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Lahore: 101 Tales of a Fabled City
101 Tales Of A Fabled City (t) by Abdul Majid Sheikh
312 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 21, 2022
One of the precise accounts on the history of Lahore. A brief and quick read.
Highly recommended to everyone who is interested in knowing the city. 📄
Highly recommended to everyone who is interested in knowing the city. 📄
May 26, 2019
Lahore is the crown jewel of Pakistan and cultural capital ; city of knowledge , gardens and food. Anecdotally you are not born unless you see Lahore. But what to see in Lahore ? . Spicy food , clothes and markets ? or Lahore’s history which dates back to at least two thousand years. There is no one better to see Lahore than through the eyes of Majid Shaikh sb. A Cambridge educated and Lahore raised historian and journalist who does not believe in restricting research to books and parchments but enlivens the places and people. He also adds that passion and longing for the history being eroded on daily basis. His longings are a paen for the lost glory of the city which has weathered very conquest but has succumbed to commercialization.
The book “Lahore ; 101 tales of the fabled city” is collection of selected columns of Majid Shaikh which were published in the Sunday edition Daily Dawn for at least Two decades. The tales cover range of topics and eras, starting from Budhism to British, and about saints to scoundrels. The tales are a mixture of facts , mythology and folklore. That is the beauty of tales , to be taken as living history transmitted through oral tradition , and lived through experience. These are less academic and more emotional, less formal and more sentimental and less restricted and more fluid. But the tales are significant as they represent people’s aspirations. No one can tell exact stories of Madhu-Lal Hussain or Bibi Pak Daman but one can tell the devotion people have with these for centuries and the emotions these evoke which are above the cast and creed, faith and tribes and color and class.
How long have Lahore been here ? Majid Shaikh traces an old town Salutra which was then transformed by two sons of Ram , Lahu and Kasu who founded Lahore and Kasur respectively. He ascribes special place to river Ravi as mythological river alongwith Sarwawati which figures in Hindu Veda and on whose banks the mythological wars were fought between the new religion and old warriors. How far these myths are true is of course open to discussion. Then Lahore escaped the Greek forces (who Shaikh sb claims were defeated by Porus) and became a realm of Chandrugupta and Samnudrgupta’s empire finally taken over by white huns (whose traces still remain with a colorful Hun ruler Tormana) and finally under Rajput ruler Jai Pal and son Annad pal. Jai pal, is regarded by Majid shaikh as the greatest and most honorable of Lahore rulers who after defeated by Mehmood Ghaznavi committed ‘johar’ or self immolation right outside Mori gate of walled city. The place is still present. Malik Ayaz of the Mehmood-Ayaz fame was the first Muslim governor of Lahore and buried here too, followed by slave king Qutab u din aibak who is also buried in Lahore , as is of course Jehnagir and Noor Jahan. But the ruler to be called as Prince of Lahore was Dara Shikoh , who loved and was loved by Lahore. While entering Lahore, no one cares to remember that Shahdara is short name for Shah Dara Shikoh. What a loss indeed !
Lahore has aslo seen powerful and arty governors. The most powerful being Wazir Khan who is known more by Masjid Wazir khan and my native town wazirabad though quite a surprise that he was otherwise no ‘khan’ but a shaikh from chiniot by the name of illmuddin. He was followed by the real Khan brothers including fearsome Zikrya khan who is known more slaughtering thousands of Sikhs, and was followed by triumvirate of Sikh sardars Lehna Singh , Sobha Singh and Gujjar Singh. Qila Gujjar singh was the ideal township and is still present today. Then Lahore saw its first local rule in Maharaja Ranjit Singh , from nearby Gujranwala and first time popularized the term ‘Lahore Darbar’ or ‘Takht Lahore’. British came with Napier who founded the Lahore cantonment or Mian Mir Cantonment as it was called then , but Lahore was owned by none better than John Lawrence. After independence , Lahore got likes of Nawab of kalabagh and Mian Nawaz Sharif , and Jats like Pervez ilahi reaching to Usman Buzdar. From Malik Ayaz to Usman Buzdar, the tradition remains the same.
Lahore is not just about rulers. It is as much about saints. Data Ganj Bakhsh Ali Hajveri is well known but was not the first one. Shah Ismail had settled before him as was Bibi Pak Daman where Syed Ali Hajveri used to weekly visit to pay homage and Mauj Darya Bukhari right next to Income tax office with Shah Inayat of Bulleh shah fame on Queens road. The other end of city is held by Mian Mir who is venerated by Muslims and Sikhs alike and of course Shah Hussain , our very own shams Tabraiz. The saints abodes were also the occasions of festivals which were aplenty in old Lahore. The first festival of the year would be ‘Lohri” which would fall in end of January and herald the breaking of cold spell. It is also linked with exploits of Punjab’s own Robinhood Dullah Bhatti who is buried in Miani sahib though his head is rumored to be buried in what is now Landa Bazar. Small children like in Christmas would go to houses and get sweets then fire would be lit in the town center and people will see off the night with singing and dancing. Next festival will be harbinger of spring i.e Basant in mid –February and festival season would culminate with Mela Chirghan at Shah Hussain tomb by the end March.
One can go on and on. The tales are gripping and enchanting. Just a word of critique though. The book is almost without any editing. It would have been convenient if essays on similar topics were compiled together. Then there are few inconsistencies in dates and eras of rulers. The references are elaborate at times but at times totally absent. The writer has specially aversion to the trader politicians and fondness for feudal ones. This said the anecdotes are fascinating. For example Minto park was called earlier as Parade ground. The Sam Browne belt was invented in Lahore by one cobbler Noorudin. Club sandwich was first made in Lahore gymkhana as ready-made diet for soldiers going to quell mutiny. The actual Mall road passed through Dharampura and Lakshmi chowk was once called Donald Town.
Happy reading.
The book “Lahore ; 101 tales of the fabled city” is collection of selected columns of Majid Shaikh which were published in the Sunday edition Daily Dawn for at least Two decades. The tales cover range of topics and eras, starting from Budhism to British, and about saints to scoundrels. The tales are a mixture of facts , mythology and folklore. That is the beauty of tales , to be taken as living history transmitted through oral tradition , and lived through experience. These are less academic and more emotional, less formal and more sentimental and less restricted and more fluid. But the tales are significant as they represent people’s aspirations. No one can tell exact stories of Madhu-Lal Hussain or Bibi Pak Daman but one can tell the devotion people have with these for centuries and the emotions these evoke which are above the cast and creed, faith and tribes and color and class.
How long have Lahore been here ? Majid Shaikh traces an old town Salutra which was then transformed by two sons of Ram , Lahu and Kasu who founded Lahore and Kasur respectively. He ascribes special place to river Ravi as mythological river alongwith Sarwawati which figures in Hindu Veda and on whose banks the mythological wars were fought between the new religion and old warriors. How far these myths are true is of course open to discussion. Then Lahore escaped the Greek forces (who Shaikh sb claims were defeated by Porus) and became a realm of Chandrugupta and Samnudrgupta’s empire finally taken over by white huns (whose traces still remain with a colorful Hun ruler Tormana) and finally under Rajput ruler Jai Pal and son Annad pal. Jai pal, is regarded by Majid shaikh as the greatest and most honorable of Lahore rulers who after defeated by Mehmood Ghaznavi committed ‘johar’ or self immolation right outside Mori gate of walled city. The place is still present. Malik Ayaz of the Mehmood-Ayaz fame was the first Muslim governor of Lahore and buried here too, followed by slave king Qutab u din aibak who is also buried in Lahore , as is of course Jehnagir and Noor Jahan. But the ruler to be called as Prince of Lahore was Dara Shikoh , who loved and was loved by Lahore. While entering Lahore, no one cares to remember that Shahdara is short name for Shah Dara Shikoh. What a loss indeed !
Lahore has aslo seen powerful and arty governors. The most powerful being Wazir Khan who is known more by Masjid Wazir khan and my native town wazirabad though quite a surprise that he was otherwise no ‘khan’ but a shaikh from chiniot by the name of illmuddin. He was followed by the real Khan brothers including fearsome Zikrya khan who is known more slaughtering thousands of Sikhs, and was followed by triumvirate of Sikh sardars Lehna Singh , Sobha Singh and Gujjar Singh. Qila Gujjar singh was the ideal township and is still present today. Then Lahore saw its first local rule in Maharaja Ranjit Singh , from nearby Gujranwala and first time popularized the term ‘Lahore Darbar’ or ‘Takht Lahore’. British came with Napier who founded the Lahore cantonment or Mian Mir Cantonment as it was called then , but Lahore was owned by none better than John Lawrence. After independence , Lahore got likes of Nawab of kalabagh and Mian Nawaz Sharif , and Jats like Pervez ilahi reaching to Usman Buzdar. From Malik Ayaz to Usman Buzdar, the tradition remains the same.
Lahore is not just about rulers. It is as much about saints. Data Ganj Bakhsh Ali Hajveri is well known but was not the first one. Shah Ismail had settled before him as was Bibi Pak Daman where Syed Ali Hajveri used to weekly visit to pay homage and Mauj Darya Bukhari right next to Income tax office with Shah Inayat of Bulleh shah fame on Queens road. The other end of city is held by Mian Mir who is venerated by Muslims and Sikhs alike and of course Shah Hussain , our very own shams Tabraiz. The saints abodes were also the occasions of festivals which were aplenty in old Lahore. The first festival of the year would be ‘Lohri” which would fall in end of January and herald the breaking of cold spell. It is also linked with exploits of Punjab’s own Robinhood Dullah Bhatti who is buried in Miani sahib though his head is rumored to be buried in what is now Landa Bazar. Small children like in Christmas would go to houses and get sweets then fire would be lit in the town center and people will see off the night with singing and dancing. Next festival will be harbinger of spring i.e Basant in mid –February and festival season would culminate with Mela Chirghan at Shah Hussain tomb by the end March.
One can go on and on. The tales are gripping and enchanting. Just a word of critique though. The book is almost without any editing. It would have been convenient if essays on similar topics were compiled together. Then there are few inconsistencies in dates and eras of rulers. The references are elaborate at times but at times totally absent. The writer has specially aversion to the trader politicians and fondness for feudal ones. This said the anecdotes are fascinating. For example Minto park was called earlier as Parade ground. The Sam Browne belt was invented in Lahore by one cobbler Noorudin. Club sandwich was first made in Lahore gymkhana as ready-made diet for soldiers going to quell mutiny. The actual Mall road passed through Dharampura and Lakshmi chowk was once called Donald Town.
Happy reading.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews