The gateway consists of four towers (chau: four, burji: tower) and contains much of the brilliant tile work with which the entire entrance was once covered. Originally it was gateway to the Garden of Zeb-un-nisa]] or Zebinda Begum, the accomplished daughter of Aurangzeb. This garden is believed to have been extended from Nawankot in the south to the main city of Lahore towards north. However, no traces of such an expansive garden are now available. A fragmentary inscription on the eastern archway records that the garden was built in A.H. 1056 i.e. 1646 A.D. Although most of the inscriptions have been lost, on the upper-most part of the construction Ayat-ul-Kursi can be seen in Arabic script in blue and worked in porcelain. Others include two couplets written in Persian above the arch: “This garden, in the pattern of the garden of Paradise, has been founded (missing line)… The garden has been bestowed on Mian Bai. By the bounty of Zebinda Begum, the Lady of the Age.” It is thus understood that it was commissioned by Sahib-e-Zebinda (one endowed with elegance), Begum-e- Dauran (Lady of Ages) and was bestowed upon Mian Bai Fakhrunnisa (Pride of Women), the favourite female attendant of the princess.

Without doubt Chauburgi is one of the most beautiful places to see in Lahore, specially at night when all lit up. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to preserve the gardens around it and overall its in a sorry state. The ugly billboards around it have also destroyed its beauty.

Photo Credits

1. Chauburji: Sir Cam

2. Zeb-un-Nissa’s photograph has been taken from Raza Rumi’s article.

Plaque at the Maryam Zamani or more popularly known Begum Shahi mosque. The year is 1313 Hijri more than a hundred years ago and all the proud protectors of faith the calligraphist, the financier and the Khateeb have left their names for posterity to remember.

Photo Credit: Waheed Khalid

The stamp on the girder of the small railway underpass at ‘Workshop Chowk ‘ crossing in Gulberg gives its date as 1908 and the name of the bridge builders from Howrah. The railway line came much earlier but this opening must have been made later or replaced? in 1908.

Present day Gulberg was laid out in the 1950′s but the earlier settlements the two villages of Guru Mangat and Theh Pind continue to live in the footprint of their narrow winding layout within the grid iron layout of planned Gulberg. Perhaps the underpass was created for express service for movement to the cantonment from the villages or the cremation ground which was across the railway line.

Villages of Guru Mangat and Theh Pind from 1927 map of Lahore. Rifle range on right is just off the present day Jinnah flyover.

The new suburban sprawl around Lahore offers not just housing for the middle class but also an imaginary new ‘developed’ lifestyle. They compete in gimmicks to attract the new middle class with trappings of grandeur and ‘modernity’. The Bahria town beats the rest with its theme park environment.

Bahria Town (Pvt.) Ltd. Lahore was established as a joint venture project of Bahria Foundation in January 1997. Spread over an area of more than 10,000 Kanals land, it has been devised by the renowned town planners, who conceived and established the highly reputed modern town schemes of Bahria Town. Awais from National College of Arts Lahore has captured some shots of this new neighborhood for the rich.

Children in Wazir Khan mosque Dehli Darwaza Lahore

Photograph by Arif Khan

Photograph by Mohammed Ramzan

Pithoo Gol Garam

Photograph by Aun

_Photograph by Aun