Chughtai – Revisited

Author: Sangeeta Thapa
Originally published in NuktaArt, inaugural issue, May 2005
Cover Design: Sabiha Mohammad Imani
Source of inspiration: Painting by Zubeida Agha, Karachi by Night, 1956

This was major news. Two important questions came to mind: where were the Chughtai paintings and what was their value on the art market? Judging from the date 1922, it was easy to conclude that the “Shamsher Jung Bahadur” was actually the Prime Minister Shree Teen Chandra Shamsher Maharaj. This indicated that the paintings were in the collection of the descendents of Chandra Shamsher ‘s family.

The sale described above is a tragic testament of the type of fate shared by so many Ranas who were ignorant about the value of their inheritance and even more about the art, artifacts and jewelry that came into their possession in the form of inheritance from ancestors who were known to be discerning collectors. I promised my cousin Gautam Rana that I would investigate. I also told him that Chughtai had influenced a few painters in Nepal, namely Karna Narsing Rana, Kesab Duwadi, Uttam Nepali and Govind Dongol.

After a few days of inquiry, I learnt about the existence of some very valuable Chughtais in Nepal, in private collections that date back to 1922 and in the family of Chandra Shumsher. Quite by coincidence, an old dealer of antiques had come by to show me two old works that looked like they were by Chughtai. I called Gautam, informing him about this development and asked him to correspond with Chughtai Junior again.

More exciting news, as I was on my way to the Alhamra in Lahore. I needed to learn more, so I logged on to Chughtai on the internet but ended up viewing the website of the Delhi based Vadhera Art Gallery which probably has a link up with the name Chughtai. From the website I learnt that Vadhera was selling Chughtai paintings on the internet, along with many Indian masters. I wrote to Arif Chughtai informing him of my arrival, the show at the Alhamra, and my desire to see the Chughtai Museum.

This was strangely informative. It gave me a clear indication that artists in Pakistan were divided into camps for whatever reasons, like it is everywhere else. I decided to keep politics out of my conversation when I visited Arif on the second day of my trip to Lahore. Shashi Shah, my “Old Master” was keen to meet him too. The Chughtai Museum is in the middle of a rapidly expanding city. It has a large holding of land, many old trees, and a Museum complex that is still being built.

Arif took us to his office, where he generously showed us many paintings by his Father.  I fell in love with the Chughtai paintings all over again. Chughtai was born in Lahore on September 21, 1897. Like many others, I have found Chughtai’s paintings to be truly oriental, an exquisite synthesis of Persian and Mughal styles. His love for women, beauty and nature are expressed dramatically with sensitive and sensuous lines and colours. Someone described Chugtai’s work as being “sumptiously decorative”. His compositions are amazingly varied and reveal a remarkable eye for detail.

Arif told us that the Museum Trust possessed over ten thousand works by his father in the form of 2000 water-color paintings, pencil drawings, 300 aquatints and etchings, block prints, naqashi, calligraphy, stamp designs, coin designs, national and international insignias and illustrations. As we looked at Chughtai’s work, we realized that we were coming face to face with the works of a great artist, whose artistic career spanned a good sixty years. His works were in the collection of the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Peace Palace, Hague, UN Headquarters, New York, Kennedy Memorial Boston, US State Department Washington DC, President’s House Bonn, Nizam of Hyderabad, Queen Julianna’s Palace in the Netherlands, Emperor’s Palace Bangkok, President House Islamabad and in the Governors’ Houses in Lahore and Karachi. It came as no surprise that he was declared National Artist of Pakistan and bestowed many honors like Khan Bahadur, Hilal e-Imtiaz and Pride of Performance by his country. He was also the Founding Member of the Alhamra Art Center and the people of Pakistan gave him the title “Mussavir-e-Mashriq”.

The range and repertoire of his genius encompassed literature too and he wrote several short stories, research books and articles on art. I was glad that my ancestor had somehow acknowledged this genius and bought his work. When I asked Arif about the works Chandra Shumsher had bought, he shared the intimate circumstances that resulted in the series of paintings that were exhibited in Mussorie.

M A Chughtai met Abindranath Tagore in Calcutta. This is also where he saw Tagore’s painting The Last Days of Shah Jehan which was a famous work at that time, but Chughtai was not impressed. According to Arif, his father wrote to Tagore and expressed his reservations on the painting. It felt artificial. He felt that Tagore had not done enough research. In the painting the palace looked bleak and the grieving daughters of Shah Jehan did not look that they were grieving or that they were of noble lineage. Chughtai also felt Shah Jahan looked like a mendicant in the painting! He wrote to Tagore and informed him that he would make a better painting on the same subject.

In 1919, Chughtai visited Agra to research for the imagery he needed to make his own painting on the death of Shah Jahan. He spent time at the Taj Mahal and at Mussamanbagh where Shah Jehan actually died, to research architectural, physiognomic and costume details before he embarked on his painting. When the painting was ready Chughtai titled it The Passing of Shah Jehan it was exhibited in Mussorie, India, along with his other works, and Chughtai deliberately priced it five times more than Abindranath Tagore’s painting.

Destiny somehow brought the grieving Chandra Shumsher to this exhibition and as soon as he saw the Shah Jahan painting, he was mesmerized. The painting seemed to reflect his own personal grief. He purchased the painting along with a few others. This purchase was very important for Chughtai as it created a stir in the art market. He was not a well-known artist yet, the purchase by the Prime Minister Shree Teen Chandra Shumsher Maharaj validated the artist’s worth and soon his work began to be bought by other Indian Maharajas and important collectors in India and abroad. I was keen to see the exchange of letters between Chughtai and Abindranath Tagore and also between Chandra Shumsher and Chughtai which are in Arif’s possession. However, as time was running short, we needed to get back to the Alhamra.

I was touched by how Arif greeted me, ” Today, history repeats itself, I stand here instead of my father and you in the place of Shumsher Jung of Nepal. You are Shumsher Jung himself, as far as I am concerned”.

Chughtai died on the 17th of January ,1975. The record sale of a Chughtai painting has been £ 40,000 on the international market. Today, the market is shaky as there are many fake Chughtais cropping up. Sotheby’s and Christie’s still refer to Arif for authentication of his father’s work.

Arif also shared the difficulties he faced being the trustee of the Chughtai Museum. I was moved by Arif’s devotion to his father’s memory and his service to the nation in maintaining the works. However, I was even more moved to learn that Chughtai, the national artist of Pakistan, lay buried on the premises of this proposed Museum, awaiting a final “befitting mausoleum”.