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08 Lahore
The seat of power that is now an ‘official’ garbage dump
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Ranjit Singh’s son Sher Singh’s dilapidated baara-dari is home to drug addicts and stray dogs
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CItY DIReCtORY LAHORE
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T
ment department has constructed a waste enclosure inside the premises of the historical building and it is suspected that this has been done after demolishing one side of the building. It is already in a precarious state after the attacks in 1992 in reaction to the Babri Mosque demolition in India. In a recent visit to India, sayed Asif Hashmi, the Pakistan Evacuee Trust Property Board (PETPB) chairman had stated that Pakistan was making an all out efforts for the protection and maintenance of sikh heritage. However the baara-dari or samaadh as it is known is now entirely surrounded by the solid Waste Management Company’s office, with an ugly yellow urban structure greeting visitors and a repulsive rubbish dump which extends to the foot of the baara-dari. The façade of the building has also collapsed after the 1992 attacks. stray dogs now haunt the area rummaging through the garbage, as do
xARI jAlIl
HE condition of Lahore’s heritage sites seem to be growing from bad to worse. In a recent discovery Pakistan Today learnt that the baaradari of sikh Maharaja sher singh, the third son of Ranjit singh, has become an ‘official’ garbage dump, and what once used to be a symbol of grandeur is now home to drug addicts. Maharaja sher singh was the third son of Ranjit singh, founder of the sikh empire. He ruled from 1841 till his death. His Baara-dari or ‘twelve doored’ mansion is situated on the outskirts of Kot Khwaja saeed locality in Lahore, a few kilometers ahead of the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort. It seems to have been neglected for decades. Apparently, the Lahore solid Waste Manage-
garbage collectors who try to find something to sell. Historians say that Maharaja sher singh was shot dead at this site, by his rivaling relative Ajit singh. The tombs of the maharaja and his crown prince are known to be situated within the vicinity of this mansion known to locals as baradari of sufi saint shah Bilawal, however many mistake it to be a Hindu complex. Maharaja sher singh and Kanvar Partap singh were cremated at the same site of the baara dari, where later their tombs were erected. Meanwhile Afzal Khan, deputy director of the Punjab Archeology Department told Pakistan Today that they were “definitely doing something about the matter”, adding “Hamza shahbaz is trying his best to work the issue out”. “Our project PC 1 is starting soon,” he said. “Work is being done and we have given the park to the PHA. There is a lot of conservation and repair work to be done especially for the base of the building, the design and the repairing.” He said the work had begun about two months ago, and that they had written many letters to the sWM in order to remove their structure and clean the place so that work could start. “We expect them to leave soon. It’s a lack of awareness and departments just look for empty spaces to prop up their structures wherever they want even if it is a historical site,” he complained. In his research work, Iqbal Qaisar, author of “Historical sikh shrines in Pakistan” has said that the samaadh was built by Rani Randhawi, wife of sher singh. He explains that the samaadhs of Rani Randhawi herself, Dharam Kaur and Rani Partap Kaur are also located at the same site. The samadh of the Rani was on the eastern side of Maharaja sher singh’s samaadh, whereas the one on the western side housed the ashes of the others. These samaadhs had domes where the cremated ashes were kept.
Photo by Nadeem Ijaz
2 art exhibitions coming up Notification reissued for new performa
LAHORE STAFF REPoRT
Argentine painter Ricardo Cinalli will be opening his show at the National College of Arts (NCA) Zahoor-ul-Akhlaq Art Gallery on December 21, 2011. Argentine Ambassador to Pakistan Rodolfo J Martin saravia, talking about the painter, said that he had wished to introduce Cinalli in Pakistan since a long time. He said that Cinalli had brought his work to Islamabad and Lahore and his work proved that art could spread among people irrespective of the geographical distances. Another upcoming paintings exhibition will display the work of Erum Ashfaq at the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) shakir Ali Museum from December 29. It would be Erum Ashfaq’s second solo show in a year’s time and is likely to continue for over a fortnight. Her maiden solo paintings exhibition was held at Nayyer Ali Dada’s Nairang Gallery in Lahore about the same time last year. Erum Ashfaq is a naturally gifted artist without formal education in the fine arts. she has done Masters in City and Regional Planning from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore and also Masters in Economics from the Punjab University.
LAHORE STAFF REPoRT
Punjab Medico-legal (ML) surgeon Dr Wasim Haider on Friday issued the second notification in this year to effectively implement the new medico-legal performa in all the hospitals of Punjab and the District Headquarters (DHQs) with immediate effect. The notification by Dr Wasim was a part of his efforts to deal with the cases of Violence against Women (VAW) and to ensure that the victims were brought to justice. The proposal of a new ML performa was brought up by GIZ, a German organisation working in Pakistan, to resolve the issues faced in courts by the women survivors of violence, particularly of rape.
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AMRIKA cHALO “DESTINATION USA”
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DAte AND tIMe: NOv 11 tO JUN1, 2012, 4PM tO 6PM
DAte: DeCeMBeR 9 tO 17
veNUe: HASt-O-NeeSt CeNteR
veNUe: ROHtAS2 GALLeRY New York based Pakistani artist Khalil Chistee dominately working with sheer plastic to construct figurative installations has new works to show at Rohtas2.
CALLIGRAPHY CLASSeS are on-going, interested students can enroll throughout the year. the duration of one module is three months. there are four modules of learning calligraphyt: primary, secondary, advanced and higher. the course includes traditional pen and traditional paper making.
DAte: DeC 22 - 24, 2011 veNUe: ALHAMRA ARtS COUNCIL “Amrika Chalo- Destination USA” is a satirical response to the love-hate relationship between Pakistan and the US.