Daily Times

Padhana Haveli might be sounding new to you but it is an old piece of heritage located near Bamabanwala-Ravi-Bedian (BRB) Link Canal and very close to the running border between India and Pakistan.

Padhana is the last village on Pakistan side directly facing the prominent Indian town Naushehra across the border and one while being at Padhana can look at India clearly. Before Partition, this was also a Hindu and Sikh populated area but most of them migrated from this place.

Reaching the village is not that difficult but the way to the haveli is a little tricky. However, you can ask the locals about it and they will guide you to it. The haveli is located inside a narrow street and people are living in it but unfortunately the real parts of the haveli have fallen apart and the residents had to build new structures to live there but I am glad they have not abandoned the place.

Upon reaching the place and enquiring about the way to the haveli, the locals started telling me different tales about it. The haveli had been a complex of residential quarters and a court of the magistrate. The court doesn’t exist now and the residential quarters also lie in ruin, but it is nevertheless an enchanting place. The family residences have moved to a partitioned corner, in a complex that has been rebuilt.

According to the owners of the Padhana Haveli, this place was of the Padhana Sikh Sardars, Sardar Jawala Singh Sandhu, who belonged to the same village. It is also said that they were the Sandhu Jatts, one of the oldest Sardars in the Punjab and Sardar Jawala Singh was a commander in the Sikh Army and fought alongside Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa. The Eldest Sister of Rani Jind Kaur (Empress of Punjab) was married to the Sardar Jawala Singh of Padhana.

It is said that Sardar Jawala Singh had laid out an extensive garden midway between Lahore and the Badami Bagh, which became the Maharaja`s favourite resort and he often held his court there and received foreign dignitaries. Jawala Singh of Padhana died in 1835.

Sandhu Sardar’s of Padhana held high posts in Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army and court and the family was an esteemed one among the Sikh community of that time. The Sandhu Sardar’s of Padhana were extremely powerful till the partition of 1947. If we go back into the history of this area we get to know that Padhana had a large number of Sikh Sardars from 18th Century-20th Century living there and most of them migrated at the time of partition. Despite the partition and leaving of the natives the astounding haveli stands there but derelict and dilapidated and is being used for cattle.

The haveli which has been built with small bricks is standing strong but surely needs attention for restoration and I am sure that if it is restored it can be a beautiful site of tourism for the locals and the Sikh Yatrees who come to Lahore. This place can also become a part of tour for the Sikhs who visit Lahore for the Yatra. If we keep ignoring the precious pieces of history then one day Lahore, the heritage hub, will have no more heritage.

Now let me take you to this marvellous haveli hidden from the eyes of the people. Trust me that this haveli far from the eyes and attention of authorities is a beautiful extravagant and grand structure. While one is standing in this haveli, the glory and majesty of the old times can be visualised. The bricks and construction of the haveli still reflects the splendour and power which once existed in its structures.

Upon reaching the place and enquiring about the way to the haveli, the locals started telling me different tales about it. The haveli had been a complex of residential quarters and a court of the magistrate. The court doesn’t exist now and the residential quarters also lie in ruin, but it is nevertheless an enchanting place

You will be able to see the love and aesthetics of the artisans in every nook and corner of this haveli and I am sure that it would not have been less than the haveli of Noori Haveli, Nau Nehal Singh or Dhyan Singh which are located inside the walled city of Lahore.

The building of this haveli is a Mughal and Sikh structure and construction and resembles a lot with the havelis of Sikh era existing in the old Lahore, but as this haveli could not grab attention of the authorities therefore it is continuously crumbling. It’s a three storey structure which has been built of Nanak Shahi bricks according to the residents. Nanak Shahi bricks were the decorative bricks used for structural walls during the Mughal era and continued in the Sikh era as well and are said to be a standard of richness in old structures. If we talk about the Nanak Shahi it can be said that this structure might have been of the Mughal times and could have been altered in the Sikh eras. The locals and the residents also endorsed the fact and said that it existed since the times of Mughal Emperor Akbar.

Similarly the architects say that this haveli seems to be an amalgamation of Mughal and Sikh styled buildings. The domes, squared top pavilions on the corner towers, bricked arches running parallel on multi-story structures and the paired pilasters give the building a real Mughal touch. The main building unit is the red burnt brick with the typical lime plaster of old times and these materials have been using since the Mughal times and Sikhs carried it on.

With continuous neglect and aging the structure of the haveli is now colliding and I am afraid that one day it might not get disappeared especially the brilliantly constructed old historic parts. You will see cows in some parts of the havelis and many structures have already fallen apart. Some places inside the haveli are being used as debris dump yard.

If this haveli is preserved, it can be a marvellous tourist spot and can attract Sikh Yatrees as well. The family currently residing in the haveli should also do something for its preservation but more importantly, the government should declare it as ‘protected property’ and begin work for its preservation.

The writer can be reached at taniashahab2016@gmail.com