A Taste of Lahore

Clarification:
Dear JamshedNazar Sahib,
``Red brick is the main building material at the Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque, the two most important historic buildings in the city. It was also the material most widely used by the British, and recalls the red sandstone architecture of Mughal Lahore`` ArchNet
Red Brick is actually the main building material of most all North Indian architecture.
The brickwork style preceeds the Mughal Era, and can be seen in India as early as Delhi Sultanates. The Qutb Minar in Delhi is a prime example. The Brickwork is actually a cultural import from central Asia along with the Inclusion of the persian Kashi tiles. eg the cities of Samarkand and Bukhara are good examples. The Mughal tradition of using the brickwork is quite evident in the Shahjahani mosque of Thatta, but that too borrows from the Mausoleum tradition prevalent in Southern Punjab and northern Sindh. The Mughals usually hid their brickwork under sandstone or marble cladding as is noted in Lahore Fort or Baadshahi mosque.

Although I do agree with you that one does see the brickwork patterns used in the walkways of Shalimaar Gardens, Divan-e-Aam, and Jahangiri Mahal used to a gloriously harmony in the Facade of Alhamra Art Center.

Dear Shoresahib #8:

An extract from your reference web site :
http://archnet.org

The Alhamra Arts Council in the 1970s retained architect Nayyar Ali Dada to design a 1,000 seat multi-purpose auditorium that was built and completed in 1979. The council was later placed under the auspices of a government agency, the Lahore Arts Council, which oversaw the three subsequent phases of the project: four octagonal structures for administrative offices and art exhibition galleries that opened in 1984; a 450-seat theatre attached to the auditorium completed in 1985; and a 250-seat lecture and recital hall finished in 1992. Throughout this 15-year process, architect Dada used various combinations of polygonal shapes that meet the acoustic requirements of the performing arts. These forms are also ingeniously placed on the site to semi-enclose courtyards and green spaces. Another basic idea to which he adhered was the use of handmade red brick with traditional local mortar as veneer for the cast-in-place concrete walls. Red brick is the main building material at the Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque, the two most important historic buildings in the city. It was also the material most widely used by the British, and recalls the red sandstone architecture of Mughal Lahore. The jury found the complex to be ``a rare example of flexible spaces that has enabled several additions to be made over time, each of which has in turn enhanced, rather than detracted from, its overall architectural value. This is a very popular and successful public building, projecting its complexities in a simple and powerful manner.``

Recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 1998.

(Source: AKTC)


I had the priveladge to visit the Alhambra in Granada and the grand mosque in Cordoba back in 2002. There is no doubt that the Muslim Spanish architecture is at its best in the Alhambra designs and there are some similarities with the alhamra arts council, however the brick work is totally local and ispired by the Mughal designs. Shalimar Gardens, The Kamran`s Bara Dari in the middle of Ravi river, The Red Fort, The Badshahi mosque and the remaining gates of the old city have something in common with the newer designs of Nayyar Ali... the inspiration of local materials and patterns in structure.

Perhaps you are more accurate about the erection of the Lahore Fort - aurangzeb indeed being the the Mughal King in the late seventeenth centuary. Thanks!

Ciao,
jnz

Dear Ras!
your writeup makes me proud
lahore is indeed great fun except in may june with the blistering summer waves of the punjab plains. Born, raised and educated in lahore, i can relate to the magic that is the city of lahore.

the recent upturn in lahore`s luck can be attributed to three people in particular. Mr Nawaz Sharif... who as the competing power base with Benazir, as the cheif minister and resident of lahore, spent a huge amount of money developing the city for its basic infrastructure like roads and services in the old walled city. The second guy that needs a mention is the current CDA chairman in islamabad, kamra lashari, who, when pushed into a ``khudey line`` (sidelined) as bureacrat to head the horticulture authority, used his artistic talents and organizational skills to turn lahore into a garden city complete with chandeliers across the canal and basant events in the race course park, and he is the one who really jump started the culinary landscape of lahore by inventing the ``Food Street`` eat out / hang out tourism in the old city`s heart of gawal mandi. The third person that should receive due credit is the current prime minister cum financial engineer who has turned the paki economy around with the KSE jumping 380% in last five years and the economy generating the new found cash that is driving a thriving local economy.

What I like about lahore, and which makes it much better than Karachi, is its ample supply of water!!!. It is located in the heart of green punjab with ample food supplies, dairy products and live stock. It also is surprisingly safe considering its size of more than six million inhabitants. ILahore is also the city of colleges and universites, atleast in the punjab province. Another item of interest - I can say it for sure that in Lahore no one sleeps with an empty stomach. There is this shrine called Data Darbar where food is available for any and everyone - at all times. Data Darbar is just next to the Bhatti gate ofcourse, which is one of the twelve gates of lahore. Most of these gates have survived including the Dehli gate, the Lohari gate, the Mochi darwaza, the Shah Alami gate etc. The lahore fort, built on the orders of the aurangzeb back in the fifteenth centuary, is also an artistic and architectural delight to visit and u can find the similarity of design with the fort in the arhamra cultural arts centers designed by the telented Nayyar Ali Dada.

Lahore is also the home of the national college of arts - a school that has produced most of the leading painters of the country. The engineering university out of Shalamar Gardens vicinity has produced many talented engineers that sit in top r&d labs in usa and match the smart doctors that have graduated for the last 130 years from the King Edward medical college that exists next to Anarkali - the packed main bazaar off the Mall road that is also a tourist destination.

Perhaps someone should seriously writeup walking tour guides for this very interesting city - another rome to discover. I would suggest visiting the old Kotawali, discovering the maze of streets that is the Shah Alam market , a visit to the much infamous ``heera mandi`` - red light district also famous for the peshawari khussas and pajjey key paye and then scouting the area around ``Larri Adda`` the old bus stand and the 150 year old main tran station and the adjoing Landa Bazar. By the way, waking to the other side of Landa Bazaar, u can end up in Brantherd Road and there you could be where you you started from origionally.. the Kotawali ofcourse. It would have been great fun to ride the tonga - horse cart around the old city but looks like most of those have been banned and replaced by the qinchi motor cycle rikshaws. Too bad...

What is special about Lahore besides its 2000 year old history? that there is romance in its gardens and its walkways? well, i have been saying this for years but looks like the outside world has finally discovered it in the recent years. Perhaps that is what is drving the sky rocketing proprty prices in the city of lLahore - especially the DHA. You can ask the Indian spectators that came over to visit for the India-Pakistan cricket series in 2004.

The magic, indeed, lies in the city of lahore and it captures my heart everytime I fly back to my home town. You know, home is where the heart is!

Re: # 8
The Lahore Fort in its present form was started by Akbar the Great in the late Fifiteenth Century, and was added onto by his successive generations.
Aurangzeb didnot come into the picture as late as mid seventeenth Century.
Also, The Alhambra complex derives its inspiration from the twelveth century Spanish Muslim Palace Complex called Alhambra or the Red. Architecturally, Nayyar Ali Dada`s Alhambra Open Air theatre or the Arts Center on Mall Road have practically nothing in common with the Lahore Fort.
I would urge you to go visit http://archnet.org and observe for yourself.
:)

Re: #1 BeeJay: Due to my increasing waistline, I have to dwell on food quality. Even I don`t know why ``Deliciously Delhi`` was yanked off the front page so fast. But in any case
it was my intent to write about food in Lahore and then a final one on Karachi. Thanks
for your very articulate response.

Re: #2 Mantolives: The thanks is to You and your Mrs. young friend. At least a third of
this article has used your recommendations on venues to visit, especially Coocos Den.
Do you have my new email address? I hope that COMPASS does get some benefit
from the article in Pakistan Link. I have written a very difficult to write report to be published in the Community section of the Link tomorrow. I would like your feedback on it and whether I should also share it here with CHOWK readers.

Re: #3 by kaurasach: Please do visit Lahore if you get a chance. Jaipur was the most beautiful city that I visited in India during the recent tour.

Re: #4 by ShoreSahib: Jamun and Falsaas, now that is mouthwatering. Thanks for sharing a glimpse of your wonderful family here with us on CHOWK


Re: #5 by twintopaz: Very descriptive.. Go to Lahore and indulge..

Re: # 6 Sobia: Since it is not often that I make it to Pakistan, I tried to make up for lost time in the food department!

good writeup..looks like you managed to pack a very interesting and wide variety of food in a very short time! :)

i feel like i have not eaten anything for ages...guys stop it..i cannot take it any more...water is dribbling out of my mouth.. :((

Tears in my eyes from homesickness.
What can one say about Lahore.
I havent been to Pakistan in summertime in almost 12 years. Food I miss most is My Dadi Ammi`s Kachnaar Keema, and there is no fruit like Jamun and Falsaas.
The Lohari Gate`s Famous Haji Ki Nihari accompanied with the best Khameeri and Laal Roti in Lahore.
My step mother`s Bharey Howay Pasandey, a recipe of the Syed Muslims of Jaipur.
My Dadi Ammi`s Teendays with Desi Bakrey ka Puth ka Gosht. I remember getting it myself from the Butcher on McLeod Road.
One of the things I miss the most is the Morning walks with my Dadi Ammi in Lawrence Gardens. We would collect Kumrukhs (star fruit) from underneath the trees, in Jamun season would collect Ripe Jamuns. Then my Dadi Ammi would stop near the Jasmine bushes and pick a few flowers of jasmine and would strew them through her gold hoops, and keep the rest in a handkerchief. Then my Daddy ( my grandfather) would pick us up and drop us home. Dadi Ammi would then put the saved jasmine flowers in a china bowl filled with water and put them on the dining table in the kitchen. Then she would go water her plants on the 2nd floor balcony. Aaah, Lahore and my childhood memories.


By the way, Ras Siddique Sahib. Lahore cannot be compared with Jaipur. One is a City of the Plains of Punjab, the other a eighteenth century planned city near the old Fort city of Amber in the Hilly Deserts of Rajasthan.
One is called the City of Gardens, and the other a City of Gulabi Mahals. One was the British Capital of Punjab to govern North Western India, and the other the capitol of the Princely State ruled by Maharaj Jai Singh. My step mother`s grandfather was the Divan of Maharajah Jaipur.

Rajasathan is a relatively cleaner place in India. Low population density. Tourist image to maintain. Not too much materialism. Thus a nice place to visit despite the heat. People are polite too. There is no good food though - as you put it.

Now I have to visit Lahore....these articles have made me curious. about Lahore`s food and I was already aware of the cultural and historical splendour of Lahore - my grandparents` generation often remembered Lahore with a glint in their eyes.

Ras...

I`d like to thank you for this other piece you wrote:

http://www.pakistanlink.com/Opinion/2005/Feb05/11/05.htm

We are beginning to see some inflow already...

Ras saheb:

I missed the bus on your last article (“Deliciously Delhi”) because it ran past the front page at the speed of a super-fast locomotive. Therefore, I am trying to get in early on this one. (You see, the early bird gets the worm. I don’t mean that your article has any worm-like characteristics, or even that worms represent a legitimate ingredient in present-day food items, although, based on recent several TV reality shows, that may be about to change.)

From your accounts, it appears that your visit to the sub-continent was VERY fulfilling. If I were you, I would watch out for those extra calories. I am convinced that people who LIVE on the subcontinent are under some kind of magic spell so that their bodies are able to burn EXACTLY the number of calories they put in (plus some), so that the more they eat, the thinner they get. Upon leaving those shores, however, the spell goes away. Therefore, I have a fleeting suspicion that when you return you may find that your picture on the Chowk site does not do you true justice in capturing the “well-rounded” qualities of your (physical) personality.

I have also regretfully noticed that you tend to dwell too much on the benefits associated with the QUALITY of food and not its QUANTITY. For example, one advantage of eating ALL THAT MUCH food (for the Chowk crowd, anyway) would be that people can keep their mouths full, unable to hurl those choice expletives.

I hope I have not been too hard on you. After all, you live in my part of the world, although NIMBY (not in my back yard).

Thanks for your articles which represent some real food for thought!