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September 29, 2005
The last abode of a king
Text by Marylou Andrew and photographs by Stephan Andrew
The hustle and bustle of Lahore’s old city is a sad and sorry testament to a time when the area was indubitably witness to the power and glory of the Mughal Empire. The serenity of the Badshahi Mosque combined with the sheer immensity of the Lahore Fort, are enough to give the old city the sort of character that progress has sought to steal from it.
Trapped between the ancient and grotesquely modern, is a little known building that can best be described as ‘quaint’. Lying just opposite the Lahore Fort, this building is the resting place of the Sher-e-Punjab, a ruler who once commanded a vast empire; a great Maharaja who awed Europeans and natives alike with grand shows of wealth, power and military might. This is the samadh of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who ruled over Punjab and Kashmir for almost 40 years.
Although a Sikh by birth, Ranjit Singh, like Emperor Akbar, was secular in nature, a seemingly obvious trait for a man with an insatiable curiosity and a thirst for knowledge that bordered on lust. Inspite of being cursed with weak descendants, who were unable to conform to the ideals of their illustrious forebear, the samadh, which was erected by his son Kharak Singh, still bears witness to his secular leanings.
Built in 1848, on the spot where Ranjit Singh was cremated almost nine years earlier, the samadh is a beautiful mélange of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim architectural styles. A large double-storied building, it was originally built on eight pillars. However, due to wear and tear, small cracks appeared in the pillars that threatened to destroy the very foundation of the building. The British government, anxious to protect it, ordered to put thick iron rings around all the old pillars and to erect eight additional pillars. The entire building is now supported by 16 pillars.
The samadh’s roof, which appears to be dome shaped from a distance, is actually built in a square shape with a fluted dome in the centre. The dome is heavily decorated with Naga hood designs, a rich and fitting tribute to Hindu craftsmanship. The wood panels on the ceiling are covered with stained glass work and the walls have a running floral theme.
In the centre of the sepulchral chamber is another small dome shaped marble pavilion supported by four pillars. While the interior of the chamber is adorned with frescoes of Sikh gurus, the pavilion itself is beautifully decorated with pietra aura work, yet another allusion to secularity. Within this pavilion, in a small marble urn shaped like a lotus, lies the ashes of the mighty Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Even in death, the Maharaja does not lie alone. Surrounding him, in smaller knob-like urns, are the ashes of four sati queens (burned alive on the pyre with their husband) and seven slave girls. The ashes of two pigeons, burnt while flying over the pyre, also have their place in the samadh.
Ranjit Singh is not the only ruler whose ashes lie here. Within the same complex, towards the west, are the samadhs of his son Kharrak Singh and grandson Kunwar Naunehal Singh. While these mausoleums have not been decorated with the same beautiful detail, they are still a sight to behold.
Local visitors to the samadh are in for a rude shock. The Sikhs have made it more of a fortress than a mausoleum and gaining entry can be quite tricky. The best way to go about this is to use one of the many guides available around the Lahore Fort and follow their lead. The samadh may not be as vast or majestic as the fort or the mosque surrounding it, but it does have a unique, quiet and almost ephemeral beauty that is sure to have visitors coming back for more.
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