exasperation that a person like her  could not dream of such a garden. The royalty of the past and Jahan Ara, she gifted the Bagh to her patron Miyan Bai. The names of Jahan Ara as Begum Sahiba and Miyan Bai are both on the inscriptions on the Chauburji itself. Completed from old records of 1869, they are at present open for investigation.

Folklore always points to Miyan Bai as a maid servant of Princess Jahan Ara. But when the inscription on Chauburji itself calls Miyan Bai as the Pride of Womanhood, it is not justified to think of her as a maid servant. There is no doubt that she was important to Princess Jahan Ara, but what were the factors which the Princess held in importance. One can say that she was like a foster mother to the Princess. But since the Princess was very close to Islamic teachings, it can be presumed that she was an Islamic scholar, and the Princess thought of her as important to her learning processes. It can also be presumed that she could have been related to the Imam of Jamia Masjid Delhi, as those Imams had come from Bokhara to guide the people here. My uncle Dr Abdullah Chaghatai came across a mosque in Ajmer which she had built in 1052 AH or 1643 AD, and her name was inscribed on that mosque too. And it was not a very small mosque, but held its own grandeur compared with a Royal Shahjahani mosque there. It means she had enough money to build a mosque on her own, and was a woman of some importance. But there was hardly more.

Chauburji has gone through various times. We hear about it in references of various Mughal dignitaries like Prince Dara Shikoh, Prince Aurangzeb, and the Munshi Chandrabhan Brahman. And our initial images are of a ruined Chauburji gateway, with the river Ravi flowing near it, Then some repairs must have been done. We see it more intact in photos of 1870. Once upon a time in British times it served as a Police Station in 1874. Then only three minarets were there and finally in recent times the fourth one was added. But in course of time it lost various inscriptions. No one bothered to trace Miyan Bai. The faded glory of the Bagh just told us that Miyan Bai was no more too. And then a startling discovery was made here in Lahore itself.

The mausoleum of Miyan Bai very much here in Lahore nowadays in Chauburji quarters, not far away from the garden she got as a gift from Jahan Ara. The writers who write on the city Lahore are not historians, they carry falsehood with them without research of any kind. A short cut society does not bother in picking up historical references. Anything taking time is discarded at once. No one put simple two and two together. The petite Mausoleum was right here in the vicinity of Chauburji gateway. And what abnormal condition?

The obsession of a religious segment of Lahore to erase and mitigate history is evident. A pure Mughal monument was camouflaged into a mazar. Naturally the plinth had gone down  with time. In my view at least ten feet. The mausoleum was cemented and all its frescoes works hidden from sight. It supported the modern version of a linear dome roof top. And various portions where frescoes must be there. And intricate marble or red stone jalis. The entrance replaced by locked iron doors. An enclosure of iron grid or jali all around it. The architecture and design makes it obviously a Mughal monument, with Chaghata bricks showing themselves here and there. Labelled as Miyan Begum by some, and Mai Bai by others, no one jumped to the possibility that she was the same Miyan Bai, who owned the Bagh of Jahan Ara as it was donated to her and her name dominated the inscriptions. A request is natural from us.

At present it is in the custody of some private administrator, probably Mutawalli of the same place. And surprisingly in an age of Qabza groups, it is still intact as a whole, even with trees and plants in it. Two graves outside, one of Pir Karam Shah, seemingly at least 100 years old, cannot be identified, but not mixed with other Karam Shahs of recent times. In most probability a Mutavalli of the mausoleum. As a joint collaboration, with full rights to the original administrator, the mausoleum should be restored to its proper shape and decoration. And labelled in the memory of the Owner of Bagh Jahan Ara. It is requested that the Archaeological Department starts taking interest in lost heritage. With work going on in Nila Gumband, this should also be a stepping stone for concerned authorities. I wish my uncle Dr Abdullah Chaghatai would have been alive with the discovery of this mausoleum. It would have made him  very happy. It makes us happy too! 

LAST OF THE ARCHITECTS OF MIMAR FAMILY OF LAHORE;
MIAN KAREEM BAKSH FATHER OF M.A. RAHMAN CHUGHTAI.

When environments change, so does expected requirements from cultural people. A new civilization requires adjustments. Mian Salah Mimar remained stuck to his traditional vision of things. His son Mian Raheem Baksh found balance both in traditional and modern atmosphere. Certificates from many English administrators speak of this adjustment. His son Mian Kareem Baksh caught between the flux of cultural movements.

My uncle Dr Abdullah Chaghatai used to say that his father was responsible for building at least hundred mosques in Lahore alone. These were not grand mosques with grand dimensions. But small versions to cater to the issues in Sikh and British times. The time where Azan (nor prayers) was not allowed, so small mosques in individual neighbourhoods. And the end formula was economy of things. One example which my uncle Abdur Raheem told me about was the mosque of Mai Hiran, the wife of a poor mashqee or water carrier. The death of the Mashqee moved his wife in a new directions. She wanted to honour her husband by building a mosque in his memory. Their house and its land was there, and she had Rs 500. She sent for Mian Kareem Baksh and asked him to build a mosque in the memory of her husband for that amount of money. The money would be used for the design, the clearance from the Municipal Corporation, the bricks, the mortar, the doors and everything required for same. Including the labour of Mian Kareem Baksh. A dramatic adjustment from mosques for Emperors and Princesses to a poor lady like Mai Hiran, the beloved  wife of a Water carrier. Do not know the present condition, but it still stood when I went to photograph it in 1976. Certainly there was love in its construction, the same love generated in the construction of the Taj Mahal. 

 My father M.A. Rahman Chughtai used to recall many incidents of his relation with his father. He would normally say that Mian Kareem Baksh used to leave for work early in the morning and would come home late at night. He was in the habit of wearing wooden slippers, and those slippers used to emit a loud clanking noise as he walked into the lane of the house. It was a signal for all three brothers to rush into bed under all circumstances. The father would allow all three brothers to fly kites but after Basant would tear all the ones left over. Other things like fishing, hunting were there too. The ambition of the father was that the son should clear school, and go to Engineering University and get a degree from there. An ambition to make him an architect in the tradition of elders. Mian Kareem Baksh also had the wish that his son would become a Hafizul Quran and he would be very proud if he would lead the recitation of Taraweeh prayers in Ramazan. Interesting that Chughtai Sahib had mastered the learning of at least half the Quran but could not complete the whole Quran. The quest for emphasis on the Quran itself, started from Chabuk Sawaran itself, with the bold reckoning of Abdullah Chakarwati. That influence prevailed on Chughtai Sahib all his life, and hearing of the recitations and lectures of Dr Allama Iqbal, at the Islamia High School Lahore, guided him towards the Quranic insights of Allama Ghulam Ahmad Pervaiz.  Indeed the reconstruction of religious thoughts in Islam came very much alive in M.A. Rahman Chughtai.

The artistic insight in Chughtai Sahib also came very early. The incident was of his making a crow on the minaret of the small mosque in front of their house, and showing the same to his father Mian Kareem Baksh. A small child’s bold attempt at making an image. The minaret still stands there today, and we will enclose a picture of it. Probably the minaret was work of Mian Kareem Baksh too, as the mosque then was Masjid Mulla Ghaus, now it is Noor Masjid. On his home from school, he would watch a very old artist work on miniatures, in Gumti Bazaar, and it stimulated him towards such aesthetics. Indeed the line and colour maestro was being born under the eyes of Mian Kareem Baksh.

Mian Kareem Baksh died in 1913. And his last work was on the Haveli of Bijri Nath inside Delhi Gate, Lahore. I went there too, as it was in the possession of a relative, Aurangzeb (a great book collector) and was shown remains of a Stone Sundial on the roof. Amazing work for its time. Mian Kareem Baksh is buried in Miani Qabristan with his two wives, Chiragh Bibi and Mehrunnisa.  Under Mehrunnisa grave is the grave of Muhammed Hussain, step brother of M.A. Rahman Chughtai. A graduate in those times, and a Royal tutor to the exiled Princes of Afghanistan. Interesting his portion of the house in Chabuk Sawaran still stands there. A blog is in the making for that man too.  We have put all this record in the public interest before it is lost forever! Lovers of Chughtai Sahib must keep record intact with them for future reference.

BOTH MIAN SALAH MIMAR AND MIAN RAHEEM BAKSH MIMAR;
FATHER AND SON:  FULFILLING LEGACY USTAD AHMAD MIMAR.

Information is always there. One has to know where to search and how to acquire it from unknown sources. Not all sources are friendly to your inquisitiveness. Harshness comes in too. When we started fresh research in 1975, people warned us. Nothing much can be expected in these times. But when you do not give up links start coming on their own. And perhaps the souls of those departed also help in your research and bring in  lost documents accessible to you. This is such a story.

It started with the death of Baba Miran Baksh and his hujra in the Wazeer Khan Mosque, and his School of Naqashi there. His two sons had access to the hujra, but when finally Auqaf took over the mosque, they were asked to vacate the same.  Things of Baba were still there. But to people the valuable things came first. His Sitar, his painting instruments and some manuscripts and art works of his actions (we searched for them too). Looted you can say, but nobody picked up his host of documents of periods of past. The ordinary sweeper left them in the house of Baba Miran Baksh in the Katra of Buzurg Shah, an eminent hakeem of Lahore. Even there it was of no interest to anyone, but when a lady of the house, married and living in Samnabad, came visiting, she felt attached and took them to her home and saved them in an old trunk of the house. We reached her there and we came across our first breakthrough in research. The rest is history.  

There was a time when everyone knew a few tiers of their ancestry. Simply for even on legal documents and registration deeds, a number of fathers and grandfathers were always shown. More in Mughal times. My father Abdur Rahman Chughtai knew this part very well. He was simply Abdur Rahman son of Mian Kareem Baksh son of Mian Raheem Baksh son of Mian Salah Mimar. But there was one clarification with all of them. They carried the nomenclature of Mimar with all of their names. Yes the family knew their ancestry coincided with architecture in all ways. They also knew from many sources their ancestors were involved in important Mughal architecture constructions. They knew the links with the Badshahi mosque Lahore.  That is why  before his death in 1913, around 1910 Mian Kareem  Baksh Mimar paid a visit to Agra and Delhi to see first hand some of the important constructions there. One son Abdullah Chaghatai was so obsessed with the Taj Mahal, that he took his PHD from Paris in the subject of Taj Mahal in 1938. The first professional study of the same, a thesis hard to find but very much printed in Paris, France.  And then other scholars started researching on same subject and an ancestral tree of the architect Ustad Ahmad Mimar Lahori was emerging in existence. Ustad Ahmad Mimar had important professional children and grandchildren and their works were well known. A tree was coming with full clarification. 

We have already discussed ancestry of Ustad Ahmad and now must talk of three sons. Attaullah,  Lutufullah and  Nurullah. An important addition to Attaullah Rushdi is name of Hafiz Hafeez urf  Nur Muhammed and for Nurullah we add Aleemullah, besides Qaleemullah as his two sons. The most well known family is of Lutufullah and many names are added here.

Starting with Khairullah (son of Lutufullah), known as Abu Khair, we add a number of names. First Mirza Muhammed Ali was well known. Previously the name of Zainul Abedeen urf Mako was added as son of Mirza Muhammed Ali. We added Mirza Ahmad Ali to the names as his brother. But we added many more names. Mirza Ashur Baig son of Mirza Akbar Muhandis. Mirza Akbar was also a son and Khairullah refers to him as Burkurdar Akbar. Mirza Bismillah Baig is another addition. There are other names gleaned from various manuscripts. Not all can be stated in a blog.

There were certainly more children of Lutufullah and we add first Mirza Abid who was a Muhandis too. Jaipur manuscripts a record him too. Also responsible for translating astronomical treatises from Sanskrit to Perrsian. Another probable is Muhammed Ahmad. And his family adds too. There is even another Lutufullah from this family extension.

Imamuddin Riazi has the strongest links. He yearned for a son. Some daughter’s are on record. Character of one of  his daughters is in a letter addressed elsewhere.  Finally he was blessed with Amiruddin Ali . Amiruddin’s two sons are known. One Aulad Ali and other Karamuddin, perhaps from two wives.  From there we have Mian Salah Mimar and Mian Ghulam Rasool. The rest we know till present.

Mian Salah two sons Elahi Baksh urf Natha and Raheem Baksh. Raheem Baksh two children Kareem Baksh and daughter Karam nisa. Karam nisa married to Baba Miran Baksh. Mian Kareem Baksh had four sons. One our artist Abdur Rahman  Chughtai. So relating one line is simple. Abdur Rahman Chughtai, son of Mian Kareem Baksh, son of Mian Raheem Baksh., son of Mian Salah, son of Karamuddin, son of Amiruddin Ali, son of Imamuddin Riazi, son of Lutufullah, son of Ahmad, son of Yusuf, son of Hussain, son of Abdul Lateef Herawi, means from Herat. The family recognized as Hurro Chagata.

Khalsa State records list two important names. Qadir Baksh Mimar as Darogha Imarat of the Sikh Court, and Raheem Baksh inclusive. Very clear statement regarding the Samadh of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. R.P. Shrivastha makes a link with the Golden Temple Amritsar. A lot of Muslim names are attached to same, very well known Mimar family. Certificates of various English administrators link Mian Raheem Baksh to completion of Lahore Railway Station, under the contract of Muhammed Sultan Tekaydar. Also the link with the first Freemason Hall in Lahore, now used as Lady Maclagon School on Bank road, Lahore. We will try to attach as many documents as possible here. An additional blog will be there to highlight the works of Mian Salah Mimar and Mian Raheem Baksh Mimar, father and son in the tradition of Ustad Ahmad Mimar, doing their best in difficult times. Enjoy!

Appendix

Research requiressearching for all known placesfor clues. An additional point was the National Museum of Pakistan in Karachi. There is this manuscript in it, which may be linked to Raheem Baksh Mimar, as the dates are correct, as well as the indication in the seal, which is similar to the seal on  the death certificate of Mian Salah Mimar. In any case worthwhile to look at it:

 POST SCRIPT

In the National Museum of Pakistan there is an extremely rare work, perhaps even a unique copy, of a SHAJRAT AL-ANWAR-I-FAKHRI, whose author is identified as RAHEEM BAKSH. The interesting part is that it is written by a Mughal Prince of the Royal family, namely MIRZA BIDAR BAKHT SON OF SHAH ALAM BADSHAH. It is dated 9^th November, 1828, or 1244 AH, the period of young but mature Raheem Baksh.

It is a collection of biographical notes in thirty two chapters, on the lives of 32 divines of Chisti-Nizami order. It ends in a versified colophon RAHEEM BAKSH MARA.  The interesting part is that the seal of Mian Raheem Baksh says the same thing.

In which and what way the manuscript was favoured by a young Mughal Prince to the extent that he volunteered to write it in his own hands is something which cannot be understood today. Suffice that it was done and it suggests the connection of Mian Raheem Baksh to the Royal Court, perhaps Mirza Bidar Bakht was in Lahore itself.

The museum catalogue number is NM 1969.285 written in 1232 AH 1817 AD. Copied in 1244 AH 1828 AD.

ANCESTRAL TREE OF USTAD AHMAD MIMAR LAHORI;
REASON OF THREE VERSIONS CORRECT LUTFULLAH.
RESEARCH BASED ON OLD AND NEW DOCUMENTATION.

Although various histories of Emperor Shah Jahan mention Ustad Ahmad Mimar along with Ustad Hamid Mimar, but little was known about them. Yes, the Resident of Delhi Charles Metcalfe after enquiry knew a lot about them but left no records for us to use. The reference of Antonio Zobi, the Italian Peitra Dura expert gives no personal detail about them. One scholar was the first to talk of Mohalla Hamid Mimar in Old Delhi. I think Sulaiman Nadwai confirms that perhaps Hamid Mimar was brother of Ahmad Mimar. But the age limit of Hamid Mimar stops this possibility. One manuscript describes Hamid Mimar as son of Abdul Kareem. We will talk of Hamid Mimar separately in another blog.

Dr Nazir Ahmad of Aligarh Unversity came up with a Holy Quran with a dealer in Bombay, where the Tafseer on it was written by Lutufullah Ahmad, but there in a place or two, he gives his name as Lutufullah son of Ahmad son of Barkhurdar. Dr Nazir Ahmad called on us here at the museum in Lahore, and a wonderful man, with a brilliant daughter. He really worked a lot on the family of Ustad Ahmad Mimar. Full credit to him for his outstanding work. Although the name Barkhurdar is used in Mughal history, but it actually denotes an obedient son. The reference seems vague to us. But in our opinion it is a way to hide the actual name, for reasons we will discuss later.

In another manuscript there is a sharh of Hazrat Ayeshan, who is buried in Lahore, and written by Ahmad. But the Sharh was written in Balkh. There the mention is of Ahmad son of Yusuf son of Soofi. Again it seems there are reasons to hide the details. There is even a Prayer Book of Baba Usman written by an earlier age Ahmad Mimar in his life time.

The most factual detail is given in Tazkira Aulia written by Lutufullah Ahmad in 1099 AH and the copy of it is in the National Library Berlin. Petermann collection there. I was able to obtain a copy of the last few pages, as getting it all printed was very expensive. I had the whole manuscript done as a microfilm in 1976, but the film got spoiled with time. Here Lutufullah refers to various generations of him, as Lutfullah son of Ahmad, son of Yusuf, son of Hussain, son of Abdul Lateef. Two places Yusuf, one place Barkhurdar. In the Berlin Library more steps of ancestry go up. And this manuscript was written by Lutufullah Ahmad at the house of Haji Harmain al Shareef Haji Muhammed Samar Marhoom  of Khana Kaaba. This shows that Luufullah Ahmad in process of time had also become a Haji.

Turkish historians mention two architects who accompanied Emperor Babur to Hindustan, and their names were Yusuf Mimar and Isa Mimar. There is a calligraphic Qita of Isa, on which there is even a story by him of his own life. There is a manuscript of Fatwa Qazi Khan written by Yusuf Sirhindi in 998 AH in some area of Punjab, perhaps Lahore. It shows his association with Sirhind which is not very far away from Lahore.  And the manuscript was in possession of some lady, namely Bibi Ashoor daughter of Muhammed Ameen. And the manuscript is a Royal copy with seals  of various Royal people, including seals of Lutufullah Ahmad.

In an article entitled “The fugitive architect” Dr Abdullah Chaghatai writes about an architect known as Ustad herawai, the name remains hidden in text. The Ustad is mentioned by Abdur Raheem Khan Khanan in very clear terms, but no name at all. (Although Masserai Raheemi does give a name we will discuss in another blog). A monument in Herat is directly linked to a monument in Lahore. That means that the architect was a fugitive. People talk of an architect who disobeyed the orders of the Shahenshah of Iran, due to his stress on waiting for the base of construction for some time.

Lahore is attached to the name of Ustad Ahmad right from the start and is totally documented in time. But in tracing the ancestry of Qaleemullah Dehlavi an historian has made the mistake of linking the ancestry to an unknown area Khanjand, related to family. Khalique Ahmad Nizami misled into thinking of Hamid Mimar as the father of Ahmad Mimar, which is absolutely wrong. Further the ancestry is misled to the Caliph of Islam.  Dr Abdullah Chaghatai has already researched that evidence as a mistake. In fact he added the name of Aleemullah as a brother of Qaleemullah, which was there as a footnote on a manuscript of astronomy in the National Museum Karachi. I discovered a PunjSura written  by Aleemullah. We also found manuscripts written by Qaleemullah as well as some from his own library. Our extensive research gives us manuscripts and books to fill a complete almirah of same. We will add what we can for this blog but it is a large research area. It was necessary to add here to remind us that we do not talk in a vacuum,we talk with documentation. 

We have added various names to the tree of Usta Ahmad Mimar Lahori, and we will start talking about it in later blogs. More on the entire family, and relevant research on Attaullah Rushddi. More particularly his son Hafiz Hafeez (Nur Muhammed), who was responsible for the mausoleum of Princess Zebunnisa. Nore on Amiruddin Ali, son of Imamuddin Riazi, who was a Naqsha Navees Sultani for Lucknow Nawabs, as well as author of horoscopes for famous people like Lalla Hukam Chand. 

An ancestral tree was available in the past. We gave one too. But it gets refined as we discover more and more manuscripts with mimar reference in them. It is a painstaking search. Only obsession can drive one on and on. Soon we will turn to descendents of Ustad Ahmad Mimar Lahori. Stay with us!

LIVING LEGEND OF USTAD AHMAD MIMAR LAHORI,
THE CHIEF ARCHITECT OF EMPEROR SHAH JAHAN,
OUR ROLE IN REVELATION; A PRIDE OF OUR FAMILY.

There was an old lady in our  Chughtai family. She lived to an age of. 120 years. She had seen the Sikh period too. She used to speak of some Lutufullah in our family. Not much else she knew but she was certain a number of very famous Mughal monuments were due to our family. And Lutufullah was part of same. Her son Kareem Baksh Mimar was qualified under British certified engineering department in 1853. Architecture was in our blood, as generations of architects came into our family. Eleven generations brought more architects than any other profession. But all related to creativity and aesthetics.

Obviously historians of Shah Jahan have mentioned Ustad Ahmad Mimar Lahori related to construction of the Red Fort Delhi as well as the city of Shahjahanabad. Another historian Shafqiue Nagoni has mentioned him in context of the Sheesh mahal haveli of Nawab Asif Khan in Lahore (demolished by British authorities to build the first European Cemetery in Lahore). But no reference was found of his relation to the architecture of Taj Mahal of Agra. Actually the reference was there but it was not known by most. The first clear cut reference was a response to the enquiry of Italian Petra Dura artist Antonio Zobi in 1844 to the Resident of Delhi C. Metcalfe. The book was in Italian and generally not available. Recent history reprints were made. The original nowhere. An Italian bibliophile died in Italy and his library was auctioned. I got my hands on it. It was a very expensive book, but I was dedicated. The photocopies from Victoria and Albert Museum London would not do. The original had to be in our library, and it is there now. I had it translated in a very difficult manner, today it is an easy thing to do. More about it later. Suffice to say that the Resident of Delhi researched and confirmed to Antonio Zobi that most Mughal monuments, in Delhi and Agra, and including the Taj Mahal were made by Ustad Ahmad and Ustad Hamid. Confirmation by the Delhi Resident Metcalfe after perusing documents, manuscripts and dialogue with people.

Miracles can happen. An author Mahmood Bangaloree was habitually ,looking for important books on the second hand book market on pavements on Sundays, and he came across a Persian Diwan, and its importance he recognized immediately. It was Diwan of Muhandis, or more particularly Lutufullah Ahmad Muhandis and the voice of a son spoke for a dead father. In clear terms Lutufullah Ahmad ascribed many Mughal monuments to his father, including the immortal Taj Mahal, or in particular Rauza Mumtaz Mahal, shortened by Britishers as Taj Mahal. The research die was caste, and he sent it to Maulana Sulaiman Nadwai, who after studying it, read it in Lahore, under the President ship of Dr Allama Iqbal, at Idara Maarif Islamia proceedings. The research burst out in the world, to disappointment of all those foreigners who made grand false stories of French and Italian architectural connection of Taj Mahal. Truth was like an explosion to many.

Dr Abdullah Chaghatai was there too, and read his own contributions to the subject (can be seen in the photograph). But Mahmood Bangaloree went one step forward, he printed an entire book on the subject. Diwan Muhandis came in printed form for all to read entitled TAJ. The story of Imam Bibi, our relative ancestor was coming all so true. It led to a small booklet on Ustad Ahmad Mimar by Dr Abdullah Chaghatai, which is now rare too.

Abdur Rahman Chughtai did not leave the subject unchecked. He wrote a three part chain of articles on Ustad Ahmad Mimar and it was published in the governmental magazine of Art and Culture, the MAH-NAU in Lahore. The artist Chughtai Sahib contributed one more thing. He obtained a miniature of Ustad Ahmad Mimar and there is a history of its acquisition, which we will take up in some other blog. Suffice that few copies of the miniature exist, one of them was in Hyderabad Deccan, with a famous collector of art there. But not all are inscribed as such. The artist went further and made a number of paintings on the same subject. 

There is a Taj Mahal inspired Rauza Rabia Durrani in Aurangabad, who was the wife of Emperor Aurangzeb. On the gate of the mausoleum, on the door sill is engraved the complete details of construction of the Rauza, by Emperor Aurangzeb himself. It specified amongst others that the architect was Attaullah Rushdi, son of Ustad Ahmad Mimar. Can we suppose that in such a way it was also somewhere on the Taj Mahal itself, perhaps on the wooden sill of the gate. We know that Taj Mahal was about to be plundered by the British, and had planned to sell the marbles in Italy. But the remnants of the destroyed monuments in Agra and Delhi did not fetch the desired price, so the project was abandoned. Things were plundered by British soldiers and it was used as a honeymoon hotel. Perhaps in that process important inscriptions were removed from the mausoleum. We do know that the gold railings were stolen by the Mahrattas, but the Pinnacle of the Taj Mahal in gold was stolen by the British and replaced with a false one, and there is an inscription on the pinnacle placed, namely Joseph Taylor around 1810,there to ascertain its removal by the greedy British. Photographs have appeared on the internet of same.

Research never stops. Truth always comes out. In 1946 M.S. Vats, Superintendent Archaeology Aurangabd, came across the grave of Ustad Ahmad Mimar in Khuldabad. He noted the inscription put there by his son Lutufullah Ahmad, while building a small mausoleum for him. There is a record of the architect being in Bijapur to advise Nawab Mustafa Khan as well as Malik Ambar, the African ruler of the area.  The record goes:

“It is interesting that there is a manuscript entitled ‘Five Qasidas’, and it has the notation of Emperor Muhammed Adil Shah of Bijapur, that it was written by calligrapher Ismael for him, in Badaun. It has a seal and a tughra of Muhammed Adil Shah on it. It also has a written reference that after the death of Nawab Mustafa Khan, it was deposited in the Kitab Khana Amra, by “Asama” Ahmad. The notation is dated 1059 A.H, or exactly near the time of death of Ustad Ahmad Mimar. The year was 1649 A.D. It is clearly suggesting that the architect was in Bijapur at that time. There is more evidence too. In a miniature of Muhammed Adil Shah, at the back is a calligraphy by Lutufullah, and the contents of it show the discontent of the Muhandis in that period.”

Our pleasure is to include most things and we have done so to our end. This is book matter and we carry it in a blog for the interest of all. Eventually it would be published in book form for its historical content. Till then enjoy what is there!

BEFORE PARTITION IT WAS THE INDIANS WHO WROTE AGAINST CHUGHTAI ART;
AFTERWARDS A BATCH OF PAKISTANIS WHO FOR REASONS UNKNOWN DO SAME.

The two nation theory never arose out of a vacuum. It was a fact which the Quran recognizes, as well as the writings of people like Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Dr Allama Iqbal. Quaid-e-Azam through a political process put it into reality. Jealousy ran in the veins of some  bigoted Hindu writers and when we read their analysis of Art, one can only hope that some sanity could have prevailed in their analysis of things.

Take for instance the famous iconic Hindu writer O.C. Gangoly. We have written about him, but he left a record which will blacken his name forever. A request by Chughtai artist for return of his paintings sent to an exhibition show in Calcutta, evoked a sharp reply from him. We reproduce it for anyone to see. It clarifies what Chughtai wrote about all the time. Calcutta was allergic to Lahore and allergic to Muslims in total. A shame for those who associate Calcutta with Chughtai Art.

The writer Tapati Guha-Thakurta is an enigma all her own. Cambridge University Press considered her a professional on the subject but could not see the bigotry she carried on herself. Again Calcutta. In just one book “The making of a new Indian Art”, she felt reluctant to give an image (it would expose her thesis) of even one Chughtai’s work but she mentions him at least three times, in most derogatory manner. Her first remark about Chughtai is on page 291 of her book. She says:

“Abdur Rahman Chughtai’s compositions of the first years, with their recurrent images of flickering lamps and swooning women, cannot rise above such CRASS MANNERISMS.”

Her venom cannot be put on rest. She repeats another blatant assertion:

“For example, couplets from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam  conjured an atmosphere of Persian exoticism and mystique around Chughtai’s images of veiled women, fading lamps and scattered petals.  It is not clear whether the quotations from poems came from the artists themselves or whether they were later additions by critics and editors to help in the propagation of these paintings.”

And thirdly she makes fun of the painting FAME based on National leadership, as a  ‘symbol of the feebleness and self indulgence of India’s national leaders’. Based on a verse by Dr Allama Iqbal, she had no mood to accept that work. So what? It was Chughtai’s view, not hers. And for now, we finally come to the venom of Som Anand “Portrait of a lost city”. This man has in his total hatred, uttered such words that no sane publishers would have allowed the publication. And yet Pakistani third rate publishers did same. Som Anand talks about his visit to the studio of Chughtai. He makes fun of the Punjabi language, spoken by the artist. But of all things he terms Chughtai as:

“The man was very shabbily dressed. His disheveled hair and unkempt clothes made him look like the domestic servant of a middle class family. An interesting thing about his clothes was that the many colors were splashed on his shirt sleeve. It seemed that he used to wipe his brush on the shirt while he was at work.”

To me the most striking thing in this assertion was that he blames Chughtai Sahib speech being in very simple Punjabi and his unsophisticated accent (His definition should be added). There is so much falsehood in his writing that Som Anand is not even ashamed of writing false things. The whole episode is made up of his own conjectures. A senior Professor of GCU, Mahmud Ahmad told me that no gentleman could talk like that. He said if you ever meet Som Anand, just slap him even before you talk to him. I said certainly I cannot do that, as I do not have the inferiority complex these kinds of Hindus carry in their hearts. It continues to pain them that Muslims ruled the region for more than 1200 years. They made a mess of their country in a few decades, and triggered, manipulated mess in ours. That complex does not go away. sounded almost like the speech of an unlettered villager. The funny part is that Som Anand’s books have been published by relevant Indian publishers and well wishers here, but his face cannot be found. In his book his father’s image is there, not his own. Given an image which may be him. He should have compared his own face to the face of Abdur Rahman Chughtai for judgement. And he does not stop there, he makes ridiculous assertions against Dr Allama Iqbal, which borders on so much vulgarity, that repeating it is actually shameful. Som Anand proves his bigotry clearly. Attacking our icons and our thinking.

And now comes the batch of Pakistani so called experts. Pakistan is composed of many areas. I have never seen anyone from East Pakistan, Sarhad, Sind, or Punjab writing venom against him. The bad things fall on Karachi alone.

Somehow or the other, Karachi gossip makers take the lead in this kind of game playing. In recent times the only sensible critic I found was Marjorie Hussain, who is retired now from a leading newspaper. But she came here, met me and was delighted to talk to me. Same here. Wonderful woman. The Liverpool expert Dr Akbar Naqvi, makes tall claims in his book, without authentication. In an article in a newspaper, he blatantly wrote against our presenting our prestigious book Amal-e-Chughtai, to well known personalities of Karachi. A request by the late artist himself. He wrote that the book has fallen so much in esteem, that it is now being presented free to people. He probably had no sense of the spirit of generosity of the artist, and desire to share with others, regardless of costing of same. And in his book assertions which have no documentation. I sent corrections with documentations to Ali Imam. Only in Pakistan can people do these things of false attributions. Outside world would make them penniless in days.

Paula Christa, then at Bonhams, a great and lovely Austrian friend, told me that there is a lobby operating in London, to instigate people against us. I could hardly believe her, but she did present proofs to me. Dr Shahid Khan, a medical doctor in London confronted similar response there. Even a French collector Jean Marc-Michaeli in USA told me similar things. The great chain of our worthy friends like Basil Gray, Ralph Pinder Wilson, Harry Norman Eccleston, Paul Drury, Stuart Cary Welch,  had died already. Susan Robertson, now retired too, hid the secrets but did say a few things, which were not pleasant. The other lobby does not know that they are being revealed eventually.

Is this the work of a religious lobby? Probably not, but an Anti-Pakistan tirade surely. Facts still need to be ascertained. Once the final proof is collected, we will take them to court. But why worry? The Art of M.A. Rahman Chughtai will outlast these petty people for centuries. As Dr James Dickie said in 1976, in an article in Times London, “In many ways he out class Kamaluddin Behzad, the Rembrandt of Islamic Art.” Empty criticism is like spitting on the moon, the spit falls on their own face.

ART OF M.A. RAHMAN CHUGHTAI BONDED RELATIONS,
BETWEEN PAKISTAN AND UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

At one time everybody knew. At this time it may not be known to most. Pakistani Heads of State visiting the United States of America, presented Chughtai Art Works to American Presidents. It started from President Truman, when a painting was gifted by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan to him. The presentation is on record at having been gifted at Blair House, as President Truman was residing there at that time. The work is no longer traceable by the TRUMAN LIBRARY as they inform us for at that time Presidents were free to accept gifts to the State and use them personally. However as there are four works in the US State Department, it could be one of them.

We do come across a photograph of President Eisenhower, Shahenshah of Iran and Professor Schuyler Wallace which shows a great lot. All three had been presented paintings of M.A. Rahman Chughtai by the Government of Pakistan, but that is a more difficult record to update at this time. We do have a record of some works owned by Professor Schuyler Wallace, some with his relatives, some given back to us. A matter of prestige. One work was inherited by Wallace’s family, who was a billionaire and owned major hotel chains in Honolulu Hawaii, USA.

Some very important gifts were for American President John Kennedy, and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy. The painting presented at the White House is not traceable at present but the one presented to Jacqueline Kennedy here in Pakistan is at the Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. We have an image of same. 

A number of American diplomats visited Chughtai Museum. I myself hosted at least seven American Ambassadors, and there is a record of them. In fact one of them a great friend that is Arnold Raphael, who actually died in Pakistan. But the first official contact was when the artist was officially invited to the United States, along with a lecture at Columbia University. It did not materialize but it was officially undertaken by both sides. A matter of record indeed. The invitation was sent by US State Department through Ambassador James Langley.

So much on record, some forgotten, and some ready for future review. The bond stuck Pakistan and United State of America through various periods, but the solid rock of Art of M.A. Rahman Chughtasi stood the test of time. It is our pleasure to share these past moments for future reference. Pakistan Forever!