Voices: Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III – Historic Photos and Imam’s Recognition of Services Rendered by the Family of Itmadi Kassam Kothari of Jamnagar

Simerg is very pleased to publish the following account and photos submitted by Ms. Taj Kothari of Florida and her brother, Bashir Kothari, of  Calgary, Alberta.

The Kothari’s write:

This opportunity to share a little bit about our family through this Web site has given us immense inner happiness in the sense that we feel that our family’s humble and sincere contribution is being recorded somewhere. We hope that other readers of this blog will share their stories too.

Itmadi Kassam Kothari

Alijah Ismail Punja Kothari and Itmadi Kassam Kothari, our grand father and father respectively, worked closely with our beloved 48th Imam, Hazrat Sultan Muhammad Shah,  Aga Khan III, and also were brought up in the Raj Darbar. My grandfather was awarded a Justice Of Peace Medal by the British Government. This medal was saved by our late mother, Khadija, and is still with us today. As a note I might add that our family was provided special escort by the British whenever we left the home to go out. This was due to our closeness with the Maharajas (literally meaning great or high kings). India at that time was made up of princely states each with its own ruler.

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1927

The above photo was taken in 1927 at the residence of my grandfather, Alijah Ismail Punja Kothari, when Imam Sultan Muhammad , the Maharaja of Jamnagar - Jam Ranjit Singh – and the the King of Limbdi visited our bungalow in Jamnagar, Kathiawar. They held a meeting which was attended by our family members and also had lunch during the visit.

Seated on the ground in a traditional dress is my grandfather, Alijah Ismail Kothari. My father, Itmadi Kassam Kothari, is the person in the  white suit and tie, by the pole on the right. Standing between Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah and Jam Ranjit Singh, the Maharajah, is my grandfather’s older brother,  Premji Punja, with a white turban. As you can see, Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah is in a white suit and hat and carrying a cane.

All the Highness’s were garlanded by my grandfather.

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1934

The demise of our grandfather -  a handwritten message from the Imam

Above is shown an image of a handwritten telegraph that my father received from our beloved 48th Imam when our grandfather, Alijah Ismail Kothari, passed away.

The telegraph was sent from Cannes and has an official receipt date in Jamnagar of 15 April, 1934. As the heading suggests, it was processed by the Indian Posts and Telegraph department. Some of the features that can be noted – number of words in the telegraph (25) and that it was dispatched from Cannes on 13 April at around 14:00 hours.

The transcript of the message is as follows:

“Dear Cassam Ismail Poonja care Ismaili Council Jamnagar

Deepest sympathy and blessing
your poor father whom
I will allways remember
for his great service Aga Khan”

On the lower half of the page is seen a Gujarati Tarjuma (translation) of the Imam’s message.

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1939

The photograph shown above was taken during our beloved 48th Imam’s visit to  the State of Jamnagar in February,1939. The same photo is published adjacent to page 342 in Dumasia’s book “The Aga Khan and his Ancestors.”

From left to right are His Highness Jam Saheb, Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah and Jam Saheb’s brother, who is seen holding the Jam Saheb’s daughter in his arms. On the extreme right of the picture, in the volunteer’s uniform, is Major Lakhpati of Bombay, and standing beside him in the traditional dress of the Raj Darbar is our father, Itmadi Kassam Kothari. He wore the dress of the Raj Darbar since he was working with the Maharajas of Jamnagar.

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1954

The above photo was taken during Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah’s visit to London in 1954 for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. He and Mata Salamat met with the Mukhi and some other members of the Jamat at a hotel in London. Our (late) brother, Hadi, was among the Ismailis visiting London and he is in the picture seated on the floor, at left.

There is a very interesting account of how my brother got into the photo. Now, this anecdote was conveyed to us by one of the person’s who happened to be present, and we have the video of this conversation with him that was taken in Kenya in 2003.

It appears there wasn’t enough room for everyone to fit in the group photo and our brother, Hadi, could not join in.

But before the photo was taken, the Imam inquired of the Mukhi “aur koy baki hey?” (Is anyone left out?)

The Mukhi had told my brother there was no room and he could not join, but there was no way out of this question that the Imam asked, and the Mukhi replied: ” Khudavind ek baki hey” (one person is missing).

The Imam asked, ” Kon hai?” (who is that person?)

The Mukhi replied “Hadi Kothari.”

The Imam sought a confirmation, “Kothari?”

The Mukhi replied, “Yes, Khudavind.”

The Imam said: “Usko Bulao, uske Bap Dada ne Imam ke Ghar ki Bahoth seva kihe” (call him – his father and grandfather have rendered a lot of service to the House of the Imam).

Our brother, Hadi, passed away on May 24, 2004 leaving behind his widow, Khairoun, who lives in Nairobi, and two daughters. Hadi served in various capacities until 2000.

Hadi also appears in the next two group photos taken with  Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah’s two sons, the late Prince Aly Khan (June 13, 1911 – May 12, 1960) and late Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (17 January 1933 – 12 May 2003).

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Prince Aly Khan in group photo

Group photo with Prince Aly Khan in Nairobi, Kenya. Hadi Kothari is seen standing in the centre behind Prince Aly Khan.

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Prince Sadruddin in group photo

Group photo with Prince Sadruddin, garlanded, in Nairobi, Kenya. Our brother Alijah Hadi Kothari, then a young man, standing first on the left.

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A note to all readers:

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Other articles in the special Series on Aga Khan III:

Voices: Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III – Imam Speaks of Burmese Patriotism; Memorial Plate at Jamatkhana Honours 31 Ismaili Lives Lost in WWII Bombardment

Voices: Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III – Portraits from the National Portrait Gallery

Literary Reading: Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III – Titles, Decorations and Honours Conferred on 48th Ismaili Imam; 72 Year Reign Spanned Six British Monarchs and Seventeen PM’s

Voices: Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III – Eloquent Persian Quatrain by 48th Ismaili Imam Graces a 1923 Invitation For Talk About Imamat

Literary Reading: Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III – Defender of Islam, Activist for Justice and Equality, Confidence Booster, And Deliverer of Joy

Literary Reading: Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III – The Road to Happiness and The Concept of Life

Literary Reading: Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III – Imam’s Message in South Africa Addressed Artificial Barriers, Unity, Education for All, and Damaging Social Habits

Voices: Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III – Recollection of Imam’s Visit to a Family Shop; A Story about the Diamond Jubilee Scale and…Does it (Still) Work?

Literary Reading: Hazrat Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III – A “Mendicant” Who Transformed a Dream into Reality and Stirred the Soul of a Bitter Critic

Literary Reading: Hazrat Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III – Links to Movies at British Pathe

Literary Reading: Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III – A Muslim’s Analysis of Lessons that Can be Learnt from the 48th Ismaili Imam

Literary Reading: Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III – The Imam of the Socio-Economic Revolution

Literary Reading: Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III – Successor and a Son Reflect on Accomplishments of the 48th Ismaili Imam