Why I Love Lahore

Anisha Motwani

This article was originally published in The Huffington Post

Child lost in his thoughts

I am a voracious traveller and have had the good fortune of visiting about 40 to 50 cities across continents in the last two decades. Whether it is Naukuchiatal or New York, Periyar or Paris, Delhi or Denmark, I have enjoyed and celebrated each of my travels with equal zest, always discovering something unique and special about the place. And it’s never been about the facilities or the comforts, as much as it is about the energy and attitude of the place and its people.

So for someone like me, an opportunity to officially visit Lahore — to speak at the prestigious Women Leadership Forum organized by Nutshell & AIMA — came like a blessing in disguise, as Pakistan is one country that most Indians wouldn’t consider for a pleasure trip. I was delighted at the thought of visiting our closest neighbour and the birthplace of my parents. Finally, I thought, I’d be able to bring some life into their stories about Pakistan as a haven of large houses, warmth and camaraderie before the lines of geography came in the way of humankind. My mother would reminisce about her father’s cinema hall, named Lakshmi in a small town near Sindh, and my mom-in-law still talks with yearning about their 22-room haveli with its badminton court.

Photo of the Day: Risala Gali Old Anarkali

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Photos via Maria Waseem @maaria_waseem

The famed Purani Anarkali

 

A classic painting of
Purani Anarkali, Lahore

Anarkali: Books Bazaar

 

Photo Courtesy :  Shiraz Hassan

 

 

 

The splendours of Anarkali (Lahore)

Thanks to Isa, I have found this video. A must see for all those who can understand Punjabi and appreciate the nuances of Lahore and its magic. The poem is entitled Tu ki janay bholiyae majay anarkali diyan shanan. This is a humourous poem in an earthy tone using folklore.

Old Lahore, old books

Posted by Raza Rumi

Darwaish

I grew up in Androon Shehr (old city) of Lahore in the 1980s.

Most of my childhood and teenage years were spent in my Nana Jan’s house located at Lodge Road in Old Anarkali. It was an old but large house, left by a Hindu migrant family, located inside a narrow street of hundreds of years old neighborhood with Jain Mandir (when it existed) just two blocks away and Mall Road merely a ten minutes walk.

Nana used to tell us that Gayan Chand, the head of that Hindu family, spent three long years building this house and it was a strange twist of fate that finally when it got completed in 1947 and he was just about to move in, partition took place. Not only did he lose his newly built house but he also had to flee the city where his forefathers had lived for centuries. Just like Nana

Ahata Madhu Ram in Lahore – another case of neglect

Ahata Madhuram losing importance due to authorities’ neglect

By Ali Usman

LAHORE: Ahata Madhu-ram (Madhu-ram Compound) is an old site of archaeological importance situated in Old Anarkali’s Food Street. However, it has been losing its grandeur due to the negligence of the authorities concerned.

The ahata is more than 150 years old and has historic structures. Few people recognise it through its original name, as now it is popularly known as Butta Da Ahata (The Compound of Butts). A side lane of the Food Street leads into the ahata. Once the ahata used to have a wooden gate, which has now been replaced by a concrete gate. The structure of the wooden gate resembled the gates of the Walled City.

The corridor of the compound opens into a courtyard around which houses have been built in a circle. Around 17 families reside in the ahata, mostly Kashmiris who settled in it after 1947, when houses were allotted to them. The walls of the corridor have holes in which earthen-lamps could be found, when the ahata did not have electricity, as it is situated outside the city, resident Muhammad Anwar told Daily Times.