Daily Times

Not many of us know about this enigmatic basement hidden under the huge antique structures of Lahore Fort. Despite your several visits to this heritage site, you might have ignored a real gem hidden underneath the charismatic Sheesh Mahal. This is the summer palace of Lahore Fort, which is actually the basement of Sheesh Mahal. Sheesh Mahal has two openings that lead to the summer palace. You can make your way to this amazing and mesmerising piece of history while going up from elephant stairs of Lahore Fort. A tiny wooden door will be on your left from where you can access this masterpiece, but presently it is closed for public. If you wish to take a tour you need to get a tourist guide from Lahore Fort. Of course, the hidden private chambers of the kings and queens cannot be a public spot. The palace is built in maze like structure and once you enter into it you will lose your way. It’s an interesting built, I must admit.

If we get into the history of this palace, historical records tell that it was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a summer house for the Royal families. He built it along with the Sheesh Mahal. Being a summer chamber, the astonishing feature of the palace is its ventilation systems. I haven’t seen such a scientific construction anywhere. You would be surprised to know that the place remains cold during the scorching summer heat and humidity and warm during the freezing winters. You must be wondering why I called it the secret chamber, well the maze like basement having entrances to tunnel like openings suggest that it was also the secret escape route of the royal families. In case of an attack, the royal females and children would make their way out of the fort through these tunnels which led to the River Ravi. At that time, River Ravi used to flow close to Lahore Fort and the basement was built according to the escaping needs in those times. Historians say that the boats for the royal family were parked near the palace and in case of any attack they could escape through these tunnels.

The palace is built in maze-like structure and once you enter into it you will lose your way. The maze-like basement having entrances to tunnel-like openings suggest that it served as the secret escape route for the royal families

A tourist guide of Lahore Fort took me to this stunning basement and told me several stories associated with it. The summer palace and Sheesh Mahal were known as jewel palaces in 1631 because of their embellished structures and features. Summer Palace was also known as Pari Mahal (Fairy Palace) during the Mughal era and later. With the passage of time the place lost its worth as it was closed and severely damaged during the Sikh and British rules.

The unique system to which the guide introduced me was the acoustics of the palace. It is built in a style which provides an unexpected echo system. If one is standing in any corner and whispers, it would be clearly heard by the other one standing in a different corner of the palace. Well this was the spy system that was built by the Mughals and the guards could listen to all the gossips and would inform the King. The guide gave interesting facts about the cold flooring of this palace. Actually, beneath the upper floor was another one and between the two floors a sewerage system was laid through which the water of river Ravi ran and kept the floors cold in summers. These were special channels of water and did not harm the foundations of the building. So how was the palace warm during a winter, that’s another interesting feature! It is said that the water was heated and then sent through the water channels under the floor.

In some arches and chambers of this palace, the original fresco work is still intact. It is said by historians that the palace was ornamented with silver, gold and fresco paintings. Now let me tell you another breathtaking fact about this palace. The ceilings of this palace have no iron or wooden beams or even the cement, rather those were made of grams; white lentils, clay, jiggery, eggs, dried grass, lime plaster and small bricks ( the ones found in all Mughal monuments). This mortar worked like glue keeping the small bricks intact and the place cold and also helped in preventing the place from insects.

Like many Mughal era buildings, this summer palace also has a mezzanine floor which, according to the Fort guides, was the private chamber of the King. Like we watch in the movies, the King used that room to look at the movement of state enemies and the troops. If you roam around in this palace, you will see some hollow squares in the floor — these were the fountains. It is said that there were forty two water cascades and fountain systems inside the Summer Place but none of them is functional now. Scents and rose water was mixed in water channels so that the palace remained perfumed and would give a romantic aura. The fountains were made from the expensive stones imported from other countries. The palace was also decorated with the intricate marble inlay work known as ‘pietra dura’. A well, for provision of fresh water, was also made inside the summer palace which is all dried up now. I did see the marks of all these things but with the Mughal glory the splendor of the palace has all came to an end. All the embellishments and ornaments were stolen during the riots and conquests. Whenever there was an attack on Lahore Fort this palace was also victimised.

Now what we see there are only remains but the walls and aura of the palace reflect the magnificence and grandeur of the past. Imagine the royals sitting in there with their silk flowing gowns and jeweled crowns, I wish we were there to see that beauty and charisma.

Published in Daily Times, April 11^th 2018.