‘Jinaay Lahore nahi Veak'aya......

Recently Hindus fleeing Pakistan was in news. For many it may have brought back memories of leaving their homes, for the unknown. One cannot begin to understand how it feels, not having gone through it. But even reading about the partition can move the most hardened of souls. 

I had the opportunity to travel to Pakistan in better circumstances, as part of an Indian tea delegation to that country. It was really not a part of my beat as Director Tea Promotion, at the Tea Board of India’s office at Dubai. My region was WANA- West Asia and North Africa. However, Pakistan was perhaps more accessible from Dubai than India, and so the task of promoting Indian tea in that country was entrusted to the Dubai office. After all, Pakistan is one of the largest tea consuming countries particularly of the variety that India produces- CTC teas and therefore a very attractive market for us. 

So that is how I found myself organizing a tea delegation to Pakistan in coordination with the Pakistan Tea Association who were our hosts. After exchange of many e-mails and obtaining the visa with great difficulty we were on our way to Lahore. It would not be an exaggeration if I say that visiting Pakistan was one of my dreams, a chance to experience what I had only read about. Come to think of it, once upon a time we were one country, one people. I wanted to see how drawing of boundaries creates differences. 

As an old Punjabi adage goes, ‘Jinaay Lahore nahi Veak'aya oou Jum'aya eei nahi '’ -the one who has not seen Lahore is yet to be born. Lahore was nothing like I had imagined. Wide roads, traditional bazaars, colonial buildings and lots of mughal era remnants, surprisingly, beautifully lit in the nights. The members of the Pakistan tea delegation were as keen to show us around Lahore as we were to see it. 

The Lahore Fort was our first stop, ranked number 1 in the 90 things to do in Lahore by Lonely Planet travelers!! The Fort is a contemporary of Agra Fort with the origins of the fort going as far back as antiquity. However, the existing base structure was built during the reign of Akbar between 1556–1605 and was regularly upgraded by subsequent Mughal, Sikh and British rulers. The Fort and its layout is very similar to the other Mughal Forts in India, including the ‘must have’ Diwan-e-Aam and Diwan-e-Khas. 

It was while reading about the history of the Fort on one of the signposts there, that I learnt that as per legend Lahore was founded by Prince Lav, the son of Rama. Right next to the Fort, is the Samadhi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a beautiful white and gold structure, which was constructed by his sons in 1848, on the spot where he was cremated. The Samadhi is visible from the ramparts of the Fort and near the majestic Badshahi Mosque. 

 

The Badshahi Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world, built by Aurangzeb in 1673, reminded me of our very own Jama Masjid, but was much much bigger…Like Delhi, there is no end to the historical sites which one can visit in Lahore. Managed to squeeze in a few more sites, including the Shalimar gardens built by Shahjahan, but our short stay and work, did not allow more. I just wish I had more time to really explore the city. 

Just behind the Badshai Mosque is an area called the Heera Mandi, the red light area of Lahore. Our hosts took us to a narrow, three storeyed building which is now a restaurant called Coco’s Den. There is an interesting story behind this intriguing place. It was originally a brothel and family home of one of Lahore’s finest painters, Iqbal Hussain who himself hails from a family of singing and dancing women. Hussain now runs Coco’s Den, the restaurant he started to help support his mother and sister who belonged to the trade. Entering the place, one felt as if one had stepped into another world. The red painted walls were adorned with Iqbal Hussein’s intense portraits of courtesans, semi-naked women, old madams and young damsels, as if challenging the morals of the conservative society of Lahore.  

 An antique table with photographs of the family and the painter stood at the foot of the narrow staircase which takes one up to the top floors and terrace. Surprisingly, there were several artifacts and statues of Hindu gods and goddesses used to decorate the place. The old house was a restaurant, a home and a painting gallery all rolled in one. We had reached there at a time when the place was about to close for the night, but managed to catch the breathtaking view of the courtyards of the Badshahi mosque and the Lahore fort both well lit up, from the terrace. The entire ambience of the ancient haveli with hanging jharokhas, the locality which was once alive with dance and music, its location in the old city, with the aesthetically lit badshahi mosque and the Lahore fort at a stones throw, and the silence of the night, took one eons of years back in the imagination…pakeezah..? 

The next night, we landed in The 'Food Street' of Gowalmandi, a must-visit for dinner. The area reminded me of our very own Chandni Chowk with its gallis. This street however, was wider and turned pedestrian in the night, gaily lit with bright colourful lights, lined with nearly a hundred dhabas (tables chairs et al), selling a variety of mouth watering non-veg traditional Lahori fare. The entire atmosphere was festive with families, children and women in colourful clothes thronging the place, enjoying an evening out. After a long time I had the ice chuski (golas of crushed ice on a stick) at one of the stands and the sweetened milk in the earthern kulhar, casting away all my apprehensions of street food. It tasted of my childhood. 

But what was really unique was the surrounding. The Food Street has a row of century old havelis on both its sides. Unlike Chandni Chowk, the havelis are well preserved and still retain their original façade, a subtle lighting illuminating them. There was one with a completely blue façade and other was green, some had huge gateways and there were the arched balconies and wooden blinds. A close look shows the little canopied temple on the roof, images of Hanuman and Ganesh on the entrances and the typical architecture of old Indian homes. 

I wonder whether the people who lived here and migrated in the partition, are still alive and long to see the homes they left behind. One couldn’t escape a feeling of nostalgia. 

Lahore reminded me of Delhi of many many many years back……where one can still see the things we remember of our childhood…which are no longer visible in the modern Delhi. I promised myself, I would go back once again, I had not had enough.