Right
after Sheranwala Gate in clockwise order there is Yakki Gate; this gate is
famous for its havelies and temples. Join me for a walk through this gloroius
gate. All I want is for you to comprehend the present situation of this
historical city by understanding its past, and through that, help contribute to
a better future.
The
Yakki gate, originally known as Zaki Gate, is said to be named after a martyred
saint, who according to legend, fell fighting against the Tataraies who once
invaded Lahore. Zaki Pir fought them with great courage and bravery. During the
battle he got decapitated near the gate but his body kept on fighting for some
time even without the head and finally fell in a quarter of the city some
distance away from the gate. One tomb of this great saint is said to be built
where his head fell and the other tomb where his body collapsed. Both are
revered by the faithful of this soil. People from all over the country come
here and pays tribute to this brave man.
Apart
from this brave saint Yakki Gate is famous for its beautiful but
semi-demolished havelies and temples. Unlike the last three gates this very one
was primarily a residential area. There are small shops, mostly run by the
immigrants from the Frontier Province and Afghanistan (Pathans). Historically
speaking, the people from the royal courts of the Mughals used to live here in
their beautiful havelies. Now, most of these havelies have vanished from the
face of the Walled City. Along with the old style buildings and small, tiled
houses, there are modern abodes too and there is the sky high building of Nawaz
Sharif Hospital. On the face of it would
seem that this hospital, like Mayo Hospital, is a blessing for the residents of
the Walled City after Mayo Hospital but Waste Disposal is the biggest problem
over here. We are the kind of people who only want to move forward by hook or
by crook. We progress at the cost of leaving a trail of mountains of garbage.
In short we might say that we produce the source to spread diseases and after
that we make hospitals and receive a round of applause from the patients and
locality.
Let’s
get back to our Yakki Gate. I was talking about the havelies. Haveli Mian
Sultan, Haveli Alf Shah, Haveli Nadir Wali, Lal Haveli and Haveli Raja Endar Naat
are the remaining havelies of the Walled City situated in Yakki Gate. Most of
these havelies are turned into the katries (a common dwelling place of more
then one family). Haveli Mian Sultan was owned by Mian Sultan the founder of
Lahore Railway station. Nowadays this haveli is being used as a residence by a
family. Haveli Alf Shah of the Mughal era is now an Imam Bargha. A big part of
the Haveli Nadir Wali has been demolished and the remaining section has been
turned into a house with a little modification. Lal Haveli is a beautiful piece
of architecture which was gifted by Raja Ranjit Singh to his munshi Gulab
Chand. Currently the once magnificent Lal Haveli is in a particularly
deplorable condition. It is still standing, but it’s hard to imagine that a
building can deteriorate to this condition, with walls cracked and
semi-blackened, broken stucco and portions collapsed. Haveli Raja Endar Naat is
now called the Katri Raja Endar Naat.
The
temples of the area have now vanished from the scene or maybe have been turned
into houses. Luckily I found one but I failed to be able to trace its whole
history because of the hostile welcome I received from the resident. He did not
want to talk to me because he thought I was from the revenue department. So I
tactfully moved on. Further I was quite stunned to see a building just like the
leaning tower of Pisa. Italy is lucky to have a wonder of the world, but we’ll
be very unlucky if we do not remove this dangerous structure from there. All I
want to say is that the situation in these narrow lanes and streets is quite
dangerous. They are open invitations to hazards like fire or short circuits of
the electrical wires overhead and there is always the threat of some venerable
old building falling down.
Yakki
Gate, like all the other gates, needs our attention, not only to make it safe
to live in but also worth looking at. This is one of the heritages of the
world. We should preserve it. It is very strange that hundred years ago when
people did not have modern devices and a consciousness of preserving our
historical character, they managed to run such a big city fairly
satisfactorily, but we with all our scientific and space age technology have
failed to maintain it?
