NAWABSHAH Due to vagaries of weather and criminal negligence of its custodians, only pieces of wooden planks remain of Lady Violet, a boat gifted by former ruler of Khairpur state His Highness Mir Ali Nawaz Naz Talpur to his beloved wife Bali Begum, after it lay unattended in a decrepit condition outside H. M Khoja Museum here for two years. Mir Ali Nawaz Talpur paid Rs75,000 for the construction of the boat to Mahatta and Herman company of Karachi during 1920s. The boat was handed over to Mir Sahab on Feb 13, 1924, and gifted to Bali Begum the next day on Valentine's Day.
The kerosene engine boat, specially designed on the directives of the Mir, had a drawing room, bedroom, balcony, bathroom and kitchen.
Mir Sahab, a poet with Sufi inclination, was an aficionado of melodious voice of Bali Begum, a singer, whom he brought to his state from Lahore.
With Mir Sahab and Bali Begum on board, the boat cruised in Nara Canal by sailors namely Pandhi Mallah, Soomar Mallah and Nibhao Mallah for years.
After the takeover of Khairpur state by the British colonialists, the boat was used for transportation of arms and ammunitions and food items as well as shifting of injured British troops fighting freedom fighters (Hurs) in Makhi Forest area of Sanghar district during the martial law imposed in parts of Sindh in 1940s.
The boat came under the control of the irrigation department after independence in 1947.
In its heyday, Shah Iran Raza Shah Pehlvi visited Nara canal on the boat along with his family and hunted crocodiles. General Ayub Khan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pir Pagaro and other VIPs also sailed in the boat.
The boat's engine developed a fault during its trip to Sukkur for the silver jubilee celebrations of the Independence Day and was replaced by a six-cylinder diesel engine. Then the boat was brought back to Mundh Jamrao.
Former district nazim of Nawabshah Ms Faryal Talpur took notice of the declining condition of the boat and decided to conserve it in H.M Khoja Museum constructed by the district government during her tenure.
However, criminal negligence of the officials who were assigned to transport the boat from Mundh Jamrao to Nawabshah proved fatal for Lady Violet. They used a tractor trolley for its transportation, which destroyed the boat.
Then it was dropped outside the museum where it lied under the sky for almost two years. Now only remains of it can be seen there a pathetic sight for history lovers.
