View allAll Photos Tagged ALLAMA_IQBAL
Minar-e-Pakistan is one of the most important national monuments of the country. The site of the minaret is the exact place where the historic “Pakistan Resolution” was passed on 23 March 1940, in which Pakistan Muslim League, the single representative political party of all Muslims of the British India, in its historic annual session unanimously demanded the creation of a separate homeland (Pakistan) for the Muslims of Indian sub-continent.
The monument is a blend of Mughal and modern architecture. The base platform of the structure takes the shape of a five point star and is enclosed within crescent shaped pools. At the height of 13 meters the monument is sculpted into flower petals like shape. From this point the minaret tapers as it rises to the overall height of sixty meters. The entire structure is constructed of reinforced concrete and furbished with marble walls and floors.
The large public space around the monument called Iqbal Park, in the memory of Dr Allama Iqbal, who first gave the idea of a separate Muslim country for the Muslims of the British India, is commonly used for political and public meetings.
After what has been two years of reduced demand owing to COVID-19, there does appear to be some form of normality returning as airlines commence their S22 schedules after much disruption. For one thing, it is great to be able to look at airline schedules once again especially when you look at local carriers like British Airways which always provide interest.
The S22 schedule is somewhat bittersweet considering this schedule no longer includes the now retired Boeing 747-400s which have been a common fixture right up to COVID-19; although somewhat of a blessing as British Airways has been focusing on refurbishing their Boeing 777 fleet with Club Suites which is nearly complete.
Below is the first half of the S22 schedule commencing on 27th March 2022, unless otherwise stated which is subject to change:
-Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta: Commencing 1st April 2022, BA226/227 utilises Boeing 787-9s until August (official date to be confirmed), changing over to Boeing 787-10s.
-Austin-Bergstrum: BA190/191 increases from 5 weekly to daily flights from 1st May 2022, utilising Airbus A350-1000s.
-Bahrain: BA124/125 operates daily from 1st May 2022, utilising Boeing 777-200ERs.
-Baltimore/Washington: BA228/229 increases from 5 weekly to daily flights from 1st June 2022, utilising Boeing 787-8s.
-Bengaluru-Kempegowda: BA118/119 increases from 4 weekly to daily flights from 1st May 2022, utilising 3-class Boeing 777-200ERs.
-Boston-Logan: Thrice daily service reinstated; with daily 4-class Boeing 777-200ERs (BA212/213) and twice daily Boeing 777-300ERs (BA202/203 & BA238/239). BA212/213 goes over to Airbus A380s from 9th May 2022.
-Cape Town: Reduced from twice to a single daily flight; BA43/58 utilises 3-class Boeing 777-200ERs.
-Chennai: BA35/36 increases from thrice weekly to daily from 1st June 2022, utilising Boeing 787-8s.
-Chicago-O'Hare: Twice daily utilising Airbus A350-1000s (BA294/295) and Boeing 787-10s (BA296/297). BA296/297 utilises Airbus A380s from 1st June 2022.
-Dallas-Fort Worth: BA192/193 operates daily utilising 4-class Boeing 777-200ERs, replaced by Airbus A380s from 1st July 2022.
-Delhi-Indira Ghandi: 5 weekly gradually increasing to daily from 1st May 2022 and twice daily from 1st June 2022. BA256/257 utilises 3-class Boeing 777-200ERs, with BA142/143 recommencing from 1st June 2022 utilising Boeing 787-8s.
-Denver: BA218/219 increases from 5 weekly to daily from 1st April 2022, initially utilising Boeing 787-9s, converted to 3-class Boeing 777-200ERs from 1st May 2022.
-Dubai-International: Double daily resumed earlier than anticipated; BA106/107 utilises Airbus A380s until 8th May 2022, later going over to Boeing 777-200ER/300ERs, and BA108/109 utilising a mixture of Boeing 777-200ER/300ERs. From 22nd June 2022, twice daily flights will utilise Airbus A350-1000s and Boeing 777-200ER/300ERs.
-Hong Kong-Chek Lap Kok: Passenger flights resumes, BA31/32 operates daily from 29th May 2022 utilising Boeing 787-9s.
-Houston-George Bush Intercontinental: Twice daily utilising Boeing 787-9s (BA194/195) and Boeing 787-10s (BA196/197) from 8th May 2022, with 4-class Boeing 777-200ERs taking over on BA194/195 from 14th July 2022.
-Hyderabad-Rajiv Ghandi: BA276/277 increases from 4 weekly to daily from 1st May 2022, utilising Boeing 787-8s.
-Islamabad: BA260/261 no longer operating from London Heathrow; now operating as BA2260/2261 from London Gatwick utilising 3-class Boeing 777-200ERs.
-Johannesburg-O.R Tambo: Double daily commencing from 1st April 2022; BA57/54 and BA55/56 utilising 3-class Boeing 777-200ERs; from 1st August 2022, BA55/56 will utilise Airbus A380s replacing 3-class Boeing 777-200ERs.
-Kuwait City: BA156/157 operates 5 weekly utilising a mixture of Boeing 787-8/9s; going daily from 1st May 2022.
-Las Vegas-Harry Reid: BA274/275 operates daily utilising Airbus A350-1000s, replacing 3-class Boeing 777-200ERs.
-Lagos-Murtala Muhammed: BA74/75 operates daily utilising 4-class Boeing 777-200ERs.
-Lahore-Allama Iqbal: BA258/259 suspended until further notice.
-Los Angeles: BA282/283 utilises Airbus A350-1000s on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, operating alongside 3-class Boeing 777-200ERs until 7th May 2022, with Airbus A350-1000s operate daily from 8th May 2022. BA268/269 and BA280/281 continue to utilise Boeing 777-300ERs, with Airbus A380 operation on BA268/269 postponed.
-Mexico City: BA242/243 operates daily utilising Boeing 787-9s.
-Miami: Twice daily with BA206/207 utilising 3-class Boeing 777-200ERs, and BA208/209 utilising Airbus A380s.
This is just half of the changes, many of which is largely down to continuing deliveries of Airbus A350-1000s; whilst there is no update on when the remaining Boeing 787-10s will arrive. The 3-class Boeing 777-200ERs are almost close to finishing their refurbishment whilst their Boeing 777-300ERs is ongoing. Lastly, the Airbus A380s continue to return to service with a gentle stream returning following 2 years in storage.
Currently, British Airways operates 59 Boeing 777s, which includes 43 Boeing 777-200ERs and 16 Boeing 777-300ERs. British Airways have 18 Boeing 777-9s on-order.
Yankee Mike Mike Hotel is one of 43 Boeing 777-200ERs operated by British Airways, delivered new to the flag-carrier on 14th October 2000 and she is powered by 2 Rolls-Royce Trent 895 engines.
Boeing 777-236/ER G-YMMH on final approach into Runway 27R at London Heathrow (LHR) on BA274 from Las Vegas-Harry Reid (LAS), Nevada.
Namaz Eid Ul Fitr, Hamidiya Mosque, Pydhonie, Mumbai, Maharashtra - India
my 200th capture for the ongoing 365 project and just looking at this visual makes me soooooooooooooooooooooooooo very happy and satisfied .. skipped the Eid namaaz of 6.40 am and shot this ..
though i offered Namaz Eid Ul Fitr at Haji Ali Dargah Mosque at 7.40 am
Camera Nikon D3X
Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture f/7.1
Focal Length 14 mm
ISO Speed 200
=========================================================
Eid-ul-Fitr (Id al-Fitr) is linked with the Holy month of Ramadan. It signifies the end of the month of fasting (the first day of the month of Shawal).
Its significance is purely spiritual. It is the day when the Muslims thank God for having given them the will, the strength and the endurance to observe fast and obey His commandment during the holy month of Ramadan.
This day, in Muslim world, brings rejoicing and happiness. The rejoicing is not, however, at the departure of the month of Ramadan; it is the happiness which man feels after successfully completing an important task.
It is celebrated for three days in a holiday called Eid-ul-Fitr (the Feast of Fast Breaking). Gifts are exchanged. Friends and family gather to pray in congregation.
The feast of Fitr is God's reward for those who fast during the holy month of Ramadan. In this month, man should try to add to his true knowledge of God, do acts of charity for the needy, renew his beliefs towards his Lord and this will be a real Bairam Feast (Turkish word meaning festival) for him.
The conception of Eid in Islam is not confined only to celebration extravagance, luxurious feasts, friendly handshakes and embraces. The Muslims should rather devote this day to the worship of God and should beseech Him to approve their virtuous deeds and forgive their sins. This is because the doors of God's pardon are kept open this day and His Blessings are bountiful.
Yesterday I have watched a paralyze guy on the road. Trust me he swings his iron bowl very fast. He swings his bowl on the road and he is a beggar. Today when I was coming to my duty I met him he was waiting for cup of Tea. I requested him for foto and then he made a pose he told his name is Ijaz. and he was victim of Polio. his legs cant help for walking but the guy is brave guy, he love Bollywood style. I hope you will like my fresh foto with Story.
Thanks a lot
24-9-13
Golf Yankee departed from LHE as Pakistan Seven Nine Zero for 2nd leg of flight from YYZ to KHI via LHE
Perched on the branch of a tree
Was a nightingale sad and lonely
“The night has drawn near”, He was thinking
“I passed the day in flying around and feeding
How can I reach up to the nest
Darkness has enveloped everything”?
Hearing the nightingale wailing thus
A glow‑worm lurking nearby spoke thus
“With my heart and soul ready to help I am
Though only an insignificant insect I am
Never mind if the night is dark
I shall shed light if the way is dark
God has bestowed a torch on me
He has given a shining lamp to me
The good in the world only those are
Ready to be useful to others who are
Poet:Allama Iqbal
Tomb of Nadira Begam, is located in close proximity to the tomb of Hazrat Mian Mir. In order to view this 17th century structure, you should travel southeast on Allama Iqbal Road. Almost midway between the canal and railway line is a turning off Allama Iqbal Road (Mayo Road) on the right (south), from where a turning right and then left, leads you to the historic tomb and mosque of Mian Mir. Intercepted by a small road from the enclosure of the saint's mazar is a large garden on its east, in the middle of which stands the square tomb of Nadira Begam.
Nadira Begam was the wife of Prince Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Shah Jahan—the same poet-prince, who had served as governor of Lahore during the 1640s. At the time of his wife's death, Dara was on the run and fighting a losing battle for the Mughal throne—and literally his life—with his brother Aurangzeb. After the battle of Deorai (near Ajmer), dogged by Aurangzeb's forces Dara had fled towards Multan and Uchch trying to escape to Iran via the Bolan Pass.
It was during this difficult journey that Nadira Begam, his beloved wife and daughter of his uncle Sultan Parvez (brother of Shah Jahan and second son of emperor Jahangir), succumbed to exhaustion and dysentery (1659). Although his forces were much depleted, Dara sent the remaining troops with his wife's body from Bolan Pass to Lahore to be buried near the shrine of his 'spiritual guide', the saint Mian Mir. Dara himself was a devout disciple of saints Mulla Shah and Hazrat Mian Mir. His attachment to Lahore is clear from his poetry: "The city of Lahore ever remains flourishing, and He keeps it free from plague and famine."
Unlike other Mughal tombs which have normally been constructed in the midst of gardens, Nadira Begum’s tomb is built amidst a water tank without a dome, which bears the flat parapet on all its four sides. These distinguished architectural features have made it look rather like a pavilion than a tomb. The tomb stands on a raised platform in the centre of a water tank, which was large enough to accommodate a lake. Encroachments have eaten away most of the tomb’s area during the course of history.
During the British period, the tank was dismantled by Muhammad Sultan and its bricks used in building the Lahore Cantonment. According to Latif, the corners of the tank were marked with pavilions, while the lofty gateways provided access to the tomb from the north and south through a masonry bridge. The gateways no longer exist but most of the causeways can still be seen.
The culverted bridge still stands on thirty arches. The 14 ft wide central chamber is surrounded by an ambulatory in the form of vestibules. It greatly resembles the tank and baradari at Hiran Minar in Sheikhupura. A plinth ten-feet high from the surface of the tank, comprises the foundations of the tomb. Square on plan, the tomb on each side measures 44 ft. It is a two storeyed structure and has a height of 32 ft 6 in from the grave platform. The height of the first storey is 13 ft flanked by square headed apertures. The pavilion is constructed of burnt bricks and contains deep cusped arched openings. The central openings are arched, while those on the sides are flat. There are four arched openings on the ground floor in the interior around the grave and above them arches, exactly of the same type, are built in the upper storey. All these arched openings in both the storeys are cusped in design. Each of the openings in the lower storey is 3 ft 4 in wide and 6 ft 6 in high and that in the upper storey is 3 ft 3 in wide and 6 ft high. An interesting feature of the openings is that all the eight corners of lower and upper storeys were executed skilfully by forming a small pavilion in each of the corners. All the four facades of the pavilion are decorated with blind cusped arches and panels. They contain projection over which rises the high parapet wall. The stairs for reaching the upper-storey and roof arc located at the southeast and northeast corners. The whole structure of the pavilion was lime plastered.
The grave, which lies in the centre of the pavilion, is 6 ft 10 in long, 2 ft 10 in wide and 1 ft 8 in high. There were small arched holes on the northern end of the grave on a raised portion for lighting up the area with oil lamps. On the northern face of the grave Quranic verses are laid in marble slab in pietra dura in Nashtaliq characters, while on the southern end, Nadira Begum's name and her date of demise is inscribed in the marble slab in the same design.
The façade at the top retains parapet. On the parapet wall, just on the roof level are four small arched openings, two each in the north and the south, which, if seen from outside appear that below the parapet, in the façade is a balcony in red sandstone. The roof built in vaulting is flat at the top except for a fascinating hexagonal platform of two feet height that is located in its centre. The roof and the platform are covered with thick lime plaster and lack any ornamentation. The tank around the pavilion, which was enclosed by a high wall, has been filled with earth and traces of its four walls are still visible. It was a very spacious tank square in shape, with each side being 580 feet long. There were fine gateways to the north and south. When there was water in the tank, the tomb seemed to be floating in water, its reflections creating the illusion of movement. Though isolated in this manner, its connection with the rest of the world is maintained by means of a causeway access in the east-west direction. The causeway bears 32 pointed arched openings and in addition to that there is one more opening in the centre of the causeway which was intentionally closed. That closed opening forms a beautiful square platform in the centre of the causeway, its each side being 11 ft 9 in long. The causeway, which is in a deteriorating condition, is 5 ft 9 in wide. The tank has now been developed in pretty lawns, bearing pathways. Numerous evergreen trees have also been planted in it and flowerbeds have also been prepared for seasonal flowers. This new arrangement has converted the area of the spacious tank into a beautiful park, an attractive spot for the inhabitants of the locality. But it has also made it into a sports ground where the causeways seem ideal for a cricket pitch!
In the interior of both the storeys, the ceilings and faces of the walls are decorated with the traditional Mughal architectural feature of kalib kari, panels of various geometrical shapes, which bear traces of red, green and black colours. The use of kalib kari or muqarnas (stalactite squiches) for roofs and vaults are also employed internally. Though now faded, some traces are still visible. The colour scheme appears to be carried over the whole of its interior surface except for the trench of the upper storey which was brilliantly embellished with glazed tiles of multi-colours, traces of which are still evident. Although no tilework is extant on the external façade, traces of glazed tiles are still evident in first floor interiors. Most of the tiles removed from the tomb are now preserved in the Lahore Museum.
Today, the tomb retains a simple and blank facade, shorn of all ornamentation. It is said to have been robbed of its costly marble and semi-precious stones during the Sikh period. During Ranjit Singh's rule, the choicest material from the structure was removed, leaving it in a dilapidated condition. The tomb is also a victim of contemporary vandalism, as gaudy graffiti is visible on the structure with the ugly plague of wall chalking.
Since independence, its proper conservation has been ignored. The tomb was declared as a protected monument in 1956 and since then its responsibility for conservation lies with the Department of Archaeology and Museum. In 1956, a comprehensive scheme was framed by the department for its repair and restoration but it seems that nothing has been put into effect since.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was born on January 5, 1928. He was the only son of Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto completed his early education from Bombay's Cathedral High School. In 1947, he joined the University of Southern California, and later the University of California at Berkeley in June 1949. After completing his degree with honors in Political Science at Berkeley in June 1950, he was admitted to Oxford.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto married Nusrat Isphahani on September 8, 1951. He was called to Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1953, and the same year his first child, Benazir Bhutto, was born on June 21. On his return to Pakistan, Bhutto started practicing Law at Dingomal's.
In 1958, he joined President Iskander Mirza's Cabinet as Commerce Minister. He was the youngest Minister in Ayub Khans Cabinet. In 1963, he took over the post of Foreign Minister from Muhammad Ali Bogra.
His first major achievement was to conclude the Sino-Pakistan boundary agreement on March 2, 1963. In mid 1964, Bhutto helped convince Ayub of the wisdom of establishing closer economic and diplomatic links with Turkey and Iran. The trio later on formed the R. C. D. In June 1966, Bhutto left Ayub's Cabinet over differences concerning the Tashkent Agreement.
Minar-e-Pakistan (Urdu: مينارِ پاكستان; Mīnār-ĕ Pākistān or Yadgaar-e-Pakistan) is a tall minaret in Iqbal Park Lahore, built in commemoration of the Lahore Resolution. The minaret reflects a blend of Mughal and modern architecture, and is constructed on the site where on March 23, 1940, seven years before the formation of Pakistan, the Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Lahore), demanding the creation of Pakistan.[1] This was the first official declaration to establish a separate homeland for the Muslims living in the subcontinent.[2] Pakistan now celebrates this day as a national holiday each year.
The monument attracts visitors from all over Pakistan, as well as the inhabitants of the Walled City of Lahore. The large public space around the monument is commonly used for political and public meetings, whereas Iqbal Park area is ever so popular among kite-flyers.
The tower was designed by Naseer-ud-Deen Murat Khan, a Pakistani architect of (Daghestan) Russian descent. The foundation stone was laid on March 23, 1960. The construction took eight years of time, and was completed in 1968 at a cost of PKR 500,000. Today, the minaret provides a panoramic view to visitors who can climb up the stairs or through an Elevator. The parks around the monument include marble fountains and an artificial lake.
The base is about 2 meters above the ground. The tower rises about 60 meters on the base, thus the total height of minaret is about 62 meters above the ground. The unfolding petals of the flower-like base are 9 meters high. The diameter of the tower is about 97.5 meters (320 feet). The base platform is shaped like a five-pointed star and encloses two crescent shaped pools. There is a central spiral staircase rising up with 162 steps. The top-dome of the minaret is made of Stainless steel inlaid with fine glass pieces.
The structure is made of reinforced concrete, stones, and marble. The rostrum is built of patterned tiles, and faces the Badshahi Mosque. The base comprises four platforms. To symbolise humble beginnings of the freedom struggle, first platform is built with uncut Taxila stones, second platform is made of hammer-dressed stones, whereas third platform is of chiselled stones. Polished white marble at the fourth and final platform depicts the success of the Pakistan Movement
At the base, there are floral inscriptions on ten converging white marble Commemorative plaques. The incriptions include the text of Lahore Resolution in Urdu, Bengali and English, and Delhi Resolution’s text, which was passed on April 9, 1946. On different plaques, Quranic verses and 99 attributes of God are inscribed in Arabic calligraphy, whereas National Anthem of Pakistan in Urdu and Bengali, excerpts from the speeches of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, in Urdu, Bengali and English, as well as few couplets of Allama Iqbal are inscribed.
"But it also remains a moment of glad necessity, for who can conjure up a vision of Lahore without remembering the tiny droplet of beauty that is Iqbal's tomb, resting in the shade of Badhshai Mosque?. He deserves that spot." - Sara Suleri Goodyear (Lahore Remembered)
marta houn kahamashi par, yeh aarzo hay meri
Daman main koh k ik chota sa jhonprha ho
Near Tejian, Neelum Valley, AJK
Tomb of Abu Al Asar Hafeez Jalandhari, writer of the national anthem of Pakistan. Allama Iqbal Park, Lahore.
Mahndi lagay suraj jab shaam ki dulhan ko
Surkhi liay sunehri har phool ki quba ho ....
(Allama Muhammad Iqbal)
Sunset is the best part of the day for me .Sometimes you have a sense of achievement and sometimes you just feel that you haven't achieved what you intended at the start of the day ,sometimes you never want sun to set and at other times you wait for this time eagerly ....
Today was another day when i felt that i have done a lot of commendable things and hope that every sun set brings the same sense of achievement !!!
Tomb of Nadira Begam, is located in close proximity to the tomb of Hazrat Mian Mir. In order to view this 17th century structure, you should travel southeast on Allama Iqbal Road. Almost midway between the canal and railway line is a turning off Allama Iqbal Road (Mayo Road) on the right (south), from where a turning right and then left, leads you to the historic tomb and mosque of Mian Mir. Intercepted by a small road from the enclosure of the saint's mazar is a large garden on its east, in the middle of which stands the square tomb of Nadira Begam.
Nadira Begam was the wife of Prince Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Shah Jahan—the same poet-prince, who had served as governor of Lahore during the 1640s. At the time of his wife's death, Dara was on the run and fighting a losing battle for the Mughal throne—and literally his life—with his brother Aurangzeb. After the battle of Deorai (near Ajmer), dogged by Aurangzeb's forces Dara had fled towards Multan and Uchch trying to escape to Iran via the Bolan Pass.
It was during this difficult journey that Nadira Begam, his beloved wife and daughter of his uncle Sultan Parvez (brother of Shah Jahan and second son of emperor Jahangir), succumbed to exhaustion and dysentery (1659). Although his forces were much depleted, Dara sent the remaining troops with his wife's body from Bolan Pass to Lahore to be buried near the shrine of his 'spiritual guide', the saint Mian Mir. Dara himself was a devout disciple of saints Mulla Shah and Hazrat Mian Mir. His attachment to Lahore is clear from his poetry: "The city of Lahore ever remains flourishing, and He keeps it free from plague and famine."
Unlike other Mughal tombs which have normally been constructed in the midst of gardens, Nadira Begum’s tomb is built amidst a water tank without a dome, which bears the flat parapet on all its four sides. These distinguished architectural features have made it look rather like a pavilion than a tomb. The tomb stands on a raised platform in the centre of a water tank, which was large enough to accommodate a lake. Encroachments have eaten away most of the tomb’s area during the course of history.
During the British period, the tank was dismantled by Muhammad Sultan and its bricks used in building the Lahore Cantonment. According to Latif, the corners of the tank were marked with pavilions, while the lofty gateways provided access to the tomb from the north and south through a masonry bridge. The gateways no longer exist but most of the causeways can still be seen.
The culverted bridge still stands on thirty arches. The 14 ft wide central chamber is surrounded by an ambulatory in the form of vestibules. It greatly resembles the tank and baradari at Hiran Minar in Sheikhupura. A plinth ten-feet high from the surface of the tank, comprises the foundations of the tomb. Square on plan, the tomb on each side measures 44 ft. It is a two storeyed structure and has a height of 32 ft 6 in from the grave platform. The height of the first storey is 13 ft flanked by square headed apertures. The pavilion is constructed of burnt bricks and contains deep cusped arched openings. The central openings are arched, while those on the sides are flat. There are four arched openings on the ground floor in the interior around the grave and above them arches, exactly of the same type, are built in the upper storey. All these arched openings in both the storeys are cusped in design. Each of the openings in the lower storey is 3 ft 4 in wide and 6 ft 6 in high and that in the upper storey is 3 ft 3 in wide and 6 ft high. An interesting feature of the openings is that all the eight corners of lower and upper storeys were executed skilfully by forming a small pavilion in each of the corners. All the four facades of the pavilion are decorated with blind cusped arches and panels. They contain projection over which rises the high parapet wall. The stairs for reaching the upper-storey and roof arc located at the southeast and northeast corners. The whole structure of the pavilion was lime plastered.
The grave, which lies in the centre of the pavilion, is 6 ft 10 in long, 2 ft 10 in wide and 1 ft 8 in high. There were small arched holes on the northern end of the grave on a raised portion for lighting up the area with oil lamps. On the northern face of the grave Quranic verses are laid in marble slab in pietra dura in Nashtaliq characters, while on the southern end, Nadira Begum's name and her date of demise is inscribed in the marble slab in the same design.
The façade at the top retains parapet. On the parapet wall, just on the roof level are four small arched openings, two each in the north and the south, which, if seen from outside appear that below the parapet, in the façade is a balcony in red sandstone. The roof built in vaulting is flat at the top except for a fascinating hexagonal platform of two feet height that is located in its centre. The roof and the platform are covered with thick lime plaster and lack any ornamentation. The tank around the pavilion, which was enclosed by a high wall, has been filled with earth and traces of its four walls are still visible. It was a very spacious tank square in shape, with each side being 580 feet long. There were fine gateways to the north and south. When there was water in the tank, the tomb seemed to be floating in water, its reflections creating the illusion of movement. Though isolated in this manner, its connection with the rest of the world is maintained by means of a causeway access in the east-west direction. The causeway bears 32 pointed arched openings and in addition to that there is one more opening in the centre of the causeway which was intentionally closed. That closed opening forms a beautiful square platform in the centre of the causeway, its each side being 11 ft 9 in long. The causeway, which is in a deteriorating condition, is 5 ft 9 in wide. The tank has now been developed in pretty lawns, bearing pathways. Numerous evergreen trees have also been planted in it and flowerbeds have also been prepared for seasonal flowers. This new arrangement has converted the area of the spacious tank into a beautiful park, an attractive spot for the inhabitants of the locality. But it has also made it into a sports ground where the causeways seem ideal for a cricket pitch!
In the interior of both the storeys, the ceilings and faces of the walls are decorated with the traditional Mughal architectural feature of kalib kari, panels of various geometrical shapes, which bear traces of red, green and black colours. The use of kalib kari or muqarnas (stalactite squiches) for roofs and vaults are also employed internally. Though now faded, some traces are still visible. The colour scheme appears to be carried over the whole of its interior surface except for the trench of the upper storey which was brilliantly embellished with glazed tiles of multi-colours, traces of which are still evident. Although no tilework is extant on the external façade, traces of glazed tiles are still evident in first floor interiors. Most of the tiles removed from the tomb are now preserved in the Lahore Museum.
Today, the tomb retains a simple and blank facade, shorn of all ornamentation. It is said to have been robbed of its costly marble and semi-precious stones during the Sikh period. During Ranjit Singh's rule, the choicest material from the structure was removed, leaving it in a dilapidated condition. The tomb is also a victim of contemporary vandalism, as gaudy graffiti is visible on the structure with the ugly plague of wall chalking.
Since independence, its proper conservation has been ignored. The tomb was declared as a protected monument in 1956 and since then its responsibility for conservation lies with the Department of Archaeology and Museum. In 1956, a comprehensive scheme was framed by the department for its repair and restoration but it seems that nothing has been put into effect since.
In particular frame, number of airliners are visible:
1xPIA B77L AP-BGY
2xShaheen A320
1xShaheen B734
2xAirblue A320
1xJet Asia Airways B763ER HS-JAS
Dedicated to Youm-e-Takbir, 28th May 1998, the day Pakistan emerged as 1st Islamic Atomic Nuclear Power and 7th Atomic Nuclear Power globally, PAF Hercs played important role in transporting Nuclear devices to the testing site on the day.
Emirates 625 landing at Dubai International Airport DXB/OMDB, Dubai, UAE from Allama Iqbal International Airport LHE/OPLA, Lahore, Pakistan
Twin Emirates A380 Super parked at newly constructed remote stand
Dil-e-Mard-e-Momin Mein Phir Zinda Kar De
Woh Bijli Ke Thi Na’ara-e-‘LA TAZAR’ Mein
Aza’im Ko Seenon Mein Baidar-e-Kar De
Nigah-e-Musalman Ko Talwar Kar De!
:
Teri Khudi Main Agar Inqilaab Ho Paida
Ajab Nahi Hy Kay Ye Char Su Badal Jaye
Teri Dua Hy Kay Ho Teri Arzu Puri
Meri Dua Hy Teri Arzu Badal Jaye
- Allama Iqbal
Another shot from my series 'Darvaish' for more visit
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Some of my photographs of PIA's Boeing 747s taken in past 3 years, compiled together as a tribute to the flight & cabin crew of Pakistan International's Boeing 747, in service with PIA since 1976 for 38 years and expected to be retired this year, most probably!!!
Tameez-E-Khaar-O-Gul Se Ashakara
Naseem-E-Suba Ki Roshan Zameeri
Hifazat Phool Ki Mumkin Nahin Hai
Agar Kante Mein Ho Khoo’ay Hurairi
-Iqbal
_______________________
The clairvoyance of the zephyr
Is apparent from its discrimination between flowers and thorns!
A flower cannot be guarded
If the thorn has the nature of silk..
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A view of Allama Iqbal airport runway with Spoilers open. This is an Etihad Airways Boeing 777-300 Reg number A6-ETJ
www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Boeing/777/39685,A6...
Uzbek 462 getting ready for flight back to Tashkent, Uzbekistan TAS/UTTT from Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, Pakistan LHE/OPLA
An aerial view of Badshahi Masjid (King's Mosque), Nankana Sahab Gurdwara, Shahi Qila, Hazoori Bagh and Allama Iqbal Mausoleum
Dina Jinnah Wadia passed away today a few months following her 98th birthday. Like her illustrious father, she may have inherited and matched his self- control, deep reserve and constant struggle for secrecy concerning her private life in its entirety, leaving us gasping for some information. It is yet possible to put together some pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. So, let me begin.
While in England as a student, Jinnah may have played Romeo in a theatre, but history will always regard him as cold and aloof for good reasons. There was never a whisper of gossip about his private life. As a lawyer, he was extremely pre-occupied with his briefs, and nothing - not even the elegant poetry of Sarojini Naidu could distract him.
Regardless of how tumultuous was his romance and subsequent marriage with Ruttenbai Petit, the absolute privacy in his life was so marked that almost no trace of it is visible. Even a recent book Mr and Mrs. Jinnah published recently in India contains several errors and discrepancies (albeit minor) despite being well researched. We have literally to grope and search for the only traces of evidence from the writings of Kanji Dwarkadas, G. Allana, Hector Bolitho, Stanley Wolpert, M C Chagla, M A H Ispahani and more recently Shagufta Yasmeen and Khwaja Razi Haider for merely getting a glimpse of the entirety. While we are grateful to these authors for letting us know everything they know about M A Jinnah's private life, yet we may be doing some injustice by basing all our inferences and conclusions merely on these glimpses. Just to cite an example, Dwarkadas's slim monograph which contains a score of letters and personal anecdotes from Ruttie Jinnah to him does not so much as mention Dina.
Anyhow, going back to the story, Jinnah who has been absolutely aloof until the age of forty suddenly falls in love with Ruttie, waits for her to become an adult in 1918, when the news appears all over India of her embracing Islam and marrying the Hon'ble M A Jinnah that morning. So far so good! The newlyweds are transported into the sort of marital bliss they had never imagined.
This was at a time when a lot was happening in Jinnah's political life as well. By the second year of his marriage, he had resigned from the Imperial Legislative Council, the Home Rule League of Annie Besant and the Indian National Congress of Mahatma Gandhi. The timing of his resignation from Parliament was absolutely correct as it just preceded the infamous Jalianwala Bagh massacre that made Indian independence absolutely inevitable at some point in time.
Jinnah and Ruttie went to England in May 1919 and stayed there for a few months. One night they went to the theatre and sat there well past midnight but had to hurry back home. That night Dina was born. It was the night between the 14th and 15th of August 1919, exactly 28 years before Jinnah's second offspring Pakistan would be born.
Meanwhile, Ruttie Jinnah had singlehandedly offended the Viceroy Lord Chelmsford and his arrogant wife, and along with her husband deeply offended the Governor of Bombay Lord Willingdon through a sequence of events, which is not necessary to mention here, but could partly explain the departure of Jinnah from India when Willingdon returned as Viceroy. The animosity between the two persons had been cemented.
Even when her mother was alive, in good health and not separated from her husband, Dina seems to have been entrusted to a nanny, which in turn may explain eschewing all mention of her in the few biographies or narratives on Ruttie. Subsequently, she lived with her father and aunt Fatima. While in England, she was sent to boarding school and saw her Dad only during vacations. Yet she was the only one who could tease him, cajole him and love him forcing him to put his briefs aside and pay her attention or take her to a pantomime. She called him Grey Wolf repeatedly based on a biography of Ataturk by that name which he liked and passed on to her. The father was himself in desperate need of affection and obliged her. Yet the time she was given was much less than that required for bonding and she was forced to spend time
with her maternal grandmother Lady Dinshaw Petit.
It may be mentioned that the first time Sir Petit called Jinnah after his marriage was in 1929 to inform him of Ruttie’s 'serious illness'. Jinnah rushed to be by her side only to realize that she had already passed away when he received the call. Likewise, Lady Petit had never forgiven Jinnah either. Anyway, on returning to India, ‘Dina Baba’ as she was called by the 26 servants in the household, seems to have been very popular with the staff. The senior driver Mr. Hai has mentioned how she used to give money to the drivers without telling her aunt Fatima, and would go on long drives with him. And despite the clear orders of her Dad, she was not only allowed to drive along the wide roads on the outskirts of Bombay but do speeding as well! She was only 15 years of age at that time.
Lady Petit apparently approved her marriage to Neville Wadia, a Parsi converted to Christianity, and suddenly history had come full circle for Jinnah. Despite his opposition, Dina married Neville Wadia. While Jinnah had not found a single Muslim girl in India to marry without converting her first, his daughter couldn’t find a single Muslim boy. Love had triumphed once again.
But things were politically different for Jinnah now. He had been in self-exile to England since 1931 coinciding with Lord Willingdon's appointment as Viceroy and returned in 1934 ostensibly on the insistence of Allama Iqbal, Liaquat and Ra'ana and some others the previous year. From then onwards, his political career was purely that of a Muslim political leader as opposed to much of his previous career. I have repeated the word political twice in the previous sentence. That is because once his supporters meaning to honor him called him Maulana Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He stopped the procession there and then and literally told his followers to behave and never call him that again as he was their political leader and not their religious leader. He ended his reprimand by the words, "Do you understand?" This distinction was deliberately removed by the people who came to rule Pakistan after Jinnah or even during his lifetime with disastrous consequences. Anyway, suffice it to pass that the marriage of Dina to Neville Wadia must have come as a major setback to him personally and politically. Furthermore, he had lost the last bliss and affection in his life.
There is talk of his disowning her and never seeing her again, which is not borne out by the limited records available. However, this point needs a little elaboration. After Ruttie's death every vestige of her existence - including books, pictures and clothes - was locked up in some old trunks and never seen by anybody. Nor did Jinnah ever mention her directly or indirectly. The same fate was reserved for Dina's stuff and memories. Another driver of his and later film actor Azad told Sadat Hasan Manto how during the dead of night Jinnah Sahib would order a trunk to be opened which contained some items relating to his deceased wife and daughter. He would stare at the items for a long time until his eyes would moisten, and then he would order the apparel and other things to be placed back in the trunk.
Dina did find honorable mention in a will written by Jinnah in 1939 in which he left Rs. 200,000 to her and a monthly income of 1,000 at the rate of 6% of that principal amount till the remainder of her life. This must be a very handsome amount when new recruits to the Indian Civil Service would get only Rs. 300 per month and other civil servants much less. It is, however, not clear why he wrote the will so early in his life.
"What should I do Habib?" Jinnah asked his friend Habib Ibrahim Rahimtoola concerning his daughter Dina when Pakistan had become quite imminent. Mr. Rahimtoola suggested inviting her to tea with her family, which he did. This was told to my late father by Mr. Rahimtoola himself. Despite accounts of Wolpert and others to the contrary, here is how Dina described it herself:
"My father was not a demonstrative man, but he was an affectionate father. My last meeting with him took place in Bombay in 1946. He had come from New Delhi, in the midst of most heavy preoccupations with crucial negotiations. He telephoned inviting me and my children to tea. He was very happy to see us. Dina (Dina’s daughter) was 5 and Nusli, two. We mostly talked about the children and politics. He told me that Pakistan was coming. Despite his pressing engagements in New Delhi he had found some time to buy presents for us. As we said goodbye, he bent down to hug Nusli. The grey cap which he wore so often that it now bears his name, caught Nusli's fancy, and in a moment, he had put it on his grandson's head saying, 'Keep it my boy". Nusli prizes the cap to this day. I remember the gesture because it was characteristic of his sensitivity and consideration for me and my children."
Once when told that two successive Viceroys Wavell and Mountbatten had described Jinnah as difficult or rude, she defended him by saying that he was arrogant but never rude, adding that in every instance of his alleged rudeness, the posture of the others was rude to begin with.
She later wrote him two letters addressing him as Darling Papa and congratulating him on the acceptance and later creation of Pakistan. When informed of the death of her father on 9/11 1948, Dina rushed to Karachi and took part in his funeral before returning back. After that Pakistan seems to have forgotten her.
On the birth centenary of her father on December 25, 1976, while Mr. Bhutto was addressing the last session of his ill-fated Parliament, he invited her to Pakistan’s mission in New York where she was the guest of honor alongside the UN Secretary General Dr. Kurt Waldheim. In 2004, she and some of her children visited Pakistan on the invitation of the government, and had an emotional and tearful journey of the country created by her father. She consistently noted the need and hope for Pakistan to fulfil her father's ideals and dreams. In doing so, she forged a bond with all those who would want the same to happen. May her soul rest in eternal peace.
The picture shows Mr. Jinnah with his mother in law Lady Petit
Copyright: Dr. Ghulam Nabi Kazi