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!

BIRTH OF PAKISTAN AND DAWN OF PAKISTAN ART;
A TIMELESS HORIZON OF M.A. RAHMAN CHUGHTAI.

In 1946 intellectuals connected with Art and Culture of country met at the house of Begum Shahnawaz to devise plans to enrich Pakistan with institutions to enhance the cultural legacy of the Islamic world and to give it new dimensions. This pre-planning resulted in the formation of Alhamra Art Council in Lahore.The foremost there was the artist M.A, Rahman Chughtai. Not only that all Arts Councils in Pakistan at that time like Karachi Arts Council, Peshawar Arts Council and Dacca Arts Council were inaugurated with Chughtai shows and all that is on record. President of Pakistan, General Ayub Khan inaugurated the Karachi Art Council with a huge show of Chughtai Art in 1959. Dacca Arts Council was inaugurated by Governor East Pakistan, General Azam Khan. 

It was a grand event in the cultural history of Pakistan. It was well advertised and well known to people in and outside the country. Delegations came from all over the world. Chancellors from American Universities. Ambassadors flew to Lahore from Karachi. The Governor General of Pakistan, Khawaja Nazimud din was to inaugurate the show. This was in conjunction with the inauguration of ALHAMRA ARTS COUNCIL. The idea discussed at the house of Begum Shahnawaz in 1946. An institution founded by M.A. Rahman Chughtai and he designed its first insignia, which is still valid to this day. He also gave it the name ALHAMRA. He set the whole tone for it. It was to reflect the kind of renaissance in culture which happened to Islamic Arts in Spain. Everything was forward looking.

The first foreign Head of State to visit Pakistan was the Shahinshah of Iran and he too visited the show along with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan. It can be seen in the press photograph too. The place Alhamra was like a second home to us and we visited it often. M.A. Rahman Chughtai even planted many mango trees there, so that the rather barren land could become green. The object to bring Pakistan to the forefront of the Art world, and to save our aesthetics from the ruthlessness of the foreign art world.

The Government of Pakistan had already recognized the contributions of the artist M.A. Rahman Chughtai, with his role of aesthetics for Pakistan. It reflected in an Insignia for Pakistan, a letterhead design for the Government of Pakistan, first and later batch of Postal Stamps, and presentation of Chughtai originals to visiting Heads of State, as well as presentation from Pakistani Heads of State in visits abroad. This reflected in the title people gave him as Mussawar Mashriq (Artist of the East), as well as being officially called as the National Artist of Pakistan. Indeed Prime Minister Liaquat Al Khan would take him to airports with his cabinet in receiving visiting Head of State.

In those days at the height of his unquestioned power, President Ayub Khan gave the first Pride of Performance for Arts to M.A. Rahman Chughtai in 1958. In 1959 it became Hilal Imtiaz. President Ayub Khan did not stop at that. In 1959, he paid a state visit to the HOUSE OF THE ARTIST. It was unheard off and never heard again. A President visiting the house of an artist. The Press seized the opportunity and carried the news at times as headlines.

In recent times the Cultural Ministry proposed an award of NISHAN IMTIAZ for him and sent it to President Pervaiz Musharaf for approval. Interestingly it was rejected for unknown reasons, as a certain lobby resentment was evident. A letter of Mr Naeem, Taher, DG PNCA at tha times prove the nature of the same. Again a couple of times before that even the President of Pakistan, like Ghulam Ishaque Khan had proposed that idea and the Cultural Ministry under Ghulam Rasool rejected same. A very antagonistic letter of DG PNCA then is there on record. Even the President of Pakistan was set aback by the ruthlessness shown in same. Yes, the Governments are not run on any merit, but the short sightedness of people in power with no long range vision for Pakistan. 

Images of Pride of Performance 1958, and Hilal Imtiaz 1959 are enclosed in this blog. Add these to many other awards received by the artist, including a Gold medal awarded by Heinrich Luebke President of West Germany to the artist. A gold coin received from the Shahbanou of Iran was also there. Couple it to the fact that four Chughtai works hang in the US State Department building itself, three were at UNO Headquarters in New York, and one at Peace Palace Hague, the seat of International Court of Justice, Netherlands. Praise letters received from art scholars, historians and VIPS from all over the world. Surely always an addition to the pride of the Pakistani world. Pakistan our pride, and Chughtai art part of our Ideology. Pakistan Forever!

AFTER PROPOSAL FOR KNIGHTHOOD REJECTED BY INDIAN COMMITTEE,
THE VICEROY OF INDIA LORD FREEMAN-THOMAS WILLINGDON APPROVED,
TITLE KHAN BAHADUR FOR MUHAMMED ABDUR RAHMAN CHUGHTAI ARTIST. 

In undivided India the story of national recognition for M.A. Rahman Chughtai artist started much before 1934. People saw the titled file in the Civil Secretariat Lahore. A proposal for knighthood had been given, and it was rejected by the Hindu Member of nominating committee. with the remark that the title should not go to an artist who lives inside the walled city of Lahore, and is in poor circumstances. The man with great reputation of bigotry was none other than Sir Shadi Lal, the Chief Justice of Lahore High  Court. He was a member of the committee to approve these things.Three previous awards had gone to nominated Hindus for knighthood, like the Tagores, and the Administration desperately needed a Muslim artist to balance their decision.  Much debate took place, but the idea could not be rejected. The journalist Beverley Nichols mention of Chughtai as the greatest artist of India is recalled by all. British artists had already endorsed an award for the artist. A compromise was made with the highest national award substitute for knighthood. The result was that the Viceroy of India approved the award of Khan Bahadur, and it was only the FOURTH TITLE given to any artist in India. 

The ceremony at the Governor’s House Lahore was conducted by Sir Sikander Hyat Khan, then Governor of Punjab. He had also gone through the same process of Khan Bahadur and then knighthood. From then on the artist was considered an elite of Lahore and was invited to all major functions in the city. For example when the Viceroy of India came to Lahore, Lord Emerson invited M.A. Rahman Chughtai to the reception in Lahore. The artist was introduced to the Viceroy of India, Lord  Linlithgow. The VIP status of the artist was ensured for In all times.  Ahead was recognition in India at all levels. Even today the status of M.A. Rahman Chughtai is felt in Indian Art circles. The story of Pakistan is for another narration later on.