Multan: A city of shrines
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Multan, undoubtedly one of the oldest cities of the subcontinent, has retained much of its glorious past. Alexander conquered Multan in 326BC and it is believed that while he was fighting for the city, a poisoned arrow struck him which eventually led to his death. | Multan, undoubtedly one of the oldest cities of the subcontinent, has retained much of its glorious past. Alexander conquered Multan in 326BC and it is believed that while he was fighting for the city, a poisoned arrow struck him which eventually led to his death. | ||
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Bibi Pak Daman was the mother of Shah Rukn-e-Alam and daughter of Sultan Jamaluddin, the emperor of Fargana. She was married to Saddaruddin, the eighth son of Bahauddin Zakariya. Her father built a beautiful palace for her and after her death was buried in its garden. The shrine of Bibi Pak Daman is an example of a quadrilateral shrine. | Bibi Pak Daman was the mother of Shah Rukn-e-Alam and daughter of Sultan Jamaluddin, the emperor of Fargana. She was married to Saddaruddin, the eighth son of Bahauddin Zakariya. Her father built a beautiful palace for her and after her death was buried in its garden. The shrine of Bibi Pak Daman is an example of a quadrilateral shrine. | ||
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| + | ==Multan: not much about the city, but still:A city called Multan== | ||
| + | |||
| + | By Intizar Hussain | ||
| + | |||
| + | [http://dawn.com/ Dawn] | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[File: Multan.PNG | Multan |frame|500px]] | ||
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| + | Thanks to the courtesy of Bahauddin Zakariya University, once again I had the opportunity of paying a visit to the traditional city of Multan which always gives me a feeling of something ancient associated with it. But this time the city had some surprises in store for me. I vaguely felt that this is no more that old city proverbially known for its “Gard-au-garma gada-au-gauristan”. Of course the grand mausoleums of our distinguished mystics are very much there, with the same mystical air hovering over them which seems permeating through the very air blowing in this city. And yet I felt that Multan is no more content to remain a traditional city. It is on the way of being transformed into a modern city. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Here is before me the recent issue of this university’s Journal of Research edited by Prof Anwar Ahmad. In particular, two articles on the old intellectual history of Multan, one by Dr Aslam Ansari and the other by Dr Rubina Yaseen attracted my attention. Dr Rubina, while talking of Multan’s philosophic tradition, tells us about Hakim Nasir Khusrau, Al-Bairuni and Hazrat Shah Gardaiz arriving in this city. Dr Ansari carries us in the period of the great grammarian Panini. | ||
| + | |||
| + | But I am feeling tempted to talk of this tradition with reference to two recent personalities, late Allama Atiq Fikri and late Mirza Ibn-e-Hanif, who appeared to me carrying in them the same spirit of enquiry, which these scholars have traced in the old history of Multan. But let it be postponed for some other occasion. I should now better talk about this university and the seminar on fiction held by its Urdu Department. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The very fact that it is a newly-established university seems to be pointing to an incoming great social change in this region. The presence of a large number of female students made me a bit curious. As I expressed my surprise on this phenomenon, Prof Anwar Ahmed informed me that the female students here are more than 50 percent, near about 60 percent. And they are not from Multan alone. Most of them come from small towns of this region. If this is so, I thought, how long will the male chauvinists be able to hold in check the growing female urge for liberation through their jirga system and such practices as honour killing. | ||
| + | |||
| + | We were doubly surprised when we came to know that of all the departments, the department of Urdu is most active in promoting activities which invite and encourage the young minds to think and discuss ideas and problems relevant to us and our times. This is what we have already observed in G.C. University of Lahore. And this is what we now see happening in B.Z. University in Multan. Is it not surprising that the language and literature most ignored by the policymakers is used most enthusiastically in promoting the thought-provoking activities. Then how will we explain the lack of interest in the dialogue of minds of departments which enjoy special favours of the policymakers. But, at the same time, this has also brought into highlight the inactivity of the Urdu departments of the older universities. | ||
| + | |||
| + | As for the seminar, it enjoyed the participation of a number of writers from other cities. They included Fateh Muhammad Malik, Rashid Amjad, Masood Ashar, Asif Farrakhi and myself. Urdu fiction was discussed with reference to different trends as they influenced our short story and novel. But I have a feeling that our readers of literature living in towns far from the cities known as literary centres take literature more seriously and read it with more care. And so when they get the opportunity to meet a writer or some writers, they have more questions to ask and with more seriousness. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Here some young readers seemed to have doubts about the validity of symbolic mode of expression as practised by a group of story writers. Rashid Amjad explained his position and that of his generation in a convincing way. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Masood Ashar took upon himself to defend the position of writers in our times. He held the present cruel times responsible for the failings of the writers. The writer in our times, says he, is constantly under the threat of being condemned as a kafir. The threat of a fatwa of kufr hangs on his head like a sword of damocle. The repression now comes more from society than from the government. We are living in a society which is growing intolerant day by day, granting no freedom of thought and expression to its writers. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Promptly came the reply from Fateh Mohammad Malik, who argued that kufr ka fatwa is nothing new with us. Even Sir Syed and Iqbal had to undergo this kind of coercion. But they stuck to the stand they had taken. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Fateh Mohammad Malik was right to this extent. And I may add that the poets in our classical tradition in response went to the extent that they snatched the term kufr from the hands of its wielders and imparted to it new meanings. In their hands the term came to mean enlightened thinking. Now every poet relishes in calling himself a kafir. Even Iqbal takes pride in calling himself kafir-e-hind. | ||
| + | |||
| + | However, there is one difference. In those days it was merely a fatwa. Now it enjoys backing of a Klashinkov. We are living in a violence-ridden age. And violence with sustenance from technology now plays havoc on a monstrous scale. This sense prompted me to say that ours in an age of a renewed barbarism. Better call it a new Ehd-e-jahiliyat. Well equipped with what technology has put in their hands, the barbarians of our times have gained the capability to perpetrate death and destruction on a scale where barbarism of olden days pales into insignificance. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Was I wrong in saying so? At least Masood Ashar thinks so as he has in his column condemned me for saying this. | ||
Latest revision as of 19:56, 29 October 2013
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. Readers will be able to edit existing articles and post new articles directly |
[edit] Multan
[edit] Multan: A city of shrines
A city of shrines
By Text and photos by Shakeel Ahmed
Multan, undoubtedly one of the oldest cities of the subcontinent, has retained much of its glorious past. Alexander conquered Multan in 326BC and it is believed that while he was fighting for the city, a poisoned arrow struck him which eventually led to his death.
Multan has changed its name several times. Some of the names given to this city are Mulatana, Kasyapapura, Hansapura, Bhagapura, Sambapura, Parhladpura, Adysthana, Mulatrang, Mulatrana and Mulasthana. A Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang visited Multan in 641AD –– at that time Multan was known as Mulasthanapura –– and in his memoirs he has named the city Mulosanpulu. Arabs gave Multan the title of ‘Madinatul Zahab’, which means the city of gold.
Muslims first arrived here in 664AD and in 721AD, Muhammad Bin Qasim entered the city. Muslim preachers and saints started coming in after the Muslim conquests and Multan subsequently became ‘Madinatul-Aulya’, the city of saints.
It is believed that Multan is the burial place of around 125,000 saints. Jamaluddin Syed Shah Yousaf Gardezi, Bahauddin Zakariya Multani, Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Shah Shams Sabzwari, Bibi Pak Daman, Hameeduddin Hakim and Pir Moj Darya are some of the prominent saints of Multan.
The city is rich in architecture and the number of beautiful mausoleums and mosques are almost unrivalled by any other city in the world. The mausoleums mostly have geometrical patterns, calligraphy, colourful floral, mosaic and glazed tile work. The shrines are constructed in two shapes, quadrilateral and simple tomb shape.
The numerous Sufi shrines in the old city offer impressive examples of workmanship and architecture. Shrines of Bahauddin Zakariya and Shah Rukn-e-Alam are located in the Multan Fort. Bahauddin Zakariya had built his mausoleum himself while that of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, grandson of Bahauddin Zakariya, was built by Ghiasuddin Tughlak. The mausoleum is built entirely of red bricks. The tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam has one of the biggest domes in Asia.
The shrine of Shah Shams Tabrez is built almost entirely of engraved, sky blue, glazed bricks. The shrine of Shah Yusuf Gardezi is a masterpiece of Multani style architecture. The tomb with a rectangular hall and a flat dome-less roof is quite different from the other tombs of the city.
The shrine of Sultan Ali Akbar is located in Soraj Miani and has most of the characteristics of the shrine of Shah Rukn-e-Alam. The shrine of Hafiz Muhammad Jamal is located near Aam Khas Bagh and has beautiful mosaic work.
Bibi Pak Daman was the mother of Shah Rukn-e-Alam and daughter of Sultan Jamaluddin, the emperor of Fargana. She was married to Saddaruddin, the eighth son of Bahauddin Zakariya. Her father built a beautiful palace for her and after her death was buried in its garden. The shrine of Bibi Pak Daman is an example of a quadrilateral shrine. 500px]]
Multan, undoubtedly one of the oldest cities of the subcontinent, has retained much of its glorious past. Alexander conquered Multan in 326BC and it is believed that while he was fighting for the city, a poisoned arrow struck him which eventually led to his death.
Multan has changed its name several times. Some of the names given to this city are Mulatana, Kasyapapura, Hansapura, Bhagapura, Sambapura, Parhladpura, Adysthana, Mulatrang, Mulatrana and Mulasthana. A Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang visited Multan in 641AD –– at that time Multan was known as Mulasthanapura –– and in his memoirs he has named the city Mulosanpulu. Arabs gave Multan the title of ‘Madinatul Zahab’, which means the city of gold.
Muslims first arrived here in 664AD and in 721AD, Muhammad Bin Qasim entered the city. Muslim preachers and saints started coming in after the Muslim conquests and Multan subsequently became ‘Madinatul-Aulya’, the city of saints.
It is believed that Multan is the burial place of around 125,000 saints. Jamaluddin Syed Shah Yousaf Gardezi, Bahauddin Zakariya Multani, Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Shah Shams Sabzwari, Bibi Pak Daman, Hameeduddin Hakim and Pir Moj Darya are some of the prominent saints of Multan.
The city is rich in architecture and the number of beautiful mausoleums and mosques are almost unrivalled by any other city in the world. The mausoleums mostly have geometrical patterns, calligraphy, colourful floral, mosaic and glazed tile work. The shrines are constructed in two shapes, quadrilateral and simple tomb shape.
The numerous Sufi shrines in the old city offer impressive examples of workmanship and architecture. Shrines of Bahauddin Zakariya and Shah Rukn-e-Alam are located in the Multan Fort. Bahauddin Zakariya had built his mausoleum himself while that of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, grandson of Bahauddin Zakariya, was built by Ghiasuddin Tughlak. The mausoleum is built entirely of red bricks. The tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam has one of the biggest domes in Asia.
The shrine of Shah Shams Tabrez is built almost entirely of engraved, sky blue, glazed bricks. The shrine of Shah Yusuf Gardezi is a masterpiece of Multani style architecture. The tomb with a rectangular hall and a flat dome-less roof is quite different from the other tombs of the city.
The shrine of Sultan Ali Akbar is located in Soraj Miani and has most of the characteristics of the shrine of Shah Rukn-e-Alam. The shrine of Hafiz Muhammad Jamal is located near Aam Khas Bagh and has beautiful mosaic work.
Bibi Pak Daman was the mother of Shah Rukn-e-Alam and daughter of Sultan Jamaluddin, the emperor of Fargana. She was married to Saddaruddin, the eighth son of Bahauddin Zakariya. Her father built a beautiful palace for her and after her death was buried in its garden. The shrine of Bibi Pak Daman is an example of a quadrilateral shrine.
[edit] Multan: not much about the city, but still:A city called Multan
By Intizar Hussain
Thanks to the courtesy of Bahauddin Zakariya University, once again I had the opportunity of paying a visit to the traditional city of Multan which always gives me a feeling of something ancient associated with it. But this time the city had some surprises in store for me. I vaguely felt that this is no more that old city proverbially known for its “Gard-au-garma gada-au-gauristan”. Of course the grand mausoleums of our distinguished mystics are very much there, with the same mystical air hovering over them which seems permeating through the very air blowing in this city. And yet I felt that Multan is no more content to remain a traditional city. It is on the way of being transformed into a modern city.
Here is before me the recent issue of this university’s Journal of Research edited by Prof Anwar Ahmad. In particular, two articles on the old intellectual history of Multan, one by Dr Aslam Ansari and the other by Dr Rubina Yaseen attracted my attention. Dr Rubina, while talking of Multan’s philosophic tradition, tells us about Hakim Nasir Khusrau, Al-Bairuni and Hazrat Shah Gardaiz arriving in this city. Dr Ansari carries us in the period of the great grammarian Panini.
But I am feeling tempted to talk of this tradition with reference to two recent personalities, late Allama Atiq Fikri and late Mirza Ibn-e-Hanif, who appeared to me carrying in them the same spirit of enquiry, which these scholars have traced in the old history of Multan. But let it be postponed for some other occasion. I should now better talk about this university and the seminar on fiction held by its Urdu Department.
The very fact that it is a newly-established university seems to be pointing to an incoming great social change in this region. The presence of a large number of female students made me a bit curious. As I expressed my surprise on this phenomenon, Prof Anwar Ahmed informed me that the female students here are more than 50 percent, near about 60 percent. And they are not from Multan alone. Most of them come from small towns of this region. If this is so, I thought, how long will the male chauvinists be able to hold in check the growing female urge for liberation through their jirga system and such practices as honour killing.
We were doubly surprised when we came to know that of all the departments, the department of Urdu is most active in promoting activities which invite and encourage the young minds to think and discuss ideas and problems relevant to us and our times. This is what we have already observed in G.C. University of Lahore. And this is what we now see happening in B.Z. University in Multan. Is it not surprising that the language and literature most ignored by the policymakers is used most enthusiastically in promoting the thought-provoking activities. Then how will we explain the lack of interest in the dialogue of minds of departments which enjoy special favours of the policymakers. But, at the same time, this has also brought into highlight the inactivity of the Urdu departments of the older universities.
As for the seminar, it enjoyed the participation of a number of writers from other cities. They included Fateh Muhammad Malik, Rashid Amjad, Masood Ashar, Asif Farrakhi and myself. Urdu fiction was discussed with reference to different trends as they influenced our short story and novel. But I have a feeling that our readers of literature living in towns far from the cities known as literary centres take literature more seriously and read it with more care. And so when they get the opportunity to meet a writer or some writers, they have more questions to ask and with more seriousness.
Here some young readers seemed to have doubts about the validity of symbolic mode of expression as practised by a group of story writers. Rashid Amjad explained his position and that of his generation in a convincing way.
Masood Ashar took upon himself to defend the position of writers in our times. He held the present cruel times responsible for the failings of the writers. The writer in our times, says he, is constantly under the threat of being condemned as a kafir. The threat of a fatwa of kufr hangs on his head like a sword of damocle. The repression now comes more from society than from the government. We are living in a society which is growing intolerant day by day, granting no freedom of thought and expression to its writers.
Promptly came the reply from Fateh Mohammad Malik, who argued that kufr ka fatwa is nothing new with us. Even Sir Syed and Iqbal had to undergo this kind of coercion. But they stuck to the stand they had taken.
Fateh Mohammad Malik was right to this extent. And I may add that the poets in our classical tradition in response went to the extent that they snatched the term kufr from the hands of its wielders and imparted to it new meanings. In their hands the term came to mean enlightened thinking. Now every poet relishes in calling himself a kafir. Even Iqbal takes pride in calling himself kafir-e-hind.
However, there is one difference. In those days it was merely a fatwa. Now it enjoys backing of a Klashinkov. We are living in a violence-ridden age. And violence with sustenance from technology now plays havoc on a monstrous scale. This sense prompted me to say that ours in an age of a renewed barbarism. Better call it a new Ehd-e-jahiliyat. Well equipped with what technology has put in their hands, the barbarians of our times have gained the capability to perpetrate death and destruction on a scale where barbarism of olden days pales into insignificance.
Was I wrong in saying so? At least Masood Ashar thinks so as he has in his column condemned me for saying this.
