By MOBINA MARANI (nee JAMANI)

In the early spring of 1957, at age 27, our mother Daulat Hassanali Jamani (lovingly known as Dolly), with encouragement from our dad, left Kampala, Uganda, to pursue a professional seamstress course at the Paris School of Dressmaking in London, England. She was one of the first Ismaili women from East Africa to go abroad for further studies.

July 1957 was, and will always be, an unforgettable time in Ismaili history. Our beloved 48th Imam, Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan III, passed away on July 11 after a reign of 70 years, and appointed his grandson, Prince Karim, then 20, to succeed him as the 49th Hereditary Imam of Ismaili Muslims. An installation ceremony for the new Imam had been scheduled two days later, on July 13th, at the Villa Barakat in Geneva, Switzerland.

Upon learning of this historic moment, our mother booked a flight to Geneva. Her entry was met with unforeseen delays due to linguistic barriers, and as a result, she missed out on the opportunity of being in the group photos that were taken with Mawlana Hazar Imam, similar to the one shown above.

Her disappointment did not go unnoticed, and Mawlana Hazar Imam very graciously granted her an exclusive photo session in the Villa. Our mother was immensely grateful for this rare privilege, and for the blessings that the Imam bestowed upon her.

Upon returning to Kampala, she was able to realize her life long dream and opened “Dolly and Daughters”, an exclusive dressmaking boutique. 

Sadly, our mum passed away in 1965, at the very young age of 35, leaving behind our dad, Hassanali Jamani, and three young daughters, Nabat, Parviz and myself [Mobina].

An enlarged copy of the photo was framed in our home in Kampala, but it was left behind when we were forced to leave Uganda in 1972 with the rest of the Jamat and other communities of South Asian origin. In going through the family archives, we came across a copy of the framed photo in one of our albums. It gives us immense happiness to share this very rare photo of our mum with Mawlana Hazar Imam with readers of Barakah.

On a personal note, I developed a love for painting in my early childhood from my mum who was very artistic. I then studied art in the UK. Earlier this year, I completed a painting of Mawlana Hazar Imam rendered from one of his portrait photographs taken during his Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in 2017-2018. This past week, Barakah’s sister website, Simerg, featured a special post of the painting of Mawlana Hazar Imam with paintings of members of my immediate family members that I completed in recent years (please click HERE to view the paintings). The painting of Hazar Imam is shown again, below.

This piece is in loving memory of our mum Dolly, and we submit our humble shukhrana to Mawlana Hazar Imam for the graces and blessings that he bestowed on her on July 13, 1957. We constantly remember our mum, and pray for the eternal peace of her soul. Ameen.

Date posted: June 2, 2022.

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SEARCH YOUR ARCHIVES FOR HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS

Barakah requests readers to search their old albums and archives for historical photographs of Mawlana Hazar Imam and members of his family. Please share your treasured collections with readers through Barakah, a website dedicated to Mawlana Hazar Imam and members of his family. Write in confidence to the editor, Malik Merchant, at mmerchant@barakah.com to discuss your collections. Please click Collections to view photographs that we have received from families and individuals from around the world.

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