Bhai Ram Singh (1858–1916) was one of pre-partition

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

's foremost

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s, dominating the scene for nearly two decades from the 1890s.The Sunday Tribune - Books
/ref> Amongst his works is the Durbar Room, Osborne House, on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, England;

Lahore Museum The Lahore Museum ( pa, ; ur, ; ''"Lahore Wonder House"'') is a museum located in Lahore, Pakistan. Founded in 1865 at a smaller location and opened in 1894 at its current location on The Mall, Lahore, The Mall in Lahore during the British Ra ...

and Governor's House in Simla. Amongst Bhai Ram Singh's most famous works are: the Lahore Museum, the

Mayo School of Arts The National College of Arts (colloquially known as NCA) is a public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Overview National College of Arts - A Federal Chartered Institute is the oldest art school in Pakistan and the second oldest i ...

Aitchison College Aitchison College ( ur, ایچیسن کالج) is an independent, semi-private boys school for boarding and day students from grade 1–13 in Lahore, Pakistan. It has a tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports, and co-curri ...

, Chamba House and Punjab University, all in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, and

Islamia College, Peshawar Islamia College Peshawar (ICP) ( ur, اسلامیہ کالج پشاور) is a public university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. In

Simla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...

, the Governor’s House and in Lyallpur (now

Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur ( Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pak ...

), the College of Agriculture. He also worked with

John Lockwood Kipling John Lockwood Kipling (6 July 1837 – 26 January 1911) was an English art teacher, illustrator and museum curator who spent most of his career in India. He was the father of the author Rudyard Kipling. Life and career Lockwood Kipling was b ...

to design the Durbar room in

Osborne House Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. Albert designed the house himself, in t ...

, Queen Victoria's summer home on the Isle of Wight. He designed

Khalsa College, Amritsar Khalsa College ( pa, ਖਾਲਸਾ ਕਾਲਜ ''khālsā kālaj'') is a historic educational institution in the northern Indian city of Amritsar in the state of Punjab, India. Founded in 1892, the sprawling campus is located about eight ...

. Most of his work fits under the style of

Indo-Saracenic architecture Indo-Saracenic architecture (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal, or Hindoo style) was a revivalist architectural style mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century, especially in public and government ...

, of which he was the most significant Indian architect. Many of his commissions were built by the leading contractor Sir

Ganga Ram Rai Bahadur Sir Ganga Ram (born Ganga Ram Agarwal; 13 April 1851 – 10 July 1927) was an Indian people, Indian civil engineer and architect. His extensive contributions to the urban fabric of Lahore, then in colonial India and now in modern P ...

, and also involved

Lockwood Kipling John Lockwood Kipling (6 July 1837 – 26 January 1911) was an English art teacher, illustrator and museum curator who spent most of his career in India. He was the father of the author Rudyard Kipling. Life and career Lockwood Kipling was b ...

, father of

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

, to some extent Singh's mentor. The precise contributions of these can be hard to estimate; Ram was mainly an engineer and contractor, but is sometimes given credit as the architect of his buildings.

Biography

Singh came from Ramgarhia

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

family of

Rasulpur Rasulpur is a village in Pakistan. Jalalpur Bhattian located on its road leads to Hafizabad.It has an area of around 2700 to 3000 Acres and Population of around 8000.It have boys and girls school.Health care center is also in working condition ...

, near

Batala Batala is the eighth largest city in the state of Punjab, India in terms of population after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Mohali and Hoshiarpur. Batala ranks as the second-oldest city after Bathinda. It is a municipal corpo ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, and showed early talent.RC He is supposed to have repaired the piano of the Deputy Commissioner of

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

when he was 13, despite being unfamiliar with the instrument. He became a student at the Mayo School of Arts (now

National College of Arts The National College of Arts (colloquially known as NCA) is a public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Overview National College of Arts - A Federal Chartered Institute is the oldest art school in Pakistan and the second oldest i ...

), in

, founded in 1875, and became a protege of the principal

, father of

. He became assistant drawing master at the school, and eventually, its principal from 1903 to 1913, as well as designing its building. Ram_Singh_architect

In 1885-7 he worked with Kipling, decorating the "Indian Passage" and ballroom at

Bagshot Park Bagshot Park is a royal residence located near Bagshot, a village south of Windsor. It is on Bagshot Heath, a tract of formerly open land in Surrey and Berkshire. Bagshot Park occupies within the designated area of Windsor Great Park. The ...

for the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

, Queen Victoria's third son, who he had met in India when the duke was Commander-in-Chief of the

Bombay Army The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three presidencies of Presidencies and provinces of British India, British India. It was established in 1662 and governed by the East India Company until the Government of India A ...

from December 1886 to March 1890. This led to the Osborne House commission, and other work in Britain.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

met him when he was working at Osborne in January 1891 and her diaries describe him as "a very intelligent, pleasant, nice man, a Seikh p. 'Sikh' we looked at sketches he had made for the decoration of the room". He became Principal of Mayo School of Arts in 1910 and the following year he was made an MVO (Member of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

. He retired in 1913 and died in Lahore, three year later in 1916 aged 58.

File:Close view of Lahore Museum.jpg,

, begun 1890 File:Front elevation, Aitchison College.jpg,

, begun 1886 File:National College of Arts in Lahore.jpg,

(Mayo School),

File:Islamia College Peshawar mosque interior.jpg, The mosque,

Islamia College, Peshawar Islamia College Peshawar (ICP) ( ur, اسلامیہ کالج پشاور) is a public university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.short biography

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

*Singh, Amrik,
"The forgotten master"
''The Tribune'', India 2006. Retrieved 9 December 2020

Biography

Further reading