There
are thirteen gates around the inner city of Lahore, all these gates have their own history and specific
lifestyles. These are thirteen different but complete worlds surrounded by a
wall in a universe named Lahore.
Let’s visit the
first world in clockwise order: ‘Masti Gate’, located just behind the Lahore
Fort. The name ‘Masti’ is a corruption of the word ‘Masjidi’ (mosque). A few
steps from the entrance is located what is said to be the oldest surviving
mosque in the city, the Mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum, who was the sister of
Raja Bhagwan Das, the mother of the fourth Mughal ruler Jahangir. Her mosque
was completed in 1614. This brick structure is celebrated for two very
important features: the double domes with which the prayer chamber is crowned
and the exquisite fresco paintings on the interior surface. The mosque’s
dimensions are 135.5 by 127.5 feet, and it is compared with paradise in a
Persian inscription on its northern gateway. Like other Mughal mosques in
Lahore, it has no garden courtyard, but it does have exquisite floral fresco
decorations that remind one of the vegetal imagery associated with the gardens
of paradise. This mosque is also known as the Masjid Begum Shahi.
The
unfortunate story of this gate is that it is one of those that were demolished
by the British, during the Raj. The remaining wall of the gate can still be
seen right before the police station of ‘Masti Gate’. At the entrance there is
a big shoe market called ‘Motti Bazaar’. This huge wholesale shoe market
connects ‘Masti Gate’ with ‘Kashmiri Bazaar’. The one most important thing
about ‘Masti Gate’ is the Havali of Asif Jah, brother of Noor Jahan and
brother-in-law of Emperor Jehangir,. This Havali was used as a jail during the
colonial rule, but now it is a college for women, established by the Ex-Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif, and sometimes also an exclusive party venue for the
elite, apart from being a major tourist attraction. A little ahead of it is a
temple called ‘Mai Ka Mandar,’ which is now used as a dwelling place by a score
of homeless families.
Once
you have entered the gate, it’ll be an injustice not to meet its residents. One
can never feel the true essence of a place, without getting to know the people
there. Do try the special recipe for
‘murgh chaanay’ in this area, from anyone of the innumerable and various dhaabas
scattered around ‘Motti Bazaar’.
On
one side of the gate there are huge six to seven story high plazas with people
earning tons of both black and white money, and at the same time just around
the corner are people who don’t have enough to buy a decent meal. For example,
in the shadow of a grotesque plaza there lies a poor man’s home which consists
of just three walls. Right before the entrance of that ragged gate you can see
cars costing millions of Rupees parked. People from all over Pakistan come here
to invest money in dubious ventures that can instantly double their money,
because of the poor law and order situation... However if you point out this
disparity to the natives there, they will give you a rather brave and
nonchalant answer; “Happiness and sorrows walk hand in hand together in life.”
The
rich tradition of the Walled City is still there, but has been tainted by our
confused modernized western culture. Few boys now go to watch Dangal (wrestling
matches), preferring gyms instead. Men no longer wear the traditional lacha
kurta, preferring jeans and shirts. The women too have begun preferring scarves
or duppatas to the traditional burkhas. It’s not just the dressing that has
changed, but also the language too, like merging English with Punjabi
On a brighter
side, the education level has improved, providing equal opportunities for
women, which was a phenomenon unheard of before. It is evident that competing
with the global economy has influenced the culture and tradition of these
people’s way of life. Hopefully once they are more aware and equipped to deal
with a world light years ahead of them, they will be able to strike a better
balance between the old and the new and the good and the bad. For now, we all
know that one has to crawl before one can walk, and sadly the once glorious
gate is currently at that stage. However with the stout hearted attitude its
people show towards life, it seems it might not be too late for them and those
concerned about them, to reduce the deterioration while preserving their
heritage.
