Built by Sh . Umar Hayat Vohra in early 19th century for his son Sh . gulzar Vohra enriched with wooden art work which is specialty of Chiniot .
Seth Umar Hayat of Chiniot took the noblest of all the arts (probably in 1923) by ordering construction of Gulzar Manzil in his city ; a grand wooden palace of exquisite design named after his beloved son Gulzar Mehmood .
Today this marvel of architecture stands in silent oblivion . Its glorious past wrapped in mystery and speculation , but what remains , still has enough power to spellbind the visitors in awe and wonder .
'Sheikh Umar Hayat , a rich merchant whose family originally migrated to Chiniot from India had an unbound appreciation for this grand architecture . Once visiting a village fair at Panda Haitian , Umar Hayat fell in love with a girl named Fatima and married her ' , narrates Mushtaq Ahmed , librarian of the palace , in his most fascinating style of an accomplished story teller . 'She bore him a son and a daughter [some historians / families in Chiniot say that Umar Hayat had no daughter .
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Since the birth of a son (1923 ) brought much pride and happiness in his life , out of sheer affection Umar Hayat named him Gulzar , a rose garden . As Gulzar grew up , his father wished to attribute something grand to his son's name . He asked finest artisans of his time to go to India and watch great architecture , come back and construct a palace preceding finest tradition of classic architecture' .
'I don't want it to be built in haste , ' said Umar Hayat , "I'll pay you in full even if you place one brick in a day , but it should captivate the eyes of the beholder . ' Such was the passion and zest of the construction of Gulzar Manzil . Another version of the story tells that Elahi Bakhsh , the renowned artisan of Chaniot offended Umar Hayat . ' All the gold in the world can not match my art , 'said Elahi Bakhsh . Enraged by such lofty comment , Umar Hayat lavishly spent money on the construction of this grand architecture saying , 'I will buy all the art and all artisans of the world with my wealth .'
Whatever the cause of initiation may had been , the building indeed encapsulates finest display of wood , fresco , jali , glass plaster and brick work . Some source say that the supervision of the construction of Gulzar Manzil was assigned to Syed Hassan Shah who invited artisans [ and carried out work for ten years] .Elahi Bakhsh and Rahim Bakhsh of Pirja family [renowned for wood work] did the wood carving , for which the palace is known . This splendor of craftsmanship took eight years for completion and Umar Hayat shifted there in 1935 with his family before it was fully constructed . And Mr. Hayat expired expired in same year just a couple of months before its completion . Four hundred thousand rupees (a huge amount in those days) were spent which comes to thirty million rupees in present day estimation .
Originally it was a five storey buliding with a basement , but neglect and ravages of time diminished it to three stories only .
The German philosopher and poet Goethe terms architecture as frozen music . The rhythm and flow of exotic craft and aesthetic delicacy of Gulzar Manzil sings symphonies of splendor and glory . Artisans created ineffaceable designs everywhere . Stucco work , frescos and finest carving and patterns made in wood in from in from of priceless jharokas , doors and window panes .
'Umar Hayat did not live long to cherish the joy of his miraculous accomplishment, ' continued Mushataq Ahmed as we stepped onto the creaky wooden stairway . ' He died in 1935 , the year he moved to the palace and an ominous fate struck Umar Hayat's family since then . Mustaq led me to a tiny bathroom where the tragic sage of Umar Hayat Palace actually began . In 1937 Gulzar Mehmood decided to get married . Records in the Palace library relate that wedding ceremony was carried out with unprecedented pomp and show . Elderly people of the city talked about it till many years in nostalgia and sorrow . 'The ceremony was so grand that all the poor of Chiniot were invited along with the rich . ' Narrators reported there were announcements (dated : 25 Feb 1938 ) in the city that whoever saw the smoke rising from the cooking near tens , could join as a guest at the wedding feast .
As the wedding fireworks subsided , the tragedy struck . The same night Gulzar Mehmood was found dead in his room next morning . Sources say that it happened because the gas from coals filled in the room and killed him . Suffocation was the cause of death , but mystery is not resolved till date . Young son's death was too much to bear for a widowed mother and she also died shortly . Both mother and son were buried in the ground floor . Gulzar's widow left Chiniot and settled in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad) where she remarried and died only a couple of years ago .
Umar Hayat's relatives migrated from the magnificent palace considering it a mark of perpetual bad luck . Like a haunted house the Palace presented a pathetic picture of agonized splendor for many years . Gypsies moved in and ruined remaining part of the deserted residence . They began to tear down some of the finest plaques and frescos by subcontinent's legendry artisans and sold it for petty sums . The looters stole window panes , doors , cupboards , decorative items and even marble slabs from the ground floor and installed a donkey-pump in the courtyard .
One time Deputy Commissioner of Jhang district Muhammad Athar Tahir , acted in time . To save this marvel of architecture from total disaster , he declared the building as a 'government property' and with help from Dr. Muhammad Amjad Saqib , Assistant Commissioner Chiniot involved business community of the city to raise a fund for the renovation of this precious national asset . Backing up the vision of these two great benefactors of Chiniot , the people of the city generously contributed . On 14th August ,1990 the Municipal Committee Chiniot inaugurated the renovation project . The first phase of this monumental project was competed in December 1990 and involved reconstruction and renovation of the ground floor . Anestimated amount of Rupees ten hundred thousand were spent for this phase of work .
The second phase of restoration work began on devastated wood work , walls and ceiling of the upper floors . The Palaces of was then officially renamed as Umar Hayat Library . With the passage of time initial fervor for refurbishment began to weaken and the caretakers became more and more detached in wake of their other official engagements . In 1997 the municipality cut down expenses of Umar Hayat Palace . After a prolonged controversy for the ownership of Umar Hayat Labrary , the Auqaf Deptt . took over its custody in 1998 and made a feeble attempt to restore and manage the dilapidated historical structure .
I watched Umar Hayat Palace from the high roof of an adjoining building .Even in its present state it defied all notions of corrosion and decadence . It stood tall , proud and magnificent among rapidly rising concrete structures around it . 'Houses are built to live in , not to look on , ' wrote Francis Bacon , but Umar Hayat Palace exists beyond the perception of modern wisdom . It was built to live in , but now just a spectacle to look on in its alluring existence .
Seth Umar Hayat of Chiniot took the noblest of all the arts (probably in 1923) by ordering construction of Gulzar Manzil in his city ; a grand wooden palace of exquisite design named after his beloved son Gulzar Mehmood .
Today this marvel of architecture stands in silent oblivion . Its glorious past wrapped in mystery and speculation , but what remains , still has enough power to spellbind the visitors in awe and wonder .
'Sheikh Umar Hayat , a rich merchant whose family originally migrated to Chiniot from India had an unbound appreciation for this grand architecture . Once visiting a village fair at Panda Haitian , Umar Hayat fell in love with a girl named Fatima and married her ' , narrates Mushtaq Ahmed , librarian of the palace , in his most fascinating style of an accomplished story teller . 'She bore him a son and a daughter [some historians / families in Chiniot say that Umar Hayat had no daughter .
.jpg)
'I don't want it to be built in haste , ' said Umar Hayat , "I'll pay you in full even if you place one brick in a day , but it should captivate the eyes of the beholder . ' Such was the passion and zest of the construction of Gulzar Manzil . Another version of the story tells that Elahi Bakhsh , the renowned artisan of Chaniot offended Umar Hayat . ' All the gold in the world can not match my art , 'said Elahi Bakhsh . Enraged by such lofty comment , Umar Hayat lavishly spent money on the construction of this grand architecture saying , 'I will buy all the art and all artisans of the world with my wealth .'
Whatever the cause of initiation may had been , the building indeed encapsulates finest display of wood , fresco , jali , glass plaster and brick work . Some source say that the supervision of the construction of Gulzar Manzil was assigned to Syed Hassan Shah who invited artisans [ and carried out work for ten years] .Elahi Bakhsh and Rahim Bakhsh of Pirja family [renowned for wood work] did the wood carving , for which the palace is known . This splendor of craftsmanship took eight years for completion and Umar Hayat shifted there in 1935 with his family before it was fully constructed . And Mr. Hayat expired expired in same year just a couple of months before its completion . Four hundred thousand rupees (a huge amount in those days) were spent which comes to thirty million rupees in present day estimation .
Originally it was a five storey buliding with a basement , but neglect and ravages of time diminished it to three stories only .
The German philosopher and poet Goethe terms architecture as frozen music . The rhythm and flow of exotic craft and aesthetic delicacy of Gulzar Manzil sings symphonies of splendor and glory . Artisans created ineffaceable designs everywhere . Stucco work , frescos and finest carving and patterns made in wood in from in from of priceless jharokas , doors and window panes .
'Umar Hayat did not live long to cherish the joy of his miraculous accomplishment, ' continued Mushataq Ahmed as we stepped onto the creaky wooden stairway . ' He died in 1935 , the year he moved to the palace and an ominous fate struck Umar Hayat's family since then . Mustaq led me to a tiny bathroom where the tragic sage of Umar Hayat Palace actually began . In 1937 Gulzar Mehmood decided to get married . Records in the Palace library relate that wedding ceremony was carried out with unprecedented pomp and show . Elderly people of the city talked about it till many years in nostalgia and sorrow . 'The ceremony was so grand that all the poor of Chiniot were invited along with the rich . ' Narrators reported there were announcements (dated : 25 Feb 1938 ) in the city that whoever saw the smoke rising from the cooking near tens , could join as a guest at the wedding feast .
As the wedding fireworks subsided , the tragedy struck . The same night Gulzar Mehmood was found dead in his room next morning . Sources say that it happened because the gas from coals filled in the room and killed him . Suffocation was the cause of death , but mystery is not resolved till date . Young son's death was too much to bear for a widowed mother and she also died shortly . Both mother and son were buried in the ground floor . Gulzar's widow left Chiniot and settled in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad) where she remarried and died only a couple of years ago .
Umar Hayat's relatives migrated from the magnificent palace considering it a mark of perpetual bad luck . Like a haunted house the Palace presented a pathetic picture of agonized splendor for many years . Gypsies moved in and ruined remaining part of the deserted residence . They began to tear down some of the finest plaques and frescos by subcontinent's legendry artisans and sold it for petty sums . The looters stole window panes , doors , cupboards , decorative items and even marble slabs from the ground floor and installed a donkey-pump in the courtyard .
One time Deputy Commissioner of Jhang district Muhammad Athar Tahir , acted in time . To save this marvel of architecture from total disaster , he declared the building as a 'government property' and with help from Dr. Muhammad Amjad Saqib , Assistant Commissioner Chiniot involved business community of the city to raise a fund for the renovation of this precious national asset . Backing up the vision of these two great benefactors of Chiniot , the people of the city generously contributed . On 14th August ,1990 the Municipal Committee Chiniot inaugurated the renovation project . The first phase of this monumental project was competed in December 1990 and involved reconstruction and renovation of the ground floor . Anestimated amount of Rupees ten hundred thousand were spent for this phase of work .
The second phase of restoration work began on devastated wood work , walls and ceiling of the upper floors . The Palaces of was then officially renamed as Umar Hayat Library . With the passage of time initial fervor for refurbishment began to weaken and the caretakers became more and more detached in wake of their other official engagements . In 1997 the municipality cut down expenses of Umar Hayat Palace . After a prolonged controversy for the ownership of Umar Hayat Labrary , the Auqaf Deptt . took over its custody in 1998 and made a feeble attempt to restore and manage the dilapidated historical structure .
I watched Umar Hayat Palace from the high roof of an adjoining building .Even in its present state it defied all notions of corrosion and decadence . It stood tall , proud and magnificent among rapidly rising concrete structures around it . 'Houses are built to live in , not to look on , ' wrote Francis Bacon , but Umar Hayat Palace exists beyond the perception of modern wisdom . It was built to live in , but now just a spectacle to look on in its alluring existence .
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