112. Gurdwara Babe Di Ber – Sialkot
Gurdwara, or house of Guru, is a place of worship of the followers of Sikh religion, hence a holy place for their community, where they come together to worship God and interact with their community. Hence gurdwara is the centre of their religious and cultural life. Some gurdwaras have a special significance attached to them….
111. Well of Puran Bhagat, Sialkot
Qissa Raja Rasalu and Puran Bhagat, or the Legend of Raja Rasalu and Puran Bhagat, is one of the oldest folk tales of Punjab. The only known physical evidence connected to this legend is a well and a small temple, located about ten kilometers from Sialkot, near a small village at 32°33’55.74″N, 74°35’13.91″E. The well…
110. Clock Tower of Sialkot
A clock tower was once a common feature of modern cities. In Pakistan, there are at least seven such towers. The most famous among them is the Ghanta Ghar of Faisalabad, so well-known that I once believed it to be the only clock tower in the country. It is perhaps the largest of them all….
109. Mosque of Mulla Kamal ud Din, Sialkot
This mosque in the old part of the city of Sialkot was managed by Maulana Mulla Kamal ud Din. He could not find details about Mulla Kamal ud Din, but his fame is due to being the teacher of famous Muslim scholar Sheikh Ahmad Al Fruqi Al Sirhindi, famous as Mujaddid Alf Sani. The following…
108. Iqbal Manzil Sialkot (Home of Allama Muhammad Iqbal) & Murray College
It was my first visit to Sialkot, and I had a long list of places to explore. After spending the night at the home of my childhood friend, Amjad Hussain, we set out early in the morning to begin our adventures. One of our first destinations was the home of Allama Muhammad Iqbal — the…
107. A Tour of Bhera City 2: A Few Glimpses of the Beautiful Architecture of Bhera
In the second part of my post about my visit to Bhera on 22 July 2019, I shall share with you a few more culturally and architecturally important buildings in the town. I would like to repeat that these are just a few glimpses of Bhera’s beauty. This town is no less than a vast…
106. A Tour of Bhera City 1: Four Hindu Temples & A Gurdwara in Bhera
Bhera is a very old and important town of Punjab. It has always been an important administrative and commercial centre. In the days of Mahmud Ghaznavi, it was equal to Lahore in importance. In almost all periods since its establishment, it has retained its importance and significance. The official Gazetteer for the district of Shahpur…
105. A Tour of Jhang City 2: A Few Glimpses of Pre-partition Era
In my previous post, I shared a few examples of the rich architectural heritage of Jhang from the pre-Partition era. Here, I present a few more. Roaming through the narrow alleys of the old part of Jhang was a fascinating experience. On the edge of the old city, along Circular Road, I came across a…
104. A Tour of Jhang City 1: Two Old Gurdwaras & A Dharmshala
Jhang is an old city, situated almost in the middle of Pakistani Punjab. Its fertile lands are nourished by the waters of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers. It is home to the legendary Heer, heroine of the most famous love story in South Asia, the tale of Heer and Ranjha. Their tomb also stands in…
103. Home of PM Inder Kumar Gujral in Jhelum City
The areas that later became part of Pakistan produced three Prime Ministers of India: Mr. Gulzari Lal Nanda (Sialkot), Mr. Inder Kumar Gujral (Jhelum), and Mr. Manmohan Singh (Chakwal). The subject of this post is Mr. Inder Kumar Gujral. Inder Kumar Gujral was born on 4 December 1919 in Jhelum. His family originally belonged to…