Harking Back: Ancient ‘serais’ and their evolving role in Lahore’s history
Very often we pass by amazing structures of historic Lahore without realising its value in the past, and how it...
Majid Sheikh
Harking back: Last dynasty before invaders came 1,000 years ago
Every time I walk out of Mori Darwaza, I look to the right at the open ground and imagine the place where over 1,000...
Harking Back: Rang Mahal Haveli and how it became a missionary school
The engravings that decorate the mosques of Wazir Khan, as those of Begum Mariam Zamani, inside Lahore’s old ...
Harking Back: Kashyap and Lahore’s amazing botanical heritage
How many of you know where Pakistan’s oldest and finest botanical garden with 6,000 herbarium varieties exists. ...
Harking back: Tragic twists in the legacy of Bhai Taru Singh
If you ever visit Delhi Gate and plan to visit the Shahi Hammam and the mosque of Wazir Khan, both beautiful...
Harking Back: Once the ‘Pride of Lahore’ — now a classy carcass
Sitting to the west of the River Ravi in Shahdara is the much pillaged tomb of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. Today in...
Harking back: Mystery of the Rajput empress Mariam Zamani
Every time I pass by the exquisite mosque of Mariam Zamani opposite the Lahore Fort outside Masti Gate, originally...
harking back: The exquisite ‘fasting Buddha’ and its lasting spell
In my university days it was routine for me and a friend to visit the Lahore Museum every working day. Invariably we...
Harking Back: Chihl Bibian and the largest Zuljanah of South Asia
As I set off researching the Zuljanah procession of old Lahore that ends at Karbala Gamay Shah outside Bhati Gate,...
Harking back: Rare jades and temple of Rattan Chand ‘dhariwala’
During Ranjit Singh’s reign in Lahore (1799-1839), a small boy used to run about the court inside the Lahore Fort....
Harking Back: Iqbal and mud from the graves of Rumi and Ataturk
We all know of the two tombs on both sides of the main entrance of the Badshahi Mosque facing the main entrance of...
How can the colour of Basant return to a safe Lahore?
It is strange how all over the world casualties during public celebrations is an accepted fact of life, not that one...
Harking Back: Punjab’s political genius who kept Jinnah at bay
Before Pakistan came into being, a great politician helped ensure that Punjab was educationally advanced, ...
Harking Back: Lahore’s first polo ground and how it changed over time
For those interested in the history of Lahore, the very name ‘Gowalmandi’ conjures up mouth-watering images. It...
Harking Back: Mughal era ships built at Lahore’s Khizri ‘darwaza’
Of recent while researching trading trends in Lahore during the Mughal era, it came as a surprise that in the days ...
Harking Back: Akbar and the first Jesuit missions to Lahore court
My efforts to locate the very first Christian church built in Lahore finally bore fruit. My hunch, backed by local...
Lahore’s genius diplomat, physician and master linguist
Every time you hear the name of Lahore’s Bhati Gate, the first name that comes to mind is the Fakir Khana Museum,...
Harking Back: Lahore’s literary giant and the Guru Granth Sahib
As we have been discussing the role of Kartarpur in the life of Guru Nanak, we must never forget the stellar role...
Harking Back: Lahore, Irish Anglo-Indians and our common plight
It was Rudyard Kipling’s novel ‘Kim’ that got me thinking that in our youth there was a collection of 12...
Harking Back: The ancient tussle between prophets and priests
The most fascinating aspect of the evolution of the origins of our social beliefs is the way it has evolved over the...