Punjab has a variety of magnificent historical buildings with extraordinary structures. Chiniot – a historic city of Punjab – is a true treasure of magnificent palaces, mosques and eye-catching buildings. Omar Hayat Mahal also knows as the “Taj Mahal” of Chiniot is one such structure that flaunts its majesty. Just like the Taj Mahal (Aagrah City – India), it is unique in its glory as well as sadly both serve as a burial ground for the notables.
This is the story of a palace-like mansion, which has no residents in its fortunes and has been closed as evil. This is the story of Umar Hayat Mahal or Gulzar Manzil of Chiniot.
Chiniot city of Punjab is famous for many things, but the top among them is the exquisite and durable woodwork here. The masterpiece of this work is a pink and gray building in the old part of the city, which is an excellent combination of stone and wood and shows the high taste of its builder.
This is Chinyut’s Taj Mahal Umar Hayat Mahal, whose doors have rare carvings and beautifully colored windows. The Chiniot Taj Mahal is a true masterpiece of Mughal-era architecture. The roofs, wooden balconies, terraces and staircases in the interior of this building are also high examples of magnificent architecture. Colorful frescos, decorated ceilings and elaborate rooms also captivate the imagination of visitors who are amazed by the grace and magnificence of the palace.
History tells us that in the late eighteenth century, the Sheikh family migrated from Calcutta to Chiniot, including Sheikh Umar Hayat.
According to the locals, Sheikh Umar married against his family, which resulted in economic boycott and he moved to Calcutta. In those days, Calcutta was a major port and trading center of the subcontinent, where Chinioti Sheikh settled in the early twentieth century. Sheikh Umar there engaged in ship-breaking and various other businesses and established himself as a successful businessman.
When a son was born to them in 1920, who was named Gulzar Muhammad, the attraction of the waves of the Chenab flowing on the Chiniot land attracted them and they decided to build a magnificent building for their son here.
According to the locals, Sheikh Umar married against his family, which resulted in an economic boycott and he moved to Calcutta. In those days, Calcutta was a major port and trading center of the subcontinent, where Chinioti Sheikh settled in the early twentieth century. Sheikh Umar there engaged in ship-breaking and various other businesses and established himself as a successful businessman.
When a son was born to them in 1920, who was named Gulzar Muhammad, the attraction of the waves of the Chenab flowing on the Chiniot land attracted them and they decided to build a magnificent building for their son here.
So Umar Hayat commissioned his close friend Syed Hasan Shah to build this magnificent building. Along with Syed Hasan Shah, there were famous artists from different places who worked day and night for this work for ten years.
Among them were the famous artisans of the time “Rahim Bakhsh Parjha” and “Elahi Bakhsh Parjha”, who were expert fortune tellers. He made such a wonderful work of wood, marble and glass that every eye that saw it rose up in awe.
Other artisans include Mastri Ahmad Deen who did the brickwork, Niaz Ahmad Jalandhri did the stucco work and Jan Muhammad did the fresco work in an excellent manner.
The construction work started in 1923 and ended in 1930 after spending seven years of hard work day and night. Its construction shocked the people of Chiniot who could not imagine that a beautiful building like a jewel could be built from a mixture of mud, clay and wood. Its amazing curves, carvings, door work and stone carvings left the artisans of Punjab in awe.
Writers in the district gazette called it a “local wonder”. But luckily, after its construction was completed (some friends have written earlier) in 1935, Sheikh Umar Hayat died. Sheikh Umar Hayat’s only son Gulzar Muhammad was 15 years old at that time. Saddened by grief, the widow of Sheikh Umar Hayat decided not to live here and this palace remained closed for a long time.
After some time, the mother and son moved to the palace and Gulzar Muhammad got married in 1937 at the age of seventeen with great fanfare in the same palace, which elders of Chiniot still remember that such a magnificent ceremony never happened again. But what is written in Nasib is that he lives, Gulzar Muhammad’s body was found lying on the floor of the bathroom on the morning of the day of Walima. It is said that the reason for this was the release of poisonous gases from the coal used in the bath installed in the bathroom, due to which Gulzar died of suffocation.
Superstitious people called it the work of giants. The widowed mother did not allow the son’s funeral to take place and buried him in the palace hall. On hearing the news of the death of her only son, Gulzar Muhammad’s mother felt a great shock that she could not bear and soon went to meet her real creator. Both Gulzar Muhammad and his mother are buried together in the verandah of the building.
In the beginning, the people of the Sheikh family tried to occupy this palace but they say that some incidents happened to them too and they left there thinking that it is a haunted place for the Sheikh family. The employees stayed here for two years and soon became a part of it.
After many decades passed, this palace remained deserted.
Chinyut’s Taj Mahal was sold in Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi.
Seeing the whole situation, in June 1990, the then Deputy Commissioner of Jhang, Mohammad Athar Tahir, took this building under official custody and ended the illegal occupation from here and assigned the task of reconstruction to the Assistant Commissioner. Due to the encroachment mafia, its historical significance was waning, but Chiniot Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Amjad Saqib, along with local businessmen, raised funds and got it repaired, giving the palace a new lease of life, albeit temporarily. .
It was decided by the district government to make Gulzar Manzil a library and a museum and then it was opened for everyone. Thousands of books were kept here by municipal library and local people.
At present it is being managed by the Municipal Committee. Now this building has the status of being a library, cultural center and museum, but the name is because all the books and museum equipment have been locked in the lower floor.
The interest of the government in this historical heritage is negligible.
The library located in Gulzar Manzil has been named Sheikh Umar Hayat Library. Later, the municipal committee refused to invest more money on the building. Unfortunately, the building is now in a dilapidated condition. There are cracks in the outer walls of the building. The woods have also lost their color due to the rain. The current situation is that the upper floors of the building are slowly collapsing and now no one goes here except a few tourists.
Author: Syed Haseeb
