Exceptional Journeys spare

Mehboob Kamadia traces his paternal ancestry to two renowned personalities in the recent Ismaili history who lived in the Indian Subcontinent, Vazir Esmail Gangji of Junagadh and Kamadia Haji of Jamnagar.

Kamadia Haji

His Highness' The Aga Khans I & II left Iran for the Indian Subcontinent in 1844. Around this time, one of the persons in the entourage of His Highness was a person by the name of Nazarali Kadwani. His son Hajimohammed, popular by the name of Kamadia Haji, joined the entourage at the age of 12 till he died in 1916.

Kamadia Haji had the singular honour and unique privilege in dedicating his life serving the three Aga Khans for nearly 74 years with uncompromising devotion and absolute loyalty. During the Imamat of His Highness the Aga Khan III, Kamadia Haji primarily functioned as the Imam’s special envoy, spokesperson, treasurer, private body guard-secretary and a high ranking personality in the Imam's entourage. He also served as an executive liaison between the Imam and His Community, Jamat.

Among various functions, Kamadia Haji interpreted Farmans (addresses of the Imam to His Jamat) from Persian to Indian language during the visits of the Imam. He also enlightened the Jamat with the exegesis of Ginan-e-Sherif, a sacred Ismaili literature.

Kamadia Haji and his family were very close to Shams al-Mulk, Lady Ali Shah, who was married to Imam Ali Shah (Aga Khan II). She was the daughter of Khurshid Kulah Khanum, one of the daughters of Shah of Iran, Fateh Ali Shah of the Qajar Dynasty. Lady Ali Shah was the beloved mother of His Highness Sir Sultan Mohammed Shah Aga Khan III. During the early childhood of Prince Sultan Mohammed, Kamadia Haji would frequently sing ginans upon the former's request before he retired to bed. At the age of eight, the Prince assumed the office of Imamat (divine leadership). He became the 48th Hereditary Imam of the Ismailis. Kamadia Haji is seen standing in the historic photograph of Imam's enthronement. From this point onwards, Kamadia Haji served his most beloved Imam until he died in 1916.

Kamadia Haji accompanied the 48th Imam in the first three historic visits to Africa: 1899, 1905 and 1914. In 1908, he visited Africa in the capacity of Imam’s special Envoy in connection with the historic Haji Bibi vs Aga Khan case, a lawsuit which lasted from 1905 to 1908.

Kamadia Haji's daughter was Kesar, one of the Imam's favourite playmates. Out of his love and deep affection for Kesar, the Imam had nicknamed her diwani which could mean loving, adorable, beloved, etc. Throughout her life, Kesar continued to have a special and unique bond with Imam Sultan Mohammed Shah.

During the 1899 First East African Visit, Imam Sultan Mohammed Shah informed Kamadia Haji that his daughter Kesar had delivered her first son in India and that the newly-born be named Abdul Muhammad. This Abdul-Muhammad was Mehboob Kamadia's grandfather who served under two Ismaili Imams: Imam Sultan Mohammed Shah and the Imam-of-the-Time. The late Rai Abdul Muhammad served in various capacities including as the President of Tabora Council. He was also one of the few Ismaili delegates who participated in the historic Evian Conference chaired by the Imam in 1952.

Pir Vazir Esmail Gangji

Mehboob Kamadia's grandmother was Sarvarkhanu. She was the great grand-daughter of Vazir Esmail Gangji. In one of the mulaqats with the missionaries, Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah revealed that two murids (disciples) had rendered extra special services in championing the cause of Ismaili pirs: Vazir Esmail, the chief vazir of the Imam and Mukhi Lalji Devraj.

Vazir Esmail used to invite Ginan specialists (bhagats) to Junagadh in Gujrat to attend annual Ginan conferences which persisted for many consecutive years, each lasting anywhere from two to three months. It should be underlined that these specialists and thousands of murids of the Subcontinent had committed Ginan-e-Sherif to memory just like Muslims do with Qur'an-e-Sherif. The primary objectives of the Ginan conferences sought to verify, preserve and protect the integrity of the sacred oral tradition; to maintain the ragas, tune, of the Ginans; to study, analyze, and share the meaning of Ginans first among the specialists themselves so they could disseminate this knowledge to the jamats throughout the Indian Subcontinent. Vazir Esmail personally funded this noble project and looked after every delegation of specialists which visited Junagadh on an annual basis. Moreover, the Vazir would share his understanding of Ginans during these conferences and deliver wa'z (sermons) to the jamats.

After the death of Vazir Esmail, Imam Ali Shah, the 47th Imam, bestowed the title of pir on Vazir Esmail. The Imam then appointed Vazir Esmail's son, Kassam, as the chief vazir. The Imam had graced Vazir Kassam with unlimited powers while governing the jamats in the Subcontinent; this was unprecedented. Moreover, Imam Ali Shah commanded the Junagadh Jamat to daily recite 14 salwats during the formal congregation for the benefit of the soul of Vazir Esmail. Later, Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah added the names of Vazir Kassam & Itmadi Ebrahim. This too was unprecedented in the history of Subcontinent.

Hundreds of children from the families of Kamadia Haji and Vazir Esmail have rendered their services to their Imam-of-the-Time. Mehboob Kamadia is simply one of these.