Explore the grandeur of Kapurthala’s Moorish Mosque and State Darbar Hall, revealing its glorious past, writes Seema Anand Chopra
To follow the trail of Kapurthala monuments, unveiling the mysterious past can prove to be an exhilarating experience. This led to the drive past the luxuriant green fields of wheat Rabi-crop though the food bowl on India - Punjab; with thoughts immersed in the life of Francophile Maharajah of Kapurthala - Jagatjit Singh who penned down his personal diary in French!! While going through a Kapurthala catalogue dated 1900 AD, I decided to take a trip to the 18thcentury Jat-Sikh Kingdom of Kapurthala in Punjab to unveil its glorious past.
Moorish Mosque- Morocco to Kapurthala
I drove towards the impressive Moorish-mosque, which isvery stylized and Moroccan in form. It stands as a symbol of secular views of Maharajah Jagatjit Singh. A run-down garden with few walkers and huddled group of cards players could not dampen my spirits. I admired the minimalistic yet remarkable architecture of the famed replica of the Qutbya Grand mosque of Marakesh in Morocco; which is the signature structure of Morocco! We were surprised to see the façade with no traditional domesand a solitary cuboid Minar on the right of the entrancewhich certainly is different from the usual Indo–Islamic domed Mosques.
I walked through the entrance recalling that the Moorish Moroccan mosque was constructed by the order of Maharajah Jagatjit Singh in 1926 and completed four years later at a cost of Rupees 4 lakh! Right then, I stood at the same momentous spot where in the year 1930, His Highness Maharajah Kapurthala Jagatjit Singh stood withHis Highness Nawab of Bahawalpur –Sadiq Mohammed Khan Bahadur facing a congregation of one lakh people who had gathered for the ceremonial opening of the reproduction of the Grand Mosque of Marrakesh in Kapurthala, there was no reliving the moment but I was spellbound.
Subsequently, I entered a vast compound laid with pearlwhite Indian marble and walked across it to the main Mosque through tens of double rows of horse-shoe arches to reach the ‘hall of tranquility’. Exquisite floral Muslim-art in shades of faded mustard and bluish-grey which was once turquoise, dispersed from the floor to the ceiling; greeted our eyes. Mentionable is the beautiful magnificent floral decoration of the inner dome, once created by the artists of the Mayo School of Art, Lahore. The plasterwork patterns are blackening slightly.
Keeping in sync with the French characteristics of the State of Kapurthala it was designed and built by a French architect Monsieur Manteaux. According to Maharajah Kapurthala- Brigadier Sukhjit Singh, the Moorish Masjid is a unique and exclusive monument of South East Asia. Moreover, with specialized assistance from bodies such as UNESCO and INTACH, it is being restored to quite a bit of its former glory after years of neglect though cleanliness can be tough.
State Durbar Hall
We drove a little further ahead to the remarkable and historic regal State Darbar Hall- a beautiful red-brick construction completed in the year1889; with impressive domes, grills and stone lattice work that reflects East European style. The door and window-frames are in Islamic style. The interiors are white with magnificent royal palace look- Chandeliers, massive pillars and fabulous ceiling pattern in gold. In the derelict garden outside, I chanced upon a great spot for photography near the regal bronze statue of Maharaja Randhir Singh with the once magnificent Darbar Hall andits massive wooden door entrance, in the background.
The present Maharajah Kapurthala comments that the splendid Bronze Equestrian statue of the late Maharajah Kapurthala has been fully restored by experts from INTACH in New Delhi.
Further, he has placed suggestions for restorative initiatives and re-adaptive use of the Durbar Hall before the State government to assign this majesticbuilding to house the Punjab State Historical Archives, which will make it immortal in times to come. Also, his proposal envisages the separation of the State Revenue and Historical Archives and prefers the latter to be housed in this heritage complex that will then lend itself to providing adequate accommodation for each of Punjab’s district, for ease of research. Additionally, the new Archives should be air-conditioned to preserve the brittle records and will be a superlative Research and Library cum Exhibition Hall;together with on site reprographic and preservation facilities, all within one complex – thus is the Maharajah’s vision.
Forlornly, I compared its lost grandeur with the original photos in the Kapurthala Catalogue of the year1900. Unquestionably, lots more needs to be done after the initial restoration, infrastructure to attract visitors being the priority.
— The author is a travel writer, community leader and researcher