The
last gate on our list and the 13th gate of Old Lahore is The Roshnai Gate, (the
Gate of Lights), located between the Lahore Fort and the Badshahi Mosque. As
the gate was one of the main entrances into the city, it was constantly visited
by Omerahs (elite), courtiers, royal servants and retinues. In the evenings,
the gate was lit up, hence its name. The gate was also referred to as the ‘Gate
of Splendour’. It is the only gate which is in good condition and retains its
original look. Roshnai Gate has extraordinary height and width because it was
designed for the passage of the Emperor’s caravan of elephants.
Hazuri
Bagh is a garden bounded by the Lahore Fort (East side), Badshahi Mosque (West
side), the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh (North side) and the Roshnai Gate (South
side). In the center stands the Hazuri Bagh Baradari, built by Ranjit Singh.
This garden is a small enclosed space between the Alamgiri Gate of the Fort and
the Eastern gate of Badshahi Mosque. This garden was planted by Maharajah
Ranjit Singh in 1813 to celebrate the capture of the famous Koh-i-Noor Diamond
from Shah Shujah of Afghanistan. The garden was planned and built under the
supervision of Faqir Azizuddin.
After
the completion of this garden, Maharajah Ranjit Singh, at the suggestion of
Jamadar Khushhal Singh, ordered that marble be removed from various mausoleums
of Lahore to assemble a baradari (pavilion) here. This mission was given to
Khalifa Nooruddin. Elegant carved marble pillars support the baradari’s
delicate cusped arches. The central area, where Ranjit Singh held court, has a
mirrored ceiling. Both the garden and the baradari —- originally 45 feet
suffered extensive damage during the fratricidal Sikh wars and was only
reclaimed and laid out according to the original plan during the British
period. On 19 July 1932, the uppermost story collapsed and was never
reconstructed, (thanks to our authorities). In the early ‘90s, every Sunday
afternoon people gathered in this garden to hear the recitation of traditional
Punjabi Qaffi (poetry), such as Heer Ranjha and Sassi Punnun, and other Punjabi
Sufi poetry. However, now the government has fenced the garden just to preserve
the remains of this historical place. However they have failed to preserve the
culture. It’s like my theory; a mad dog can bite only the pedestrian not the
cars.
Within
the garden, on the right is the grave of Sir Sikandar Hayat and on the left is
the tomb of Doctor Allama Muhammad Iqbal. And my friends! We all know this
great man; our national poet, a man who mastered the magic of instilling life
into dead hearts through his words. Today ‘our blind garden’ needs this
magician more than ever.
The
Badshahi Mosque or the ‘Emperor’s Mosque’, was built in 1673 by the Mughal
Emperor Aurangzeb. It is one of the city’s best known landmarks, and a major
tourist attraction, epitomising the beauty and grandeur of the Mughal era.
Capable of accommodating over 55,000 worshippers, it is the second biggest
mosque in Pakistan, after the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad. The architecture and
design of the Badshahi mosque is closely related to the Jamaih Masjid in Delhi,
which was built in 1648 by Aurangzeb’s father and Shah Jahan.
The
mosque was built under the patronage of the sixth Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb
Alamgir. It was completed in 1673 under the supervision of Aurangzeb’s foster
brother Muzaffar Hussain (also known as Fidaie Khan Koka) who was appointed
Governor of Lahore in May 1671 and held this post until 1675. He was also
Master of Ordinance to the Emperor. The construction of the mosque took about
two years from May 1671 to April 1673. The mosque was built opposite the Lahore
Fort, illustrating its stature in the Mughal Empire. In conjunction with the
building of the mosque, a new gate was built at the fort, named Alamgiri Gate
after the Emperor.
From 1852
onwards, piecemeal repairs were carried out under the supervision of the
Badshahi Mosque Authority. Extensive repairs were carried out from 1939 to 1960
at a cost of about 4.8 million rupees, which brought the mosque to its original
shape and condition. The blueprint for the repairs was prepared by the late
architect Nawab Zen Yar Jang Bahadur.
On
the occasion of the second Islamic Summit held at Lahore on February 22, 1974,
thirty-nine heads of Muslim states offered their Friday prayers in the Badshahi
Masjid, led by Maulana Abdul Qadir Azad, the ‘Khatib’ of the mosque.
Recently
a small museum has also been added to the mosque complex. It contains relics of
the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), his cousin Hazrat Ali (RA) and grand sons
of the Prophet, Hazrat Imam-e-Hussain and Hassan and his daughter, Hazrat
Fatima Zahra.
Gurdawara Dera
Saab:
When
one visits a Sikh Temple or Gurdwara the Granth Saab, forms the main part of
the Deera Saab. Their Holy Book is placed on a raised platform and covered in
finery. The platform is always covered by an ornate canopy. The original text
of the Granth is written in the Gurmukhi script and contains many languages
including Punjabi, Sanskrit and Persian. The text comprises over 5000 Shabhads
or hymns which are poetically constructed and set to the classical form of
music of Ragas and the beat of talas (the beats of classical music) and
according to Sikh belief it has a definite message for the whole of humanity.
Every month of April, Deera Saab becomes active in organising the Besakhi
festival. Deera Saab is the third biggest gurdwara in Pakistan and a place of
great religious significance. It was here at that the fifth Guru of the Sikh
religion, Guru Arjan Dev, was martyred in 1606 AD. Deera saab is also famous
for the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh, (the mausoleum of the Sikh ruler Maharaja
Ranjit Singh). The mausoleum was initiated by his son Kharak Singh on the spot
where he was cremated, and was completed by Dalip Singh in 1848. The tomb is a
splendid example of Sikh architecture, with gilded fluted domes and cupolas and
an ornate balustrade round the top. The marble inside was taken from various
Mughul monuments in Lahore. Ranjit Singh’s ashes are contained in a marble urn
in the shape of a lotus, sheltered under a marble pavilion inlaid with pietra
dura in the centre of the tomb. Other tiny urns contain the ashes of his four
wives and seven concubines who threw themselves on his funeral pyre. These urns
were removed from the marble pavilion and were replaced by a simple slab around
1999. This desecration of the mausoleum was part of the preparations for the
Khalsa Tricentenary and the visit of Sikh dignitaries from India. The Samadhi
was damaged by the earthquake in October 2005. Two small monuments to the west
of the main mausoleum commemorate Ranjit Singh’s son Kharak Singh and grandson
Nau Nihal Singh, and their wives.
The
Lahore Fort, locally known as Shahi Qila, the majestic edifice is the result of
many centuries’ work. Historically speaking, the earliest reference to the Fort
comes in the history of Lahur (Lahore) compiled by Al-Biruni, which refers to a
fort constructed in the early 11th century. Munshi Sujan Rae Bhandar, author of
the Khulasa-tut-Tawarikh records that Malik Ayaz, a deputy of Sultan Mahmud,
built a masonry fort at Lahore and reestablished the city. It is generally
believed that present Lahore Fort is the same fort, which was damaged by the
Mongols in 1241 and again in 1398 it was ravaged by Timur’s army, then rebuilt
in 1421 by Sayyid, son of Khizr Khan. The Fort was extensively refurbished,
extended and upgraded during the Mughal era. This is why it is rightly
certified as one of the gems of the Mughal civilization. Emperor Jalal ud Din,
Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb all added to it. During Sikh Period,
Ranjit Singh added several pavilions on the upper ramparts. Some modifications
to the Fort were made during the British period beginning in 1846 for housing
facilities for colonial functions. Those modifications have been reverted and
efforts made to bring the Fort back in its pre-1846 appearance. However, now we
have reserved the Fort for musical performances, fashion shows and self
proclaimed cultural promotional shows.
I would like to
end this tour with a line from TS Eliot:
‘I will show you
fear in a handful of dust.’
