Daily Times

You might have often heard of Chunna Mandi Girls School & College or the Government Fatima Jinnah College for Women inside Masti Gate of the Walled City Lahore but did you know it is a beautiful complex of three havelis hidden in the maze like streets of the congested Walled City of Lahore.

If you wish to reach there, Chuna Mandi complex is located between Chuna Mandi Road, Moti Bazaar Road and Jamadaran Street inside Walled City and the easiest approach is from the Masti Gate. Let me tell you that it is the largest Haveli inside walled city which has retained its originality till today and is now being used as a Government Fatima Jinnah College for Women.

So today, let us start our journey to this place.

The site where now stands the haveli Chunna Mandi which includes the havelis of Jamadar Khushal Singh, as well as that of Teja Singh is said to be among one of the two sites where originally stood the haveli of Asif Khan, the brother of Empress Noor Jahan and father-in-law of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. According to historians it was the place where Mughal emperor Akbar also stayed before the Lahore Fort was rebuilt by him with burnt bricks. Looking at its structure and built some of the architects also claim that this Haveli dates back to the 17th century in the period of Mughal Emperor Jahangir when Asif Khan also known as Asif Jah was appointed as Governor of Lahore by Jahangir in 1625. There are various references in history about the construction of this Haveli, some of them relate to Asif Khan while some of the historian also documented Dhiyan Singh and Khushal Singh.

Let me clarify something here about this masterpiece haveli. Most of the people attribute this haveli to Raja Dhian Singh Dogra but it is not so, and his haveli is close to Said Meetha Bazaar which can be approached from the Heera Mandi Chowk and Peer Naugaza.

It is a proven fact that this complex of havelis belonged to Jamadar Khushal Singh and his family, with smaller portions added by his nephew Teja Singh. It is also said in historic accounts that Jamadar Khushal Singh spent Rs 20 lakh to build the magnificent haveli. According to historic references Jamadar Khushal Singh built this Haveli in 1820, and many houses of the locals were demolished and taken over compellingly in the process but he did not live to see the end of it and died in 1844.

Jamadar Khushal Singh was a Gaur Brahmin of village Akari Pargana of Meerath and his father was Hargobind. Khushal Singh joined the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh as an ordinary sepoy in Samvat 1864 and was placed in Dhaunkal Singh battalion. Seeing his muscular built Maharaja Ranjit Singh once commented that Khushal Singh was a Sikh. Hearing about Maharaja’s wish, Khushal Singh grew his hair long and became a Sikh, thus he became Khushal Singh from Khushal Ram. Gradually he attained the position of Jamadar of the vestibule of Maharaja and later got the title of Raja. Khushal Singh died in 1844 AD in Lahore and his Samadhi was built in his own garden, outside Masti gate.

Now let me tell you a little of Tej Singh or Teja Singh who was a Sikh commander in the Sikh Empire. Teja Singh was the nephew of Jamadar Kushal Singh. Teja Singh was appointed as Commander in chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army during the First Anglo-Sikh War. Teja Singh was a traitor and betrayed Maharaja Ranjeet Singh’s sons, joined hands with Dhiyan Singh and later attained his privileges by joining the British. That is why Teja Singh is known as a traitor in history. While studying about this complex of havelis I came across an interesting fact that For quite some time the people of walled city Lahore called this set of three havelis as ‘Ghadaaran di Pand’ which means a stack of traitors.

The main haveli in the complex is of Jamadar Khushal Singh and close to it is a smaller haveli which was built by Teja Singh. The third structure, located on the east of the cluster, is a much later addition. Near Chunna Mandi Haveli complex you will also see the Gurdwara Janam Asthan Sri Guru Ram Das. According to Sikh History it was here that one of the holiest portions of the Guru Granth Sahib was created and thus this haveli is strongly connected with the Sikhs and their Gurus.

Most of the people attribute this haveli to Raja Dhian Singh Dogra but it is not so. His haveli is close to Said Mitha Bazaar, which can be approached from the Heera Mandi Chowk and Peer Naugaza

When the British came to Punjab the haveli was converted in to the first public worship place for the Christian soldiers and army men placed in the Lahore fort. The Haveli served for this till 1851 when the new cantonment was being planned at Mian Mir.

As per historic accounts it is said that after independence the building was taken over by the Custodian of Refugee Properties. Luckily it became a part of Pakistan after independence. From the early 1950’s it was used by the Central Investigation Agency of the Punjab Police, but it was handed over to Education Department in 1986. Initially it was suggested to be demolished but this was stopped later. In 1986, PM of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif announced the building to be used for establishment of a girls’ college.

As you reach this giant haveli you will see that there are two main majestic entrances of this haveli. One entrance from Chuna Mandi Road and the second is from the Jamadaran Street. These entrances further lead to the main entrance of the haveli which opens into a huge spacious courtyard and garden. There are buildings on all four sides of these open spaces and another gate that takes you into the grand courtyard.

This haveli is unique because of its huge courtyard and an interesting architecture which is a blend of Mughal and Sikh architecture styles. It is obvious from the present state of this building that it has undergone several alterations especially when it was converted into a school. On the eastern side of the courtyard of the haveli as you enter, you will see the haveli of Asif Jah which is Mughal architecture. There are some Sikh alterations in it but largely it reflects the Mughal structure. You will see that this structure has very high and thick fort like walls, lower portion has very high ceilings but the upper portion was built later by Raja Teja Singh’s brother after the death of Khushal Singh. Architecture style of this portion is a mixture of British and Sikh style of architecture with beautiful terraced verandas and from the roof of this building one can get a good view of Lahore Fort and even Minar e Pakistan.

On the western side of the courtyard is another Mughal period structure with wooden ceilings, marvellously festooned columns and walls covered with frescoes.

If you roam around the place you will notice classrooms on three sides. You will see huge gardens which are a play ground for the girls studying there, mind blowing jharokas, beautiful arches, intricately decorated rooms, uniquely carved doors and ceilings. The Sikh era rooms are still having the beautiful fresco work in them. The Jharokas of the haveli that was with Asif Jah are still intact and one can look at them for hours. The captivating panoramic views of arched corridors and verandas would surely mesmerize you and I am sure one can sit for hours in those corridors, and you will see the students enjoying this vista.

Now come to the rooftop of the building from where you will have a panorama of the Lahore fort, Badshahi Masjid and Minar-e-Pakistan.

The Sikh period structure has the veranda like grand hall in the centre with round decorated columns. There are rooms inside the veranda and on the side of veranda.

The southern side of the complex, according to historians, was almost demolished and rebuilt but on the same patterns of the original one and thus it looks like a Sikh structure.

From the façade to the rooms, ceilings, fresco, decorative items, doors and carvings, it seems that the owner spent a lot of money and mind on its construction and must have had engaged the best artisans of that era. It is good that instead of being locked it remained in used but it is not a tourist spot.

At one time in the past this haveli was used for state events and Basant but now a tourist cannot enter the haveli without a long list of approvals because of the security reasons. This place should be converted into a tourist spot as well along with the school and maybe a ticket can be imposed on it. There should be guided tour of this place and history plaques should also be placed there for the visitors. I hope one day we get to see this haveli opened for the tourists.

The writer can be reached at taniashahab2016@gmail.com