A Love Affair with Lahore

Bina Shah,
It feels that you are describing Amritsar, except that Amritsar does not have too many historical buildngs.

I hope not mentioning Data Sahib was unintentional. Kim’s Gun is referred to as “BhangiyaN wali Toup” by Lahoris. Colonial Lahore of Victorian architecture is only 1/4th of Lahore, the other parts are Moghal, Sufi, and Hindu Lahore. Lahore is changing like the rest of Pakistan, and I agree with Bina, for the worse. In the process it is losing its character. Lahore of my parents was walking down Mall road from Anarkali to Lawrence gardens and only encountering three cars on the road; Lahore of my generation was picking up a Paowa (a quart of Whiskey) from Tolinton Market and be done with it before reaching Regal Chowk to see a movie in “Eastman Technicolor” followed by some top class Bhori (Charas from Mardan) smoked with friends sitting on the stoops of Laxmi Building; the Lahore of my kids’ generation is a messed up Lahore that looks more like mini Bangkok.

The beauty of Lahore was that one always thought that it belonged to him/her.

lahore is ``the stuff of dreams`` ... as samina qureshi put it

there`s something truly metaphysical about the city...something all pervading, almost electrical in the air, the layers of history, the all lingering influence of hindu, islamic and western culture, interwoven like a rich tapestry ...it touches u when u`re there, and u long for it when u`re not

Kim`s gun is also called ``Bhangiyan di Top``....... Bhangi Sardars snatched it from Abdali.....They were called Bhangis for their penchant for Bhang.

Amritsar had historical architecture. E Pb. did have a lot of history. The bewakoofs either did not preserve it or destroyed it. Palaces and structures are used as garbage dumps. Even gurudwaras were pulled down and replaced with ugly buildings...

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It is no coincidence that Lahore was founded, according to the Deshwa Bhaga, by a man called “Luv”, the son of Raja Ram Chandar, sometimes in the second century AD.

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I always thought Lahore was named after Luv, the son of Rama, the mythical incarnation of Vishnu...

Can someone throw light on this assertion by the author?

Thanks,
Avkrishna

Bina
Such a wonderful article. You reminded my lovely days, when i used to play cricket with barefeet in my high school ground, which was across Queen Noor Jehan`s tomb. We used to meet many foreigners, who visited Noor Jehan`s tomb. And Jehangir`s tomb was almost 15 minutes of walk from my home. I had to pass through Anarkali everyday to go to Puinjab University. It was very lively and colorful.

Bibi aap ney mera dil khush kar dia hai. Allah aap ka bhalla karey.

Regards.

A pretty well worded article in praise of a city which never lives beyond the rememberance of a Motel for Kings. I have no hatred for Lahore,but the only thing I disagree that lahoris
over explain their city and to prove their point they have killed the biggest city of Pakistan i.e.Karachi They are proud of Lahore, good, but they got their wealth, looks and infra structure from karachi`s flesh and blood and honey, even in these modern times the ignorance and arrogance has gone so far that half nude ladies roam the streets, which however is not a proud thing to do or to boast about. It is such a hypocrite City where truth has to cover its face and lies dance naked and praised. In this mayhem of choosing words, I think Its about time to Pay due homange to KARACHI, the city which has been breast feeding the BATS from the beginning of time i.e. 1947

Great Article,

Being a Lahori, i couldnt agree more with Bina on Lahore being the city of luv, having lived in other parts of the world i can still say that Lahore Lahore ai!!!!

The smells and sounds of this city remain with you even when you are away...the food, the relatives, the friends, and all kinds of people!!!

And you can do a lot in this city if you want to! music concerts, dramas, parks, basant, etc. its a never ending list!

Yes Karachi is a great city but we dont ever want to be like Karachi..every city has its own flavor and Lahore`s is the best!

Bina, this was great. I can see the love you have for Lahore coming through so clearly.

Bina, this was great. I can see the love you have for Lahore coming through so clearly.

Kim`s Gun was last known as ``Bhangiya De Tope``, bhangi Sardar of Gujrawala(named bhangi because one of them was an addict to Bhang).
Why is it called Kim`s Gun now? Just because a Gora Sahib lived for sometime in Lahore and wrote about it??????

Anyway, as per many daftaris of the time, this Gun was made for Ahmed Shah Durrani. As the story goes, every single house between Peshawar and Delhi had to give up their utencils(bhanday) for this Gun to be made.
Including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and others. Abdali did not spare any Punjabi from stealing their possesions when it came to blood sucking.

This Gun represents the blood of all Punjabis from mid eighteenth century period.

Re: # 5
It is a well known fact that Lahore was named after Luv. Many historians also believe that Kasur was built by Kush.

Modern day fanatical hindus do not agree to this.

as a pucca karachiite, the one thing i really like about lhr is that the rythm of life is so much slower than in karachi. lhr is a great place to get away to if you feel like a break. also people are more easy going and have less hang-ups compared to karachiites. lahore also seems different because of its connection to the past - very unique feeling for karachiites who grow up without a sense of history and hence generally dont feel much connection with their own city although lately i have been noticing a bit of a change. karachi also does have some very nice beaches which makes up for the lack of history.

the other thing noticeable about lahoris as the lack of diversity in terms of ethnic make up when compared to karachi. seems a bit jarring. and also the name of lhr cricket stadium is bloody embarrassment and needs to be changed asap.

also following is an impression of english tourist in lhr:

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/pakveng/content/story/226757.html

``...On we continued, a sharp right taking us past the Badshahi mosque, its minarets glowing dimly against the night sky, and its sheer vastness contrasting exquisitely with the low winding labyrinths of the old city above which it towered. The pots and stoves and roof-terrace pulleys of Kookoo`s Den, the most famous restaurant in the land, were a foretaste of the sensory riot that awaited in Heera Mandi, Lahore`s red-light district and beating heart.

..Here was a district where rickshaws and fruit stalls hugged the cobbles and where improbably grand buildings - such as the pink-bricked Missionary School and the great mosaic-walled Wazir Khan mosque - burst out of the backdrop like figures in a pop-up book. Lights and noise and impossibly narrow lanes, where money-changers crouched over pocket-sized display cabinets, and shadowy figures whispered from unseen doorways. ``

also sadly for karachiites, karachi women are into boring stuff like careers while lahori women are into partying.

All my Lhauri mami`s are fat except for the couple that are actually from Lhaur, the others too were slim before their marraige, after coming to Lhaur even the one from Karachi has now taken on majj like proportions...

Gol gappey kha kha, aap gol gappey bann giya!

Even tho Lhaur Lhaur ay!

Reminds me of my own trip to Lahore. I don`t think there is any comparison between Amritsar and Lahore. The latter has a far more pervasive sense of history and culture. In Amritsar, outside of Golden Temple, there really isn`t much. Durgiana temple and Jallianwala Bagh at best.

I think that the modern aspects of Lahore do not take away from what is traditional. I agree with Kulharee about the importance of Data Sahib. The triangulation of Data Sahib, Badshahi Masjid and the fort seems to be the cultural centre of old Lahore, with Gurudwara Dera Sahib being a symbol of the city`s intercommunity past and Minar e Pakistan a symbol of the future. One can soak this in and then head over to the opulence of Pearl Continental for a different mindset. One thing I did appreciate is the conitnuity of new Lahore and Old Lahore, and I think restaurants like Cuckoo`s Grill, places that attract the well off to the old parts of town, are integral to that approach. Lahore is above all the quintessential Punjabi city.

Great city, look forward to going again...BTW, is Shanzeh Haque related to another Lahori Haque who has been a long time interactor of Chowk in times past?

us bewafa ka shehr he aur hum haiN dosto
ashke rawaN ki nehr he aur hum haiN dosto

BINA BINA BINA, WHY HAVE THY REMOVED MY POSTING...

BINA BINA BINA, WHY HAVE THY REMOVED MY POSTING...

I didn`t do it!

Stuka, the following pasages from the article reminds me of Amritsar
``– the haze and fog of a typical chilly Lahore morning, as the sun struggles manfully to shine through. The very climate of Lahore is passionate, whether it’s the thunder and rain of a monsoon downpour, the scorching heat of a summer afternoon, or the angry red sky of an approaching dust storm.``
`` the taste of the jamun and mangoes they picked from tress planted at their grandparents’ houses; or the heavy fragrance of motia.
``Their memories of home are colored with the remembrance of delicious food, lovingly cooked and forcefully administered to them by nanis and nanas and khalas and phupas and relatives of every gender and age.
``Long naps during stifling summer afternoons, the excitement of the arrival of the monsoon, and the shopping trips to the bazaars.``
Another similarity bet Lahore and Asr is the excellent food that is found in both cities,
people who haved lived in Asr always remember and talk about the food.
Though, Lahore is a much bigger and more beautifull city than Asr, being not very far from each other there are a lot of cultural similarities.
I remember the hot summer nights when we use to sleep on the roof. We would fill bowls
with water and motia, and put it by the bed side, and we would come running down when there was a dust storm followed by rain. Even the dust storms have stopped now.

#20

did you guys used to call those sandstorms `neri` we used to be so happy to here `neri agayii, neri agayii` usually it would be followed by rain...

Re: # 20
what the hell is a motia?

If it is the tree, how would it fit in a gharra?

Once you have spent time here you get addicted to the city.If Karachi is fast, Lahore reveals itself slowly and gracefully with all of its mystic past, bazaars, foggy December nights and what not.Ibn-e-Insha once wrote a poem for Karachi which was something like that

``Meri khwahishon ka Roma, Meri hasraton ki dilli``
``Mujhe aur kaun jaane,Mujhe aur kaun pehchaane``
``Tu hi de tau de gawahi,Ae balda-e-Karachi``

Kudos to Bina ji for this tribute to the city in prose (Lapait lapait ke maar rahi hain).
This city has something for everyone from pauper to the prince.
Cheers to Lahore ``The city with a soul``.

Re: # 23
Ullu De Pathay: Wah bhai wah kiya baat hai.
Ishradd, muqarrar....

Bina shah: Why is your name a Hindu Name? did your parents run out of Islamic names?
Not that I care about it, but you could be tried under Blasphemy law.

# 21, yes we called it nehri.
# 22, motia is jasmine flower

Bina, this made me want to read the book all the more ... i checked amazon and its still not available. sigh.

Amrita, do try Penguin India`s Web site. I bet you could order it from there

thanks! got it :)

Re: # 24

My parents named me that to confuse people like you.

pEOPLE like me.
what does that mean?

Re: # 30:

< what does that mean?>>

People like you who are oblivious to the most beautiful flower of all the ``motia`` ... who inadvertently bring religion into everything, be it peoples names..and who dont know when to say Irshad or Muqarrar when a Misra or a Sher is read (Ref:post#24) { you say ``Irshad`` prior to the saying of the starting verse, from there on ``Muqarrar`` for praise and repititon}.

And about the names:
Hindu parents of Hindu bollywood stars: Shahid Kapoor and Aftab Shivdisani..both Delhi boys ironically...did their parents run out of Hindu names as well..??

Those who have never visited Lahore often fail to understand whats so special about this city. Why it is so sentimentalised by Lahoris and non Lahoris alike who have had the good fortune of having been here. I dont know the answer myself. All I can do is repeat what one said at Chowk somewhere before: ``Lahore is a love affair... it has nothing to do with reason``.

It is certainly my first love nothwithstanding its modernisation....which only adds another dimension to its charm.

Bina,

Cafe Zouk`s turned into the Crow-Eaters Gallery?

Re: # 31
First of All, is your name ``Bina Shah``?

Secondly, I am NOT A HINDU AND NOT OVERLY RELIGOUS EITHER(maybe little bit).

Thirdly, Hindus do use Muslim First Names(sometimes) but hardly any Muslim does the converse.

My relatives have strange names, my first cousin is called ``ShahBaj Singh Sial``, there is nothing Muslim about him. My another cousin is called ``Kabir`` and another one ``Iqbal``.

But I have never seen any Muslim with Hindu first names, ``Bina Shah`` was the first exception.

There is no need to get sentimental about me calling names, I am a very peace loving DESI living in North America who loves to watch Indi-Paki CockFights on Chowk.

Thank You for Listening.

Cafe Zouk`s turned into the Crow-Eaters Gallery?


Roz, yaar, we went to Crow Eater`s gallery after our shopping trip to Anarkali. Remember, we had that awesome Murree lemonade with Kabab Paranthey? I think that place is different from Cafe Zouk`s though coz we drove past that as well.

All right, since you asked...

Bina is a Persian word meaning ``vision``.
Shah is a Persian word meaning ``king``

I`m also informally known as Binafshe, which is Persian for ``pansy`` (the flower)

Satisfied?

Okee-dokee and Thanks for clarifying!

So your name is an Iranian name not Hindu, you could have just said that before.

Are you from Lahore?

My Nani was the first Woman Inspector General for Girls Schools before 1947, she was from Lahore and Sialkot.

If I get a VISA someday, I will definitely want to see Lahore. There used to be a Chinese Restaurant near the old Airport that my Nani`s brother used to run. I wonder what happened to it????

Re: # 36
Bina Ji.

Bina is also a North Indian Musical Instrument (not to be confused with Veena). Veena is a string instrument with two (sometimes just one) big Gourds (or voice boxes) attached to either end – looks like a Sitar with two balls attached at either end.

Bina is Bansuri, usually made of hardwood (Bamboo Bansuris are most popular). While I tell you about Bansuri, it will be a sin not to mention Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia.

So Bina, your parents gave you a very musical name. It is a beautiful name.

#34, Dillidost {``Thirdly, Hindus do use Muslim First Names(sometimes) but hardly any Muslim does the converse. ...But I have never seen any Muslim with Hindu first names, ``Bina Shah`` was the first exception.``}

Dillidost,
I disagree with you. There are some Hindu names, mostly female ones, that Muslims use - Kiran, Neelam, Mina, Phool, Simi, and some others.
The only male Hindu names that I have heard being used by Muslims are Raja and Suraj. But in UP, many Muslims use common Hindu nicknames (male and female), such as Kaala, Bhoora, Pappu, Abban, Mitthan, Dhakkan, ChuTTan, Paro, GuRya, Paree, Chabban, Ranjan, Raajan, Lakhan, and Rani.

kulhareeji,

been also hass a gourd ..its a snake-charmers flute

Thank you Kulhari ji - I have heard that definition before. It suits me just fine because I play the flute (the Western classical one, though, not the Indian bansari - although I would die to find someone who could teach me how to play that) and piano and I have always loved music.

Personally, I`m not so hung up about Muslim/Hindu/Western names and the distinctions for religious groups. I think that if a name is beautiful and has a good meaning, it is perfectly appropriate for anybody to use. There are plenty of Muslims with Western, Hindu, or even Japanese names for that matter! And I`m sure vice versa.

So delhiwala when you said my name is Iranian not Hindu, I disagree. My name can be Iranian, or Hindu, or indeed Pakistani. I`m perfectly happy with any interpretation. As long as you like me for me and not because of my name!

And I am not from Lahore... the entire article, in fact, is about the rivalry between Karachi and Lahore, but I only posted the most inoffensive (!) parts of the essay because I didn`t want another fight on FP.

Cheers to all of you, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and whateva - you are all my sister and brothers anyway!

Bina,

This was interesting. Somehow, I did not see any love anywhere in this excerpt. I did see ``fascination`` with the subject of Lahore. I guess we all have a different way of expressing love.

Thank you very much for an article that makes my coming trip to Pakistan more than merely something to look forward to. My wife`s family came to India from Lahore and my mother`s from Karachi, where, indeed, she was born and where she lived with her parents well after Partition, coming to India only in the late 1950s to join university there and marry my father.

I hope to visit both my mother`s as well as my wife`s ancestral homes and try to locate friends of my maternal grandfather who are still alive - I have received more than a little help from a leading columnist in one of your newspapers in this regard. Hopefully, after I return to the US, I shall be able to post here about my voyage of discovery through a country that my maternal ancestors came from.

Thanks and best wishes!

you forgot to mention RESHMA ji ,if east punjab is having PURAN SHAH KOTI,then pakistan is having a gem like RESHMA.