LAHORE: Bhai Ram Singh, one of the most prolific architects of colonial period in Punjab, was remembered at a ceremony at Lahore Museum Auditorium on Friday.

KIM’s BOOKS and THAAP organised the ceremony for the launch of much-awaited second edition of historical book “The Raj, Lahore and Bhai Ram Singh”, authored Prof Pervaiz Vandal and Prof Sajida Vandal.

Eminent scholars Prof Dr Nadhra Shabaz, Prof Dr Kanwal Khalid, Prof Dr Neelam Naz, Prof Dr Faisal Sajjad, Prof Dr Kalyan Singh Kalyan paid rich tribute to the architectural legacy of Bhai Ram Singh. Speakers highlighted different facets of Bhai Ram Singh’s life, association with Lahore and Mayo school of Arts, his rise as leading architect and immense contribution to the cultural landscape of sub continent.

Bhai Ram Singh left significant mark on architectural landscape of Lahore, Punjab and the sub-continent having designed some famous buildings in Lahore, Amritsar and other parts of the Punjab, such as Mayo School of Art (now the National College of Arts) Lahore Museum, Aitchison College, Punjab University, Albert Victor Hospital, Islamia College Peshawar, Khalsa College Amritsar, Governor House of Simla and world famous Darbar room in Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s summer home on the Isle of Wight in the UK.

Chief guest retired Justice Nasira Javed Iqbal acknowledged the contribution of Prof Pervaiz Vandal and Prof Sajida Vandal for writing the book. She paid rich tribute to Bhai Ram Singh for his thought provoking contribution in architecture landscape of British India.

She said that the book presents the real picture of Bhai Ram Singh’s creative legacy and that those who love Lahore should read the book as it is the story of Lahore’s golden past too. She stressed that the book is a must read for students of history, architects and design.

While shedding light on Bhai Ram Singh’s early life, Prof Pervaiz Vandal said that Bhai Ram Singh hailed from a Ramgarhia family from Eastern Punjab. Bhai Ram Singh carried the legacy of his family and proved his talent at an early age.

In 1873, he stunned everyone by repairing the damaged leg of a piano of Amritsar deputy commissioner’s wife to her entire satisfaction.

This incident brought Bhai Ram Singh to Lahore and an association with John Lockwood Kipling resulted into a creative partnership. Bhai Ram Singh competed with English engineers, architects and earned recognition for his innovative pattern and designs.

The evening concluded with the recitation of a special message by Prof Perin Boga, former dean of the Kinnaird College for Women. She stated that “my late sister, Ratty Framroz Cooper, principal emeritus of the Rajkumar College, Rajkot, India, to whom the second edition of ‘The Raj, Lahore and Bhai Ram Singh’ is partially dedicated, was with me when we edited and proof-read the first edition.

We would sit together going over corrections and suggestions for changes, sometimes vehemently arguing over a point of tricky English Grammar!

“I’m sure Rati is present today in spirit, smiling down over the launch of the second edition of their book which Sajida and Pervaiz Vandal have with such a generous spirit dedicated to her, along with the youngest generation of their family.

“As for myself, I am deeply, immeasurably touched and full of gratitude for this gesture on the part of the authors; also, as my sister was, I am full of admiration, not just for their writing but for the immense contribution the Vandal’s have made to the cultural life of Lahore.”

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2024