Harking back: How Lahore grew to the south of the walled city

As the ancient walled city, as well as the old city, of Lahore expanded, it was influenced by developments outside. The city started growing outwards almost 400 years ago, and it makes sense to understand this phenomenon.

In this piece let us concentrate on what was happening to the south. Later, in other pieces, we will explore the east, west and north. This will help us understand the present Lahore better.

The ancient city originally had two gates to the south, or better still just one ancient gateway and a ‘mori’- hole. Later when Akbar expanded the city he added Bhati Gate, Shahalami Gate and Mochi Gate to the expanded southern side of Lahore.

Lohari Gate had a huge green garden opposite it, and it was used by Qutub-uddin Aibak and others to play polo. In his days he was known as Qutb Ghauri, and when he fell from his horse and was killed, he was buried at the edge of this garden. The road opposite the gateway headed straight to the east, curving slightly to the west and heading on towards Multan, an equally ancient, if not more so, city.

With time as the city shopkeepers opened shops this created the very first ‘mohallah’ outside Lahore, and was popularly called “Lakkhi Mohallah”, the precinct of the rich or millionaires. It soon became an important bazaar with huge shops. The name Anarkali Bazaar is a British-era renaming of the place based on the myth of a courtesan named Anarkali, whom Emperor Akbar allegedly threw out of his court for having an affair with his son Prince Saleem, who later became Emperor Jahangir. We know that episode because of an Imtiaz Ali Taj drama.

This pre-Mughal ‘mohallah’ was to grow with time and when the British came they set up their first military cantonment along this road. Much later they built ‘The Mall Road’ starting from the French-built Civil Secretariat at Lower Mall to the shrine of Mian Mir, and then expanded the cantonment to the west, as it stands today.

The second ‘gateway’ of ancient Lahore is Mori Darwaza. As the River Ravi flowed around the old city, this narrow gateway was used by Hindus to cremate their dead. Almost a thousand years ago the great Lahore Hindushahi ruler Raja Jayapala was cremated outside the gateway. Jayapala cremated himself out of a Rajput sense of honour – Johar - for losing to the Afghan-Turkic invader Mahmud of Ghazni.

Come Emperor Akbar and with an expanded old walled city, we have three additional gateways facing the south, they being Bhati Gate to the western edge, Shahalam Gate in the middle and Mochi Gate at the eastern end of the southern side of the expanded wall.

Opposite the Shahalam Gate was the ‘tila Bukhari Mohallah’ where existed the ‘chaubara’ of Chajju Bhagat. This is located on Hospital Road and existed before the Mayo Hospital was built. A Lahore entrepreneur has at that place started a school to keep it in order. The road has an ancient connection to the court of Akbar as Mian Taan Sain and other renowned classical musicians stayed and worked there. Today a small tannery has spoiled the history of this place, where bamboos are sold.

Up Hospital Road is also the shrine of Hazrat Yaqoob Zanjani, whose brother a great Sufi saint Syed Miran Hussain Zanjani, who died in 1047 AD, is buried at Chah Miran. Legend has it that when Ali Hasan alias Data Ganj Bakhsh of Hajwir, came to Lahore with Masud Ghazni, son of Mahmud, the funeral of Syed Zanjani was emerging from Lohari Gate. Hence Zanjani brothers were always held in high esteem by all Sufi saints who came to Lahore.

One major development on the road out of Shahalam gateway was the Gowalmandi area. This emerged after the Sikhs conquered Kashmir and hundreds of Kashmiri families fled to Lahore and Gujranwala. In Lahore they set up a cattle market, hence the name ‘gowal-mandi’. But then after considerable family infighting and gang warfare, most people set up food shops. Today it stands out for its food quality.

Now on to the south-eastern gateway called Mochi gate, which heads towards Qila Gujjar Singh where in early days the ‘serai’ of Gujjar Mal Khatri stood. Before the times of Maharajah Ranjit Singh this area was ruled over by the Bhangi warrior Gujjar Singh of the Sikh Triumvirate, whose father was a Sandhu Jat, who built a fort known as Qila Gujjar Singh. The original historic fort’s wooden gates now lie with a resident of the area.

The extended road from Mochi Gate heads south towards what was once known as Mohallah Pir Mozang. This area was originally the ‘jagir’ of Jamadar Khushal Singh who was granted this ancient area by Ranjit Singh. In the Icchara area, an equally ancient small village, beyond Mozang, some ancient temples still exist, which need conservation assistance. Today the area is a major Lahore marketplace.

Around this Mozang area have grown Tajpura, Mehr Madhu, Basti Methran, and other newer areas. It also houses Lahore’s oldest graveyard, where Guru Nanak used to stay while his disciple visited Lahore. The roads to the south all lead to smaller towns like Kasur.

But then the southern areas of Lahore started growing with the coming of the British. That process has not stopped with places like Samanabad being a major development. The British built educational institutions to the south of the walled city, as well as major markets and modern residential areas.

The entire southern area of Lahore is what basically modern Lahore constitutes. Though it stretches in every direction becoming a city with a colossal 12 million-plus people, it still retains its ancient flavours of learning, of quality food, and with artisans with a Lahori-touch.