Cities and towns have something in them which becomes a symbol of their recognition. People will always recall the name of a particular city or town when such a symbol is broached. Some cities and towns have landmarks, which have become a place for tourists to stop by and be simply amazed by its historical relevance. Chiniot, a city of Punjab with thousand colors and among those colors, the most prominent one is of their beautiful wooden furniture and its historical place Umer Hayat Mahal which is shining in and out of the country. This walled city is ruling the entire furniture industry with their beautiful cum perfect designs. Chiniot, is well reputed in the whole world for its furniture and no one can own this title like this city can. Along with the modern trade, Chiniot is well known for its historical places; Shahi Masjid and Umer Hayat Mahal are some prominent and most visited places of this city, and are not far from each other. Umer Hayat Mahal is an example of the hard work by the craftsmanship of Chiniot. It is a beautiful wonder which is dying now due to poor care and negligence. Now this exotic mahal is used as public library. The history of this fascinating mahal is very interesting and heart wrenching; it was started in 1923 and completed in 1930 with the cost of 200,000 rupees. This mahal consists of 5 beautiful stories with remarkable wood art. The owner of this exotic palace was a member of the Vohra sheikh clan and he was settled in Calcutta, where he was a successful businessman. Omer Hayat was married against the will of his family and as a result his family boycotted him. He decided to leave his birthplace and got settled in Calcutta. At that time, Calcutta was considered as the main trade hub of the Indian subcontinent. Meanwhile, he was blessed with a baby boy in 1920. Umer Hayat was already a strong and successful businessman but he always missed his birthplace. So, after the birth of his beloved son, he decided to go back to his land and planned to build a house that will be incomparable in beauty and grandeur. He shared his idea with Syed Hassan and hired top leading artisans of that time to build a palace that would be a master piece. Names of craftsman’s were Rahim Bakish Pirjah and Elahi Pirjah whose works were acclaimed from the darbar of Indian rulers to Buckingham palace. It was really hard for the artists to make a mahal which will captivate the hearts of its members. After seven years of hard work, the mahal was completed in 1930 and literally it was a master piece in the true sense. From carving to paintings everything was perfect and beautifully amazing. People from all around the city came to see the wonder with their own eyes. The palace got him fame and the district gazetteer of jhang ascribed it as a ‘local wonder’. The exotic designing on its windows, doors, exquisite jharokas, splendid stucco work on its ceiling and magnificial wood craving made it a fine piece of art work. After the final compilation of mahal, bad luck started with the family, owner of this mesmerizing mahal died soon after the compilation. At that time, his son Gulzar was 15 years. When he turned 17, his mother decided to marry him. But that didn’t make things better. On the next day of the marriage, Gulzar was found dead in the washroom due to the suffocation of coal gases. His mother couldn’t bear this loss and she died on spot. The two are buried in the courtyard of the palace. After this heart straining incident, nobody claimed to be the care taker of the mahal. It was considered as the bad omen. In 1940, Ajman-e-islamia opened a religious school in it which also didn’t last long. In 1948 Sheikh Muhammad Amin, a philanthropist of Chiniot, established an orphanage in the mahal but soon they shifted it into another building. In 1960 this glorious mahal became the home for drug addicts, wanderers and thieves which almost destroyed it. The two-storied palace was completely destroyed over the passage of time and the municipal committee ordered the authorities to take care of this precious monument. It almost took 19 years for a deputy commission of Jhang to take notice of this mahal. Finally, in 1989, Muhammad Athar Tahir, the district commissioner of Jhang, took up the matter and gave this palace a new existence by making it a public library, museum and cultural centre. Now Chiniot’s dying wonder has given a new life. (The writer is a student of Msc. Mass Communication).
