CHAUBARA OF CHAJJU BHAGAT - CHAJJU DA CHAUBARA – LAHORE (2018)

Date of Visiting the Site:- 22-05-2018

Date of Posting:-18-09-2019

All fotos are owned except last two 

CHAUBARA OF CHAJJU BHAGAT - CHAJJU DA CHAUBARA – LAHORE

CHAJJU BHAGAT

East or West, Home is the Best

“Jo sukh Chajju de chaubaray, oh na Balkh na Bukharay”

(Allegorically, it would mean that the comfort and pleasure that you would find at home is incomparable to even the luxuries of such affluent cities as Balkh and Bukhara..)

جو سکھ چھجو دے چوبارے - او بلخ نہ بخارے
ਜੋ ਸੁਖ ਛੱਜੂ ਦੇ ਚੋਬਾਰਾਯ - ਓ ਬਲਖ ਨਾ ਬੁਖਾਰੀ 
जो सुख छाजो दे चोबरय - ओ बलख न बुखारी 

It was situated on Anarkali Road. During the regime of Bhangi Sardar’s, a temple and inn was constructed in the Chajju' dwelling which later came to be known as Chajju da Chaubara. Chaju was a contemporary of Mughal rulers Jahangir and Shah Jahan. From a rich goldsmith he changed his way of living.

According to Syed Muhammad Latif, Chajju da Chaubara  was situated close to the Mayo Hospital, south of Ratan Chand's Serai. Chajju was a godly man in the time of Shah Jahan. He was a resident of Lahore, and by caste a Bhatia. He was a sarraf, but was fond of the society of the fakirs.

At last, having forsaken the world, he became a Bhagat, or devotee, and devoted the rest of his life to meditation and prayer. His death was mysterious. It is said that, when his last moments approached, he entered his cell and was seen no more.

He died in 1696, The Chaubara, or one storied room, was used by Chajju as his place of worship, and where the Mandar now is, there existed his shop for transecting his business. During the ascendancy of the three rulers of Lahore, Bawa Pritam Das acted in the office of Mahant. He build a large Mandar here. Ranjit Singh held the place in great respect, visiting it every Monday, and making large offering of money at shrine. He built spacious chambers and rooms for the accommodation of the Sadhus, and increased its establishment, to maintain which a great of rent-free land was made. From a rich goldsmith he changed his way of living, became a bhagat and was revered by both Hindus and Muslims of that time. Later Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave grants to the management of this place to distribute food and fruits among the needy and the visitors and also made arrangements for health care of inmates. Each Monday and Tuesday, crowds of men and women assemble there, and the musicians sing the sacred songs.

Chajju da Chaubara Lahore Pakistan

In 1985, when the administration dug a 10 feet deep hole in the front garden of the chaubara, its plinth, concealed under a mound for several years, was revealed. A female skeleton was found when the place was dug up for renovation. At another place near the chaubara, hundreds of oil lamps were found, which were used to light up the place 450 years ago. No one cared for them and they all were broken and wasted. Chajju, who was a goldsmith, had become Bhagat Chajju was originally called Chajju Bhatti. He never married.

Chajju spent long hours with the well-known saint of the time Hazrat Mian Mir. In Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s memoirs Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, Mian Mir was mentioned not only as an extraordinary spiritual figure but also a favorite of the Mughal emperors, and the spiritual mentor of the crown prince.

Sikh hagiography describes Mian Mir as a close friend and an associate of the Sikh Guru Arjun Dev Being a Bhagat, Chajju had sworn never to take alcohol or eat meat; be truthful and worship only the Almighty.

The dome of Bhagat Chajju’s Chaubara is round and it is placed upon an octagonal base although the structure of the Chaubara is a square. The dome is typically influenced by the Sikh architecture with huge dome-shaped elevated canopies called Chhatris (umbrellas). This dome is made of white sandstone now painted in whitewash.

Each dome is shaped like a lotus flower with its petals widespread. The lotus is known as the flower that blooms amidst stagnancy, signifying the need to create a unique identity by rising above the temporal issues and affairs of daily life. The dome springs from a floral base and has an inverted lotus symbol top from which rises the kalas or ornate finial. 

The interior of the dome consisting of elegant and rare metal work, and recalls 

of the mirrors in Lahore’s Sheesh Mahal.

This portion has also survived damage and you can see the original design pattern. The whole dome is filled with tree-like motif which is a Perso-Mughal element. Between every two motifs there is a convex shining metal piece.

The Sikh architectural interior is beautified by means of stucco work, tukṛi or fixing of mirror pieces, and fresco painting. These techniques are used to produce beautiful designs and friezes based on vine, plant, flower, bird and animal motifs. These techniques, time-consuming and costly, require highly skilled artists. They are, therefore, used in sacred shrines. Examples of such work can be seen in the Golden Temple. The largest number of frescoes has been painted on the first floor walls of Baba Aṭal.

The interior of Chaubara has a square room with straight curves on the four sides of the floor. Inside the front wall, the upper part of door has about one foot wide boundary of embellished area. This was the area where Chhajju Ram’s customers came to purchase gold when he was worked as goldsmith. The main entrance was lavishly decorated. Many cracks have appeared now in this part. 

Above the windows there are three cusped arches of same sizes as the windows below. The same plan repeated in both north and south wall. These arches are beautifully painted with eight sided star shape motif. The use of red and sharp red inside these arches make these motifs more elegant. Some portions have clear picture of motif as most of the portion had been rubbed off during re-touching of this chaubara. The dome is placed on octagonal plane and every angled corner have specially embellished with massive use of gold and steel pieces on it. Inside this corner there is a, arched door almost two feet high.