Daily Times

You must have heard a lot of the Walled City Lahore, also referred to as Androon Lahore or Old Lahore but have you ever spotted the marvels hidden in this cosmos? To begin with, let me take you on a reading tour of this ancient breathtaking city within the city of Lahore.

A marvel in the bounds of thirteen gates is known as the walled city of Lahore or ‘Androon Lahore’. This mystic city with narrow winding streets, vibrant bazaars, well knitted neighbourhood, high rise rooftops and rich cultural life is a must visit place for everyone. This city dates back to antiquity and some say that it emerged during the era of Hindu Prince Loh but reached its zenith during the Mughal rule. Emperor Akbar built these thirteen gates and wall around the city. The grandeur of Mughal, Sikh and British era is reflected from the world class monuments this city has. Every brick, balcony and jharoka is a story teller of the past glory. You step inside any gate and you will be welcomed by the insignia of life, aroma of enticing food and hospitable people. This is a city of life, colours, taste, and a it never sleeps!

This small city spreading over an area of 2.6 sq km was the development of Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great. He made this city his seat and built thirteen gates around it connected with a thirty feet high fortified wall. The gates were Delhi Gate, Yakki Gate, Sheranwala Gate, Kashmiri Gate, Masti Gate, Roshnai Gate, Lohari Gate, Bhatti Gate, Shah Almi Gate, Akbari Gate, Mochi Gate and Taxali Gate along with a Mori. As the name Mori (small hole) implies, it was the smallest of gateways. When all the other gates remained closed at night, this one gave access to the city in the evenings.

Walled City is a place where everyone knows who is coming in and going out of the city, what’s cooking next door, who is in pain or grief and the best part is the religious harmony. We see everyone mourning in Moharram, celebrating Eid and Christmas, and many other traditional festivities and occasions are still celebrated there

When the British took over this area, the Mori was given the status of a separate gate. Later the British demolished the city gates and the huge fortified wall replacing them with the circular garden and the road. Where did the bricks go, you ask? The bricks were used in constructing several other buildings and Railway Station of Lahore is one of them. In early 1900s the British rebuilt the thirteen gates with different architecture from the ones of Mughal era, and these new gates are what we have now in this city. Few gates were burnt and few collided with the passage of time and at present we have only six of them. Out of these the only Mughal era gate is the Roshnai Darwaza which is next to the Samadhi of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh.

You must be thinking that if this city was a house to so many nobles and royals why does it have tiny and narrow streets? Well, these tiny narrow winding streets were made for defensive function as well as for neighbourhood system. As you pass through the gates you will notice the streets getting narrower, and passages turning into a labyrinth. This is how the then town planners kept the city safe from attackers. Today even, if you are in the city you will be lost but another interesting thing is that all the streets are linked up in a strange network and make you find your way somehow. If you enter through one gate, you can easily walk towards the next gate.

Aside from being a city of gates and streets, one interesting feature of this city is the Havelis. Haveli is a mansion with historical and architectural significance. The word haveli is derived from Arabic Havali and Persian ‘hawli”, meaning ‘a huge enclosed place’. The concept of Haveli goes back to the primitive times and the Havelis we see today inside the Walled City are of the Sikh era. Historic references say that during the British Rule, while the reconstruction and uplifting of the city was in process, much of the Mughal architecture was damaged and later on some met ill fate because of ruthless floods. The Sikhs rebuilt the Havelis and adopted certain features of the Mughal Architecture.

The huge havelis like Dina Nath Haveli, Mian Sultan Haveli, Nau Nehal Singh Haveli, Yusaf Sallahuddin Haveli, Dhyna Singh Haveli, Lal Haveli, Bej Nath Haveli, Mian Khan Haveli, Shamsher Singh Haveli, Chunna Mandi Haveli and many more are the jewels of the Walled City Lahore.

Now let me give you another interesting fact about this exceptional city. This city has produced many writers, painters, poets and artists. Many big names of this region belonged to walled city Lahore and to name a few we have Dr. Muhammad Allama Iqbal, Rafi Singer, Sir Ganga Ram, Madam Noor Jehan, Shah Hussain, Ustad Daman, Molana Zafar Ali Khan, Hamid Ali Khan, Gamma Pehalwan, Agha Hashar Kashmiri, Mustansar Hussain Tarar, Imtiaz Ali Taj, Nadra Begum, Judge Muhammad Latif, Hakim Shuja, Fasih Ul Mulk, Daag Dehlvi, Faqir Syed Azizuddin, Faqir Syed Noor ud din, Syed Nazir Hussain Nazir Lakhnavi, Maulvi Ahmed Din, Khawaja Khurshid Anwar, Abdul Hafiz Kardar and many others. These have been associated or lived inside these giant gates. The houses of these personalities are still seen in different alleys and narrow streets of the city.

It also has been a masterpiece of design that the city planners of today look upon with admiration and reverence. The open spaces, havelis, monuments, gardens, bazaars and festivals are the essence of the city. We have the world class monuments inside this city of wonders. Lahore Fort, Shahi Hammam, Wazir Khan Mosque, Badshahi Mosque, Mariam Zamani Mosque, Neevin Masjid, Samadhi of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, Janam Asthan Guru Arjun Ram, Oonchi Masjid, Golden Mosque, Minar-e-Pakistan and many more are the soul and spirit of walled city of Lahore. The World’s largest picture wall is also in this city. Here you will also see two hundred years old water reservoir still functioning.

Another part of the old Lahore comprises the ancient bazaars. This is a city which has almost twenty huge markets and some of them are the biggest in Asia. Akbari Mandi, Pakistan Cloth Market, Sheikhupurian Bazaar, Moti Bazaar, Kinari Bazaar, Kasera Bazaar, Waan Market, Bangle Market, Shah Almi Bazaar, fish market, birds market, Pappar Mandi, Sarafa Bazaar and many more are now the whole sale hubs of Pakistan and Asia. It was this Akbari Mandi that became the root of British East India Company. Most of these bazaars are ages old and belong to Mughal or Sikh eras. When we talk about Mandi we cannot forget the famous Heera Mandi and the red light area associated with it. A Lahnga Mandi is also found near the red light district where musical instruments are sold.

How can we forget food when we are describing the city of Lahore and that too Old Lahore? This place is the center of recipes, enticing food, different delicacies and traditional drinks. Pathoora, Qatlama, Das Qulcha, Khatai, Phajja Paye, Taj Mahal, Jeddaa Lassi, Arif Chatkhara, Fahim Lassi, Tariq Bong and many other food spots exist here since ages. The traditional drinks like Sardai, Lassi, Elaichi Sharbat, Sandal etc are still served to guests inside Walled City and trust me the fizzy drinks could not make their way into these streets and hearts of the people.

Neighbourhood system is out class inside Walled City Lahore, you will feel safe here. This is a place where everyone knows who is coming in and going out of the city, what’s cooking next door, who is in pain or grief and the best part is the religious harmony. We see everyone mourning in Muharram, celebrating Eid and Christmas, and many other traditional festivities and occasions are still celebrated there. The Hazri of Arwah (visits of good spirits) adds to the mysticism of this city. Inside the houses there are corners where the good spirits come and stay. In every street a shrine (darbar) is seen and this is what adds to the mysticism of this city.

Imagine the wonders and marvels Old City holds within it. This city cannot be described in one piece as there is so much hidden there. It’s a city of wonders, monuments, food, shopping and what not. This place is Lahore’s cultural heritage soul and spirit.

The writer is a media professional and can be reached at heritagechroniclestq@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, February 15^th 2018.