LAHORE: The National College of Arts (NCA), in an effort to revive the dying arts, has initiated an extensive project at the Tollinton Market where expert artisans will train a whole new generation and exhibit products created with pure materials, said NCA Principal Murtaza Jafri.

Mr Jaffri told Dawn that the college took charge of the market in 2019 and since then it is being developed in terms of introducing artisans, holding exhibitions and now the focus is on dying arts and the revival of traditional arts.

The market also houses a gallery where traditional artisans can display their crafts. It is also a hub of cultural events that will keep the intangible heritage such as folk music/qawwali alive among the public. Currently, some 11 artisans are working at Tollinton Market to revive the dying textile art on fabrics such as silk.

Mr Jaffri said Tollinton Market housed a textile craft weaving souvenir shop. It also hosts workshops and trainings for students conducted by experts. This allows students to use the latest techniques, including off loom and handloom (weaving) such as khes, khaddar, lungi, durri, block printing and hand embroidery, to design their own products. “We believe these workshops may help revive the dying crafts and provide exposure to the artisans in value chain development and marketing through hands-on experience,” the principal added.

Mr Jaffri said the market structure was never built for such radical activities -- originally constructed as an exhibition hall in the mid 1800s, Tollinton Market was purpose-built for the Punjab Exhibition of Arts and Industry that aimed to promote the arts and crafts and manufactured goods from Punjab as well as the rest of India. It was the brainchild of British civil servant B.H. Baden-Powell, who was also a chief court’s judge and later became the Lahore additional commissioner.

That exhibition was held with much fanfare on Jan 20, 1864 and inaugurated by the then Lieutenant Governor Robert Montgomery. It displayed shawls from the looms of Amritsar, carpets, pictures, books and many other specimens of native workmanship. The wares comprised precious jewellery, exotic dresses, pashmina shawls and carpets, a wide range of weapons, hand-woven fabrics of Multan, Batala and Lahore, articles made from steel, silver and leather, hookah and dishes etc of various metals, semi-precious stones, taxidermied animals. The famous Zamzama gun that stands in front of the NCA today was also displayed at the exhibition.

The wooden exhibition hall, built as a temporary structure, was handed over to the Lahore Municipal Committee that decided to retain it.

In May 1864, the hall was converted into a central museum. In 1893, the Old Central Museum was shifted to a new building. By the 1920s, the building was remodeled as a market by Sir Ganga Ram, and became known as Tollinton Market, after H.P. Tollinton, the then Punjab government secretary.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2021