KARACHI, Feb 15: The city government has decided to hold an exhibition of the belongings of Attiya Begum and Fayzee Rahamin at Gallerie Sadequain in the Frere Hall in March.

City government officials told Dawn on Saturday that at present the belongings of the couple — including paintings, letters and rare books — were being taken out of the musty containers where they had been gathering dust for years.

When contacted, the district officer of the city government’s community development department, Saifur Rahman Grami, said the exhibition would lay to rest the speculations about the condition of the belongings of Attiya Begum and Fayzee Rahamin.

He said: “There is a comprehensive list of all the items in possession of the city government. The exhibition will get under way in March at Gallerie Sadequain in the Frere Hall.”

He added that Aiwan-i-Riffat had been losing funds allocated for the construction of the project, initiated by the defunct Karachi Metropolitan Corporation in the early 1990s, for the past six years. He explained that the funds were allowed either to lapse or be re-appropriated for projects considered more important by the authorities concerned.

According to the construction plan of the project, Aiwan-i-Riffat will house a Fayzee Rahamin Art Gallery where 50 paintings of Fayzee Rahamin will be put on display.

Married to the distinguished Turkish-born Attiya Begum (1877- 1967), Fayzee Rahamin was a seasoned painter in his own right. Abjuring his Jewish faith, he embraced Islam at Attiya Begum’s insistence. (Attiya Begum was a Sulaimani Bohra). Fayzee Rahamin was at one time the art tutor of Mary of Teck, queen consort of George V of Great Britain.

The Fayzee Rahamin Art Gallery will also feature personal effects of Attiya Begum and Fayzee Rahamin which include letters by luminaries such as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Maulana Shibli Naumani, Jigar Muradabadi, Sarojni Naidu, Maulana Shaukat Ali, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar and George Bernard Shaw.

Coins from various countries, medals, including the ones conferred upon Attiya Begum and her sister Nazli Raffiya by the Sultan of Turkey in 1908, specimens of calligraphy, handwritten copies of the Quran from Turkestan and Egypt, jewellery made from gold, pearls and gems and royal attires will also be on display at the Fayzee Rahamin Art Gallery.

In the early 1970s the personal effects of Attiya Begum were shifted to the Denso Hall on M.A. Jinnah Road. There, the condition of the objects deteriorated considerably, as smoke from diesel-powered vehicles running on M.A. Jinnah Road had made the area extremely polluted. Afterwards the authorities concerned moved the objects to the under-construction building in the Burnes Garden.

Another art gallery in Aiwan-i-Riffat will display paintings by masters enabling art students to learn from their invaluable works.

Aiwan-i-Riffat will also house a three-storey auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,800. Furthermore, a fine- arts library will contain books on drawing, painting, textile designing, industrial arts, folk arts, graphics, calligraphy, music and architecture. The library will also have two treatises on music penned by Attiya Begum.