Wednesday, January 12, 2011

"La'ore la'ore hai"-there is no city like Lahore

Before delving into any kind of details about the city, let me ask you a simple question: Do you where Lahore is located? If yes, well and good. If no, then for your general knowledge and to make the contents of this post seem more relevant to you, Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan, is located on the eastern border with India at a distance of about a thousand kilometers from the capital Islamabad and also a thousand or so kilometers from the Kashmir region on its north.

For anybody who knows something about Lahore, it's either because of its fame as the old walled city with beautiful Mughal and Sikh architecture or because of its outlook as "The" modern city of a conservative Muslim country. 


File:Hazuri Bagh.JPG
Roshnai Gate (Gate of Lights)-located between Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque

File:Samadhi of Ranjit Singh July 1 2005.jpg
Samadhi of Ranjit Singh (Resting Place of Ranjit Singh)-ruled Punjab from 1799-1839

Kashmiri Bazaar
By: Shiraz Hassan Maktub: “It is written”
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg932G3PKCxb2_t-ELc8MxSZsjUvwui84Zy-2RuhyphenhyphenwlJIUNMKR4UgCyXW2FocjLPvce-mahRFaUjpQOFA37_Q9bCLMmr8FH84T8np9tTv8NLpfjxbjBl4KsMGktRy6gtSYAAvlvjft0nDqz/s1600/DSC_6704.JPG Published: 2/8/2010



While the 400 years old Kashmiri bazaar still remains with its hustle and bustle, the old architecture like shown above has either deteriorated to the condition of being unrecognizable or has simply disappeared. Likewise, much of the sikh architecture has also been vandalized and conveniently neglected by the government.



Samadhi of Bhai Vastiram, a minister in the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh-Published on Jan 28, 2010

Copyright © 2011 Punjab Heritage News 



While in many cities in the world which are oriented towards modernity, old buildings are raised down to be replaced with modern structures, there is no apparent need for destroying the old city of Lahore because there is a lot of building space available in other parts of the ever expanding city of Lahore. So even though it's not a necessity by any stretch of the imagination, the magnificent architecture of the past is in an accelerated deteriorating state and nobody in authority is doing anything significant about it.

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