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
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.
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 Sikh architecture, featuring huge dome-shaped elevated
canopies called Chhatris (umbrellas). This dome is made of white sandstone, now
painted in whitewash.
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.
