Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad
and the chapati-machine
During one of my early visits to Rabwah, probably 1979, the group of foreign visitors, including me, was invited to a round tour to see the new chapati-machine.
When I first heard of it, I was quite curious about a machine which could make the flat bread without yeast, named chapaties, thinking of the European bread machines where one add water, flour, yeast and little salt – and then the machine fix it all and there is a ready baked bread the next morning.
I and the group was brought to a plant, where we were heartily welcomed by a person. Later I learned that he was hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad. Enthusiastically he showed the whole process, eg. the bakers made the dough and prepared the chapaties. These flat breads looked like big pancakes. Then the flat breads were placed one after the other on long conveyor belt with a heater beneath it. It moved in one direction with the help of a motor. When the bread reached the end it was ready and the baking staff collected it in big baskets.
I think that over 100.000 participants had gathered to take part in the Jalsa Salana in Rabwah and the bread must suffice to feed them all for three days, so this was a huge undertaking.
Chaudhry Hameed Ullah was in charge of the out-door-kitchen, Langer Khana, where the food was cooked and the bread was baked. The three assistant officers were hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, professor Bashatur Rahman and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. All this took place at the time of hadhrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad, the third Khalifa and it is likely that he had arranged that hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad guided the foreign guest for this tour.
I heard later that the chapati-bakers had gone on strike on 1977 and thus the manufacturing of a chapati-machine was started in 1978.
This round tour was particularly important to me, because it was there and then I met hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad for the very first time, eg. before he later on was elected the fourth Khalifa after the Promised Messiah, may the peace and blessings of Allah be with him.
With thanks to Mahmud Mujib Asghar, engineer, for helping me find facts and details.
Dr. Qanita