Lahore, Hai!

Shaikh Muhammad Ali

The main plot:

The first time I went to Lahore was in 1978 when I was in 8th Grade and yes indeed I am old specie now which has been on planet earth for some years whom you will not be able to get rid of, easily and in the near future too. So now that you are stuck with me, I might as well tell you another story of my life and take you down memory lane 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahore I was 14 then and to date refuse to grow beyond that age, at least mentally. Good old days; indeed. I fell in love with her…….No No! With Lahore, I would hasten to add before your fantasies go on a roller coaster ride. For someone that age, coming from Karachi; Lahore was a different ball game altogether. I was brought on excursion, in a train; by my father and my younger of the two sisters also accompanied me. And we went around and celebrated Lahore. The roads were clean, minimal traffic, travel and food cheap and we had FUN. And boy, Lahorites did believe in two things then; one having fun and the other eating. I don’t know about the first one now but eating. Oh my God! They are born to eat and eat they do.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahore I remember visiting the , the , the tomb of Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the Minar-e-, the Shalimar Bagh (gardens), the mausoleum of , the tomb of Asif Jah, the Lawrence garden, the Anarkali, the Lahore zoo, the , the Mall Road and the Canal; the ‘Neher’ which runs through Lahore and is the life and blood of the city. I even remember taking a dip with my cousins in the canal and trust me it was not dirty then and buffaloes were barred to swim around freely back then. We would have ‘Kukkar Cholay’ (Chicken with beans), a strange dish for us Karachiites at the Liberty roundabout, go have Mango Shake at a famous shop on the Mall and then would finally go to the Lawrence garden to watch beautiful girls play tennis wearing shorts. Oh Lahore of those days, how badly do I miss you!

I was there maybe for a week during the first visit and this love affair grew over the years. I went there again with Mom in 1980 when my Khala (Mother’s cousin) died, yet again in 1982 to get a visa for Saudi Arabia and then again in 1984 for excursion and in 1986 for the same reason. Lahore kept on calling me and I kept on visiting her like a young lover boy!

Between 1988 to 1995; I was abroad and went moon lighting in other countries but somehow the first love remained as first love and I would always crave for another chance to go see my woman, Lahore. Laughter! Karachi and Lahore could not become husband and wife but the love affair continues to this day and I have come to terms with the fact that love at first sight can indeed waste a lot of time and money. Chuckles 

pg. 2 In 2002, I moved to the beautiful and initially started working for the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) and was subsequently transferred to the Higher Education Commission (HEC), an organization which has given me Islamabad and the reason to stay here and thank you HEC for that 

We drove to Lahore again in mid Jan. 2009 to show the kids around. Adil (my older son) was 10 years old then and had already developed a liking for history and geography. I took my family around to the Lahore Fort, the Badshahi mosque, the Fortress stadium, tried going to Wagah border but failed miserably due to the big traffic jam at Mughalpura. We were there for three days and this is the best we could have done. On the way back from Lahore, I realized that was nearby and since I had heard that Hiran Minar (Deer Minaret) was tucked away in a little corner there so I turned my car’s steering and while taking directions from the cats, dogs and any souls on the street; I ended up at Sheikhupura and we saw the Hiran Minar which stood there in its grandeur; its aura; its rhapsody; awe inspired I stood there for minutes altogether; appreciating the beauty that was. Come July 2012; I was invited by a close to heart friend in Lahore i.e. Cdr. Azam Khan; a senior research fellow and a faculty member at the Navy War College to come speak on the topic of ‘Public Speaking’ on 7th Sept. 2012. Although, I have never spoken on this particular subject but was provoked by the invitation to go study this subject and how could I have said no to such a wonderful friend who is also a mentor. Cdr. Azam Khan; if I may is ‘Qutub-e-Lahore’ and his heart bleeds not just for Lahore but for the entire country.

(I am signing the visitor’s book @ the Pakistan Navy War College, Lahore)

pg. 3 He is a prolific writer and his writings which have become controversially popular lately; catches us by the hair and rubs our face in the sand. Through his writings, he shows us the mirror and we stand ashamed at the petty level we have fallen to. The News International, DAWN and The Nation carries his short articles; off and on and he continues to hammer down the message of the famous saint Abul Hassan Ali Hajvery famously know as Data Ganj Baksh, the caretaker of Lahore! I had taken permission from HEC and was officially invited by the Pakistan Navy War College and allowed by HEC to conduct the workshop there, thus taking a day off on Friday 7th Sept. 2012, i.e. the day of the workshop and subsequently we left for Lahore (my first love) around 5:00 p.m. with my family via the M2 Motorway.

(A signboard on the M-2 Motorway) We stop at Chakri at 5:40 p.m. for tea. Say our Maghreb prayers close to Chakwal at 6:25 p.m. We reach Lillah at 7:20 p.m., Bhera at 7:28 p.m. and Salem at 7:40 precisely. We pass through Bhabra at 7:50 p.m. and touch Pindi Bhattian at 8:33 p.m. We pass through Hafizabad at 8:54 p.m. and stop at ‘Sixty point’ near Sheikhupura at 9:10 p.m. and offer our Isha’ prayers.

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(Sabeen is making Tea somewhere near Sheikhupura) We finally reach Lahore at 9:30 p.m. and reach the rendezvous around 10:00 p.m. which was close to Walton airport. Our host, Commander Mahmood Ahmed received us and arranged for our executive suite and our dinner. He made us feel at home and we retired right after dinner quite tired. The next morning being the D-Day and a Friday; I was escorted around 8:00 a.m. to the Navy War College Auditorium where I addressed a group of around 85 Army, Navy and Air Force officers mostly from Pakistan and a few from other 11 brotherly countries.

(Receiving the Plaque from the Deputy Commandant of the War College)

pg. 5 The topic of my workshop was ‘Speaking, Reading and Writing’ which lasted for around 4.5 hours or so. It was a wonderful audience of extremely disciplined officers between the ranks of Major to Brigadiers.

(A closer view of the plaque) We then said our Juma prayers in the local mosque and then Commander Azam Khan arranged the Commandant’s car and we were driven to the Old Lahore.

(The family posing at the Lahore Fort)

pg. 6 We first visited the Lahore Fort. Since I wanted my children to appreciate the history of the Fort thus I hired an official guide to take us around and learnt things about the fort which I also did not.

(At the starting point of the Lahore Fort tour) We spent some good 3+ hours touring around the fort.

(We are posing at the Diwan-e-Khaas)

We visited the Diwan-e-Aam and the Diwan-e-Khaas. We also visited the Shish Mahal.

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(The history of the Shish Mahal) We spent some good time at the Shish Mahal and walked around the place enjoying the beauty of the Mahal (Palace) and capturing some more pictures for our memories.

(A beautiful view of the Minar-e-Pakistan from the Fort) We later had snacks and tea at the Fort garden right next to the Moti mosque and then rushed out.

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(We were here too) Sabeen and Ayesha were tired and went back to the car while I took the boys around in the Badshahi Mosque. We could barely catch the last ‘Rakaat’ of Zuhr prayers. We then moved around in the mosque and came back and joined the rest of the family in the car that was waiting to rush us back.

(The kids enjoying the rides @ the amusement park around the Fortress stadium)

I took the family to the Fortress stadium in the evening. The kids enjoyed the rides etc. while we had dinner at one of the fast food joints there and returned home by 11:00 p.m. and retired.

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