THE FIRST AUTO BIOGRAPHY OF ARIF RAHMAN CHUGHTAI;
LIVING EPISODES OF FIRST 25 YEARS IN “I SING MY SONG!”

I have written things all my life. Serious prose, romantic poetry and incidents concerning my life. But I restrained myself/. In the world I lived in, humility was the key to life. A long time back someone told me about the saying “Pidray man Sultan Bhoot”. It reflects the philosophy to speak of yourself not speak of your ancestors being Sultan some day. I stuck to it. But this humility drive you in a corner. My father Abdur Rahman Chughtai artist was with Dr Allama Iqbal for nearly twenty years, and except for a few letters and endorsements, there is not a single photograph of them together. All the more sad when Chughtai Sahib actually photographed Dr Iqbal many times, even coloured his black and white photographs with aero spray in colour. The obsequious get their way by putting their face in front of the cameras all the time, the dignified lose history in their humility.

I thought my life has always been private. We never even mentioned our father in school, college or university. We were allergic in being caught having to say things like that. We also knew the issues will be generated as people will request meetings and my father would deny same. And we will be red faced in the end. So my life remained private, and famous for being a shy person.

It was high time I wrote something about myself. This PART ONE is about the first twenty five years of my life. Next year it would be the next fifty years of my life. Before I become history, I must write my history myself. And present photographs never seen before outside the house. Enjoy!

QAZI LUTUFULLAH DECIDES TO LEAVE KABUL FOR CITY OF LAHORE;
RENOWNED FAMILY OF MUSSAWARS KNOWN AS GUMTI BAZAAR ONES.

Those were strange times. Many people of talent could think of leaving their city for the well known cultural capital of Lahore. One was Qazi Lutufullah. Obviously his role as a Qazi did not prompt him to leave, it was his other role as a professional painter which made the journey a must for him. A seal as a Mufti in Lahore proves that he was in the city in 1138 A.H. and had bought a Tafseer of a very famous Qazi family of Lahore, Qazi Kamaluddin. That is dated 1071 A.H, by Muhammed Salih. But his personal signature, along with his seals, prove his calligraphic skills in a beautifully designed one. Really beautiful tughra in all cases.

The family had settled in Lahore and were famously associated with Mochi Darwaza, and the Mohalla known as Gujar Gali. They started their profession from a shop in Gumti Bazaar, and were famous portrait makers. Sikhs used to come to their shop and have their portraits made riding horses and other things. They also used to work for the Englishmen, with portraits jnside the Lahore Fort. One of them was known as King of Delhi, for his resemblance to same King. The artist Abdur Rahman Chughtai has written extensively on this family. Indeed his first wife belonged to the same family, and had also indulged in besides “Moorti” making, into the advance jewelry making known as Bindri ghars. For a number of generation they were the epitome of professional painters of Lahore.

The families still exist in Lahore belonging to the same family. But in these times, with obsession of Mandirs on mind of researchers, no one is concentrating on the real Muslim Culture of Lahore. The artist Chughtai did it, and we do it too. Our aim to prove that from the last 1000 years, Lahore is the cultural capital of the region, and the Muslims made Lahore Lahore, from the days of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, to the times of Abdur Rahman Chughtai himself. We will write more on it soon.

However one thing is documented. That Ayaz Governor of Lahore under Sultan Mahmud, invited 200 craftsmen from Afghanistan into Lahore, to set the tempo of the culture of Lahore. And that was a 1000 years back.

P.S.

The book by Abdur Rahman Chughtai, being “Lahore ke dabistan Musawari” can be had from us free of cost anytime. Be proud of your Muslim heritage!

CULTURAL POLICY OF PAKISTAN THROUGH FOREIGN AGENDAS
REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO DIFFUSE OUR IDEOLOGICAL FOOTING

The advent of Pakistan was a shock to those who had to relinquish control over same. The first policy of culture was defined by the British with the release of the book “5000 years of Pakistan” and this agenda stuck like a leech with the bureaucracy who were to muddle our advance into ideological realms. A country which came into being based on Islamic Ideology was being bombarded with different ideas of a long cultural history, starting with the Buddhist Civilization. Amazing it was! Suddenly cultural experts started pouring in with French beards and smoking pipes in their mouth. On one hand 5000 years history charade and on the other getting into the band wagon of the West by meticulously following western narratives of existence. Made a ball of culture and knocked it clean bold. Cultural policy was indeed a Western agenda.

For years nobody took the liberty of putting a cultural policy down on paper and then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, recruited a Cultural Adviser Faiz Ahmad Faiz and he inducted a geographical policy for Pakistan. Our culture was to be found within our geography. Faiz simply said that the Taj Mahal may be beautiful but it is not our culture. In simple words “Pak sar zameen shad bad” was considered simply a ‘Sohni Darti”. Culture was to be tailored to that end. The Muslim Umma was a dangerous word for foreign lobbies with agendas of their own.

The zest for devising a new cultural policy for Pakistan is still here and a new group based in Australia is charting out one for us in 2030. It is not known on what basis the same would be. One can read the manifesto and find out. Their announcement is like this:

“Youth Revolution Clan in collaboration with Cultural Infusion Australia is going to Organize “Lahore International Conference on Culture “.

Culture is a set of rules and behavioural patterns we learn with socialization. However, in a globalised (and multicultural) world culture became subject of discussions from various points of views, and its importance is not loosing strength. In the past century, we witnessed many attempts to foster cultural agendas using popular culture where identities were formed in a way to present one nation to other nations in a favourable way, and where audiences were confronted with various messages that are sometimes blurred with first-hand experiences. States indeed invest funding in their cultural policies, and particularly in their cultural policies oriented towards abroad via external cultural institutes, or tourist offers where culture is emphasized as an achievement of a certain nation (most notably, in art and music).

Cultural relations, on the other hand, are centred on creating mutual recognition and understanding, however, many scholars and practitioners expressed criticism calling western countries as imperialists imposing their cultural patterns over less advanced countries just via peaceful means and not through colonialism anymore. On the other hand, culture is often a subject of discussion when minority groups are in stake because minorities find themselves surrounded by different culture, and in a dilemma whether to assimilate or to preserve their culture while still trying to lead average lives. The latter is then subject of criticism from conservatives and the Far Right that insist on integration, an unclear term that sometimes seems more like forced integration.”

We hear a new term coming up with reference to globalization and that is a Post Islamic scenario. Now what does that mean? A situation where Islam is gone. Really! Who subscribe to same? Outsiders yes, but Pakistani Muslims? Unbelievable.

A Pakistani Cultural Expert, Malik Shamas (Retired Curator Lahore Museum) showed me a draft of a cultural policy and it was an amazing draft. I am sure his son teacher Tanveer Hussain would have a copy and it is worthy of being published in any form. It really defines us.

But the direction for cultural policy of Pakistan was given by M.A. Rahman Chughtai at time of partition itself and the manifesto still stands. It was narrated in Urdu, so I am taking the liberty of summarizing that idea in simple words, which was:

“Islamic culture is dynamic with positive energy. In all ways it is timeless, as it grows from the past to the present and takes into account the future too. A time comes when culture stagnates and in an new environment, it jump starts a new existence, based on old, but very much new. This was the case of Islamic conquest of Spain. Confronted with new crafts people who embraced Islam and brought new ideas into the realm. This jump start happened with Muslims in Spain and that is why I propose the name of ALHAMRA for the Pakistan Arts Council. In my view the advent of Pakistan will jump start our culture forward into newer realms. My Art is simply following the same lines. I have relinquished older traditions of miniatures as well as its style as well as its technique, even compositions, and formed a newer school of art that is Chughtai Art, and that too, is actually timeless in spirit. Newer directions on older foundations that is my case for the new cultural policy of Pakistan. “

Anyone or a bunch of stray people cannot devise a cultural policy of Pakistan. Here again in any democratic spirit, the people matter, for culture strengthens them, both in belief as well as implementation. The Cultural policy of Pakistan has to come from within not from without. How can others mean good for you and your Identity? Diffusing your Identity is the only reason for same.

NOTIZIE STORICHE FAMOUS PIETRA DURRE BOOK BY ANTONIO ZOBI;
FIRST WEST ADMISSION OF USTAD AHMAD MIMAR WITH TAJ MAHAL 1841.

Somehow or the other, the Mughals created wonders in Art and Architecture, and incited jealousy in other nations. The sickening attitude of extremists Hindus trying to assert it as a Hindu temple, one side. Even the Europeans could not maintain their composure and went into the coma of European influence in Mughal creations. They not only created European architects for Mughal creations, they were reluctant to give any credit to local people. Antonio Zobi inquisitive about things, wrote to the British Resident in Delhi, Charles Metcalfe, for information about things. Letters were exchanged. We have the exact translation done of the information started in  1841 and printed in detail in 1853. Roughly it said two main things:

“Chales Metcalfe reported that archives and traditions report that most of the buildings in Agra of Emperor Shah Jahan, including the Taj Mahal, were the result of the efforts of architects, Ustad Ahmad and Ustad Hamid.”

When this was clearly said in Western circles, European circles and even bureaucrat W.H.Sleeman went on creating legends of Western architects. Jealousy went to the extent that the British destroyed monuments after monuments in the region including Delhi, and even offered the Taj Mahal for auction for its marbles. They even stole the golden pinnacle of the dome of the Taj Mahal (Joseph Taylor 1810s). If Lord Curzon had not come to the rescue, they would have flattened all monuments to the ground.

So the assertion of a British resident to Antonio Zobi is not a joke, and why was it not taken seriously? Giving credit where credit is due, does not happen with jealous people.

The second important thing mentioned by Mirza Dilawar Shah was that the Italian works behind the Throne of Shah Jahan were not there from the time of the Emperor but were added later in the time of the occupation of the Fort in 1760 by Bhao Biswap Roo, and Sadashiv Rao. These were ready-made floral reliefs exported by Florence to the world, found for sale in many places, and the Mahrattas made them in the background of their Lion Throne. This information is resented by these jealous Europeans. They would ascribe Shah Jahan to be an idiot in getting his works done. Some of the courtiers assigned the name of Ullan Koora to these reliefs. But the man making this Mahratta claim is no ordinary person. He is a direct descendant of the Mughal King himself. Remarks led astray by illusions. These kind of records are simply ignored by these European experts as they do not fulfill their expectations of degrading the achievement of the Mughals. We will handle it in more detail later on.

P.S.

This very important book and its reference about Ustad Ahmad Mimar was available in cheap reprints, but I wanted access to the original one. It was very rare and not available anywhere. Then some avid writer and collector died in Italy and his library was sold. This was there amongst it. I grabbed the chance to buy it immediately. It was even then very expensive, but dealers quoted it at many thousands of dollars. In any case my passion resulted in my getting it at a better price. Our archives became richer!