The Mukhi House - a heritage home, over 100 years old - has been opened for the public as a museum after restoration of the building's disfigured glory. The small palace built in 1920 by an influential Sindhi Hindu, Mukhi Jethanand, is located in close proximity to the Pakka Qila in Hyderabad.
The museum was inaugurated by Sindh Culture Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah on Tuesday.
Designating the building as a historic jewel, Shah recalled that it was built by Jethanand and Mukhi Gobind Ram in 1920. It was also once visited by former Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and other political personalities of that era.
"We are sitting in the veranda of this architectural masterpiece, the construction of which in present times seems difficult," said Shah, speaking to the media. He recalled that a politically well known family had built that small palace and it was named after one of their daughters.
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The minister apprised that some antiquities and pictorial depictions of Hyderabad's history and that of the city's prominent figures are up on display at the museum and more articles will be added in future.
He especially advised students and youngsters to visit the building and witness the architectural marvel to acquaint themselves with Hyderabad's history.
Joining the inauguration ceremony through video link, Suresh Bhawani, one of the grandchildren of the Mukhi family, expressed his happiness on the rehabilitation of his ancestral house.
"Our family was progressive and believed in serving the people. It's been our yearning to see our house turned into a museum for the public so that people can know about its history and architecture," said Bhawani.
Tumultuous history
For decades the house remained under utter official neglect and also faced vandalism, which began after the exodus of Hindus after partition in 1947. Jethanand had died in 1927, leaving the house to his widow and children and in 1957, the family left for India after they started receiving threats of attack. Some say that a person who wanted to occupy the family's agricultural land in Matiari district was behind the threats.
The abandoned house was later occupied by officials of the revenue and evacuee departments.
During ethnic riots, the house was set on fire thrice, allegedly by the workers of a political party. Subsequently, the Pakistan Rangers were deployed to protect the building.
When the paramilitary force left, the house was given over to the Khadija Girls High School. It was at this point that Dr Kaleemullah Lashari intervened for the heritage home's restoration. The school was relocated and after groundwork for two years, physical restoration began in 2009. By 2012 most of the building was restored.
Lashari had engaged trainees from the Benazir Bhutto Youth Support Programme. They washed away many layers of paint to reveal traces of murals and frescoes. They recreated the designs by tracing them and then a master artisan completed the job. He later also started acquiring material, documents, artifacts and gadgets to create the museum.
In 2012, Ram's United States-based daughter, Indru Waumull, visited her father's home on Lashari's invitation. Some years later she allowed the Sindh government to use her family's property as a public museum and in 2015 former culture adviser Sharmila Farooqi informed that Rs25 million had been allocated for the purpose.
Pakka Qila
Responding to a question during the museum's inauguration, Shah said it will take a long time for the government to restore the historic Pakka Qila, which was built by the Kalhoro dynasty around two and a half centuries ago. He said that thousands of families were living in the historic fort and their relocation would require not only huge funds but also political will.
The minister said that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) was also a political obstacle in the process of vacating the fort. He added that despite his efforts to take the MQM-P on board, no progress could be made thus far. "Markets have been established around Pakka Qila."
Nevertheless, he said the conservation of some portions of the fort has been done and work inside the fort is also underway.
According to Shah, the culture department aims to preserve around 3,300 heritage buildings in the province. He lamented that the federal heritage ministry was not playing its part in the preservation of archaeological sites.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2021.
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