Bhati Gate

Technically speaking there are thirteen gates encompassing the ‘inner city’ each having their own history and specific lifestyles, they are thirteen different but complete worlds surrounded by a wall in a universe named Lahore. Today we are going to enter one such world which is slightly different but more affluent with our cultural and architectural heritage than those discussed previously.

Bhatti Gate is named after the Bhattis  —- an ancient Rajput clan —- which marched into these quarters in old times. The most popular bazaar here is the Hakimanwala bazar, as the name suggests there were a number of Hakim (local medicine) shops here, and you can still find a few of them. There is a mosque named Unchi Masjid which the locals say is the mosque of Baba Anayat Shah, the Murashad (the teacher) of Baba Bhulay Shah. There is also a museum located inside Bhatti gate, where there are a number of ancient remains of different times which we’ll come to later.  The ancestral home of famous poet and philosopher (Allama Mohammad Iqbal ) is also located in Bhatti gate.

The people of Bhatti gate are lively and they love to eat rich and good food, mainly sri pai, halva puri and lassi. They may come from different walks of life and be engaged in various different businesses but they all have some things in common; a lively attitude, a good sense of humour and their Urdu is of a special quality —- being more Punjabi than Urdu. You will often hear people talking and commenting, ‘O pai jan!  Ki ho reaa hai?’ or sometimes, ‘Hor suna, maamma!’   I met an old man there, sitting on a tharaa (a small platform outside a house beside the street. People often sit on them in the narrow lanes to gossip together or just watch the world go by). I greeted him and he replied, ‘Ki haal eea putar ea (How are you son)?’ We got talking and I asked him about friendships in today’s life and about how people are discarding their culture. He said those who are discarding their culture are not one of us and this is not their culture. He became quite emotional and stated that today only a few are sincere to their soil, and the rest are imposters. I asked him if he wasn’t being too judgmental and he replied with some Punjabi verses. They moved me so much that I must share them, though I am unable to do justice to them in the translation:

Joothay yaar kaddi sachey nai hondey

 Pavien lakh chatiyie, zubana layie

(Lying friends can never speak the truth,

Even if they lick a hundred thousand times)

Sapaan dey putar kadi miitar nai hondey

Pavien choriyan par par doodh piayie

(Baby snakes can never be your friends

Though you may keep feeding them handfuls of milk)

Kharaay khoo kadii methaay nai hondey

Pavien manna gurr paayie

(A salty well can never be sweet,

Though you may pour tons of sugar therein).

Tumbey kadi tarbozz nai hondey

Pavien Makkeyon mor lieayie.

(Grapefruits can never be watermelons,

Though they be grown on the soil of Mecca)

Faqir Khana museum

About 500 meters inside Bhatti gate on the right-hand side, there is a small mansion that houses the treasures of the Fakir family, who have lived in Lahore since the 18th century. It is said to be the largest private collection in South Asia, with over 13,000 objects d’ art.

The head of the Lahore branch of the family was Fakir Syed Imam-ud-din, who came from Bukhara. There were three brothers who achieved prominence in the court of the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh, despite being Muslims, Fakir Syed Imam-ud-din was a royal physician and his other brother Fakir Syed Noor-ud-din the foreign minister and the third one Fakir Syed Aziz-ud-din was the finance minister under the Sikh ruler. Largely as a result of their ties with Ranjit Singh, they amassed many valuable artefacts, by direct purchases or hand-me-down gifts. Later generations preserved these artefacts and added to the collection from their travels abroad. Among the items is an early handwritten Quran with some beautiful gold work on it. Then there are other illuminated manuscripts, miniature paintings, porcelain pieces, old coins, Islamic artwork carvings, clothes worn by the Mughal Emperors, a small armoury of Sikh weapons and carpets from the royal courts, etc.

The items also include holy relics of the Prophet Mohammed (SAW). These are put on public display for one day during the Islamic month of Muharram.

Right now, this treasure is in the possession of the sixth generation of the Fakir Family, Fakir Syed Saif-ud-din. His son Fakir Syed Zain-ul-Abidin was our hospitable guide on our tour through the wealth of art and beauty in the Fakir Khana Museum.