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| − | =Lahore: Tollinton=
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| − | ==Lahore: Tollinton Market==
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| − | Memorable market
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| − | By Yasira Naeem Pasha
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| − | [http://dawn.com/ Dawn]
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| − | [[File: Lahore Tollinton Market.PNG| Lahore Tollinton Market |frame|500px]]
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| − | [[File: Lahore Tollinton Market1.PNG| Lahore Tollinton Market |frame|500px]]
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| − | [[File: Lahore Tollinton Market2.PNG| Lahore Tollinton Market |frame|500px]]
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| − | Tollinton Market in Lahore has great historical significance, but is suffering from official neglect
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| − | Tollinton Market in Lahore has a great historical and cultural background. Originally there was no particular name given to the structure, save for its exhibition hall. It was after a long time that it was given a proper name, Tollinton Market, after one of the government of Punjab’s officials, Sir H.P. Tollinton.
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| − | The old Tollinton Market used to be situated on one side of Shahra-i-Quaid-i-Azam, behind the famous museum, facing Anarkali Bazar. Its two sides faced two different roads.
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| − | The construction date of the old Tollinton Market building is not known. Some facts reveal that it was not actually made for the purpose which it serves today. The fact that in the past it was ignored badly and treated callously disappoints many. The building is a typical colonial structure. Most of the historical events confirm its use in the colonial period and afterwards.
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| − | In the 19th century the world witnessed some revolutionary changes. People started sharing local products with the rest of the world. Different kinds of exhibitions were also being held. This gave birth to the famous Industrial Revolution throughout Europe and America.
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| − | Back then, the subcontinent was ruled by the British. Whatever the British thought of in those days would be implemented in the area they’d occupied. So surveys were conducted for selecting the site for holding exhibitions. The site selected originally must have been part of the garden surrounding the Wazir Khan Pavilion, which was later made into the Punjab Public Library. It was on these large gardens where Ranjeet Singh camped when he came to capture Lahore 200 years ago. Subsequently many important buildings were constructed. A good example of such buildings is the Telegraph Office that used to display a marble plaque which proved that we had a telegraph system in place as early as in 1858. The sad part is that some years back the office was demolished.
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| − | In 1861, plans were being made to hold an industrial exhibition in Punjab at Lahore. In 1863 Mr Bains, resident engineer of the Punjab Railways, prepared the design for the building where exhibitions would be held. The first Punjab exhibition was inaugurated on January 20, 1864, by the then governor Sir Robert Montgomery.
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| − | The exhibition went on for some years but then the building was considered a perfect place for an art school. As a result, a school was founded in 1876 while the main pavilion continued to serve as a museum till 1894.
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| − | In 1887, it was decided that the building should be converted into a fruit and vegetable market for the elite of the town. This reveals that the area was liked by the British who wanted to develop their own community in the region having all the facilities like offices and small shops. The revised plans were submitted on July 25, 1895 and were approved by Rai Bahadur Gangaram (executive engineer). In 1911, a beef market was constructed here and in 1920 repair work was done. Another term of repair work was undertaken in 1937.
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| − | In 1920 the building was thoroughly repaired and the projecting entrances along the northern side, i.e. parallel to the Mall Road, were demolished to facilitate the service lane. The building suffered a callous blow just in the name of serving the public.
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| − | Afterwards, Tollinton became a proper market. Seafood, mutton, beef, vegetables, fruits, canned food and groceries could be bought from here. It was the beginning of the market but the end of the original form of the building.
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| − | According to the Lahore Conservation Society, “With a powerful sense of history, academic atmosphere, low density and large trees the precinct of Tollinton Market captures that special flavour of urbanism that is identified with Lahore. Conservation of the quality and character of spaces is not limited to preserving buildings of historical or architectural value but includes the control of land use, building densities and heights, nature of traffic. As such the development of multi-storey car park and a high use of commercial buildings on the site of Tollinton Market will prove to be a thin end of the wedge that will end up destroying everything we hold of value not only in this particular precinct but in the city of Lahore as a whole.”
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| − | Then the emotional aspect of the situation cannot be ignored either. As Sir Pran Neville an old resident of Lahore, says, “Being emotionally attached to my beloved Lahore, I am deeply disturbed to learn about the present plan to demolish the Tollinton Market Building, the historic and the prominent landmark of Lahore which housed the first Punjab Exhibition in 1864. No other city can boast a more stirring and cheered history than Lahore, the gate way to the subcontinent. It will indeed be a great pity to demolish this glorious structure built by British rulers but with the labor of nameless artisans and workers of Lahore.
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| − | We should make a fervent appeal to the authorities to preserve this landmark at all costs. I have seen how other nations take pride in their national heritage and with painstaking efforts struggle to re-build their historic structures destroyed by nature or by war. The polish people worked for decades to rebuild the old town of Warsaw completely destroyed during the last war. They had to refer the old photographs of the senior citizens.”
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| − | ==Lahore Tollington==
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| − | April 30, 2006
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| − | EXCERPTS: If these walls could talk
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| − | [http://dawn.com/ Dawn]
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| − | [[File: Lahore Tollington.PNG| Lahore Tollington |frame|500px]]
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| − | [[File: Lahore Tollington2.PNG| Lahore Tollington |frame|500px]]
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| − | [[File: Lahore Tollington3.PNG| Lahore Tollington |frame|left|500px]]
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| − | [[File: Lahore Tollington4.PNG| Lahore Tollington |frame|500px]]
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| − | Nukta Art is a bi-annual Pakistani art magazine
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| − | Samina Shah writes about the revamping of Tollington Market as a museum for Lahore
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| − | IN living memory, the building often referred as “Tollington”, has been a provision market. In fact it has been the main market for a long time for household products, and since it stands close to the Punjab University, the National College of Arts (NCA), and a host of other educational institutions, generations of students remember it with nostalgia.
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| − | This edifice stands at the intersection of two axes, and the north to south alignment is from the old city of Lahore and the British cantonment, and the east to west is the old and new Anarkali bazar. Seen in the context of the colonial British policy for arts and industry, in 1864 the Tollington building was erected to house an exhibition of Indian crafts — an event that was immensely popular and continued for a period of nine months.
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| − | [[File: Lahore Tollington1.PNG| Lahore Tollington |frame|left|500px]]
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| − | Looking at the chain of events as a sequel to this, the building housed antiquities and by the end of the 19th century it became the birth place of the Lahore Museum and later the NCA.
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| − | Meanwhile, during the First World War, Tollington fell into neglect. A few years later it found its fortunes turning when at the end of the war the British administration began to attend to civilian matters. Giving Tollington a new look in 1922, Sir Ganga Ram was given the charge for its restoration and repair work, and it was then that a flat one replaced the slanting wooden roof.
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| − | However, for the curious student of architecture (and the general public), one interior wall of the present building has been deliberately left bare, that is, kept without plaster, to facilitate the observation of different stages of masonry and structure. The size of the brick varies as the walls go up, since in those days there was no concept of protection against dampness. But recently the restorers of this building have carefully made the entire walls damp-proof by working at the base of an already built-up formation.
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| − | The building is in three sections: the main entrance hall, that is the waiting area, has benches of the same period and a fountain in the centre. The commercial building area, which used to have the fruit and vegetable market, has rows of open quarters as “one shop one craft” on both sides. Each room has a metal spiral staircase that goes up on the first floor of the same room as a loft for storage or book-keeping. The metal work is 19th century customised; the display boards outside each “shop” are ready as nameplates, described aptly in the novels of Somerset Maugham.
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| − | Proceeding with the renovation and restoration, Sajjad Kausar, the architect who has spared no pains in bringing this building to completion, says: “If the re-use of the building is close to the original, then the intervention is minimum, as making it better-looking or demolishing it is not restoration. In the building today, 1864 and 1922 have been cleverly combined.”
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| − | He is overly protective of his work, and so are his colleagues and advisors architects Nayyar Ali Dada and Kamil Khan Mumtaz — among others, who have closely followed its progress. “There is no place in Lahore for showcasing local crafts like the Covent gardens displays of the English crafts or the New Delhi State Emporium, which is a huge establishment for Indian crafts. The state ensures a price control, thus enabling the craftsmen to sell their products and attract tourists at the same time. I have restored this structure keeping in mind the need for a crafts bazar. There is a foyer in the centreand a Display Hall for two and three-dimensional exhibits. In short, I am looking at a Tollington Museum, which encompasses the above,” says Kausar.
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| − | Mumtaz adds that “this was an interesting case, as some of the issues faced were authenticity vs reconstruction for adaptive reuse, and because the intervention is to be minimal, restoration comes as the last choice. When we look at the patinas of history, questions like what to restore, and which period of history one restores it to, come up. These are all debatable issues, and should bring about more deliberations amongst professionals as such issues do not have readymade simple answers; they need brainstorming and discussions.”
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| − | This building is a landmark of Lahore and because it fell into an era of descent, the developers got involved and wanted to make it into a commercial venture. To do so they needed to demolish the structure, but later, after much protest, they changed their decision and were ready to re-make it into its original form. This brought the “Tajdeed-i-Lahore” at the helm of affairs along with the PHA, who have taken the “Tollington Market’ project as part of a larger scheme of conserving Lahore’s built heritage.
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| − | “Conservation is not a sentimental journey, as cultural heritage is a document that has to be maintained in all honesty; if that is not followed scientifically then everything is reduced to fantasy,” reiterates Mumtaz. “The building is complete now; but what they plan to do with it is up to the administration.”
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| − | Regarding the future of this building and its usage, the senior officials of the Lahore Museum and PHA are still deliberating and are unable to give any answer. However, some concerned citizens are enthusiastic for the establishment of a city museum.
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| − | “What is needed is a museumologist to take the work on from here. This building can have sections like a hall of fame, Lahore’s history through the ages, the sacred sites, shrines, gardens, religious places like temples, gurdawaras, mosques, life styles, etc.,” says Faqir Saifuddin, the director of the Faqir Khana Museum. “I have given guidelines of how to go about it to the Governor of Punjab. Let us see what happens eventually,” he reflects.
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| − | There are plans for developing the meat market area into an area of folk culture with the open spaces being utilised for folk music, puppetry, and the performing arts, thus making the Tollington Museum really come alive after more than a century of neglect and apathy.
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| − | Excerpted with permission from:
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| − | Nukta Art
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| − | Edited by Niilofur Farrukh Available from Flat # 104, 2nd floor, 11/C-9th Commercial Lane, Zamzama, Clifton, Karachi
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| − | Fax: 021-5845815
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| − | Email: nuktaart@yahoo.com
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| − | 142pp. Rs520
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| − | Niilofur Farrukh is the author of Pioneering Perspectives, the first book on art by a Pakistani woman, as well as an art critic. She is on the advisory council of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts and is the president of AICA Pakistan — the Paris-based International Art Critics Association
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| − | Samina Shah is an art critic based in Lahore and freelances for various publications.
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| | =Lahore: M.M. Alam Road= | | =Lahore: M.M. Alam Road= |
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| | Ghulam Rasool chanay-wallah has managed to preserve in this quaint corner of the busy commercial hub a shop for 60 years. It has continued to serve the spicy, aromatic food it had to offer the day it first opened for business. Whoever thought that Neela Gumbad had this little food area tucked away in a tiny lane behind the rampant commercial activity that meets the eye as you enter the place? | | Ghulam Rasool chanay-wallah has managed to preserve in this quaint corner of the busy commercial hub a shop for 60 years. It has continued to serve the spicy, aromatic food it had to offer the day it first opened for business. Whoever thought that Neela Gumbad had this little food area tucked away in a tiny lane behind the rampant commercial activity that meets the eye as you enter the place? |
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| | + | =See also= |
| | + | [[Lahore: A-E]] [[Lahore: F-K ]] [[Lahore: L-Q]] [[Lahore: R-Z ]] [[Lahore: architectural treasures]] [[Lahore: Civic issues ]] [[Lahore: History ]] [[Lahore: Parsi cusine ]] [[Lahore: Protected Monuments]] [[Bhai Ram Singh]] |
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[edit] Lahore: M.M. Alam Road
Raising the bar for desi food
By Halima Mansoor
Dawn
Going down M.M. Alam Road on most days while deciding where to dine is at best tedious. The ditch ridden road perceived by some deluded gentlemen as a Formula 1 track gives the aura that it houses a multitude of eateries, providing unlimited options, whereas the options are rather limited, especially for desi food. There is one place that never fails, however, in serving local cuisine that can be happily polished off the plates: Mirchi.
A relatively old establishment, its menu offers a combination of continental food, local cuisine and dessert. The focus being the main entrées on the desi menu; curries, kebabs, barbecue dishes, naans and the token vegetarian dishes. And all categories have at least one mouth watering item.
The experience begins with the trademark pickled vegetables the eatery serves in little glazed pots to whet the appetite. With a tingling vinegar aftertaste, the vegetables are a lovely mouthful, especially the green chillies, the namesake.
There are two curries that stand out the most: the murgh madrasi and the kashmiri chicken handi. The murgh madrasi is a unique blend of chicken, tomatoes and spices that crosses into the category of spicy food without giving heartburn or making one guzzle down gallons of water during the meal. On the other end of the spectrum, the dish from Kashmir is a gentle full flavoured dish that is seasoned with just enough oomph to entice those preferring bolder flavours and pleasing those who prefer milder flavours.
If in the mood to nibble, the barbecue platter provides two or three people a variety. Chicken boti, behari kebab and Mirchi special kebab, are all very distinctive in flavour. If the waiter's in a good mood and can be wooed, he should be requested to add a few pieces of paneer tikka to the little ensemble!
To complement the succulent barbecued chicken boti and the bold murgh madrasi, the parathas and roghni naans are a definitive accompaniment. Their cheese naan is an original and literally mouth watering bait, however, its complete flavour makes it a better appetiser than a bread to have with food. Sharp cheese with aromatic herbs, it can be a meal on its own.
Undoubtedly the star item on their menu is the khatti daal. The flavour cannot be penned down to detail since this daal is unique to taste. The subtle smoky aroma offsets the smooth tangy daal perfectly. It is very addictive, indeed.
A good meal, however, cannot stand a restaurant’s weight alone. Even if the bland background music is ignored the ambience in the eatery is dramatically affected by the terrible lights. Their brass light shades dangling over each table let through thin shards of sharp light that look pretty from a distance. Once at the table, they drive one into a state of annoyance.
The upside is the manner in which the waiters dealt with it once the complaint made its way to their very distracted ears: eager to solve the issue at hand, the waiter presented us with a light shade ala napkin. Points down for the lack of elegance but the round went to the house for good service.
This glitch in ambience should not deter people who dine out to experience good cuisine. Over the past two years no trip to Mirchi has ever been a culinary disappointment.
However, their western dishes have never stood out; perhaps the availability of good local food always leads one to the establishment for a tried and tested order that usually only differs in quantity!
This side of Lahore, Mirchi raises the bar for desi food.
[edit] Lahore: Neela Gumbad
Chickpeas for a penny
By Hina Bhatti
Dawn
Lahore Neela Gumbad
Lahore Neela Gumbad
Neela Gumbad in Lahore may be known for a hundred things, but food is not one of them. A commercial hub and a city landmark, the place bustles with activity as pedestrians and cars fill every possible inch of the space around the chowk. It used to be the motorist’s way made easy into Anarkali Bazaar. The open space in front of the majestic King Edward Medical College building on one side, the hostel on the other and the historical Neela Gumbad mosque bang opposite, is now flanked by the bicycle market at one end.
At the other end is the spillover of Anarkali bargains and the third side sports medical equipment being sold at the far side, leading to the line of banks that give the Bank Square its name at the busy traffic junction on The Mall. Here, at a stone’s throw stands another sentinel of the colonial past, the GPO. The odd-kilometre-long stretch has been the scene of gatherings and protest rallies by political workers since the banning of demonstrations on The Mall proper in the early 1990s. The YMCA and the now defunct Pak Tea House, once the cultural lifeline of the city, also stand nearby.
Back at Neela Gumbad, under the bright sunshine, a continuous flow of honking horns, the sputtering of rickshaws and smoke fill the air, but a sharp turn into Robert Road changes all that. Buildings tower on both sides of the lane shading it from the sun. The lane, not wide enough for a car to manoeuvre into, is devoid of the smoke outside, and rain over the years has robbed it of its smoothness.
Robert Road leads to a maze of crisscross streets, housing the Balmiki temple, the oldest in the city and still manned by the followers of the pre-Hindu creed credited with the writing of Ramayan. Further down, the alleys spill into Anarkali Bazaar at the Bible Society corner, the booklovers’ paradise. Nestled in the corner shop, just off Neela Gumbad, is Ghulam Rasool Chanay-wallah, the front of the shop surrounded by a clamouring group of customers.
The proprietor is Haji Ghulam Rasool, who established his business in this location right after independence in 1947.
The shop is run by Ghulam Rasool, his son and his three brothers, as they were groomed to do so from childhood. Ghulam Rasool proudly sits behind a huge pot of chanay (cooked chickpeas) at the entrance of the shop and scoops them into plates to be served, all the while nodding reminders at a boy standing next to him to collect the money.
A huge pot of chanay cooked in rich gravy simmer over a flame, in order to be kept warm, and a small group of people standing in line yell out orders, many thrusting forward small pots brought from home. This is Ghulam Rasool’s established, loyal clientele that belongs to varying classes of society. They come from far and wide to relish the chanay that are his specialty. Some are his daily customers; others have been coming occasionally over the years.
Ghulam Rasool is as tightlipped about his daily income as he is about the secret ingredients that make his chanay one of the most sought after in the city. The fact that he is able to compete in the market, now with many international food-chains and the other, regular delectable desi fare present just round the corner at the Old Anarkali food street, and still not only survive but thrive over the years is proof of his business’s success.
“I open up the shop at 11am and within the next few hours I’ve sold out everything, everyday,” says a contented Ghulam Rasool.
As per tradition, the food is cooked by the women at home and then it is transported to the shop every morning, where the chanay are sold with fresh baked naans. Ghulam Rasool has managed to fight temptation of relocating into a posh area of Lahore, and preserved not only the taste of his food, but the traditional values that his father ingrained into the business.
Slow rotating fans cool off the customers as they lounge on wooden benches lined in front of the shop along the wall, enjoying their chanay with achaar (pickle), served on modest, aluminium plates. A man can eat here till he can eat no more for anything between Rs15 and Rs25; add a soft drink and you have a leisurely meal.
“It’s nice to sometimes get away from all these flashy restaurants around and enjoy food at this leisurely pace, surrounded by this atmosphere,” said Musa, a student of National College of Arts, eating there with his friends.
Ghulam Rasool chanay-wallah has managed to preserve in this quaint corner of the busy commercial hub a shop for 60 years. It has continued to serve the spicy, aromatic food it had to offer the day it first opened for business. Whoever thought that Neela Gumbad had this little food area tucked away in a tiny lane behind the rampant commercial activity that meets the eye as you enter the place?
[edit] See also
Lahore: A-E Lahore: F-K Lahore: L-Q Lahore: R-Z Lahore: architectural treasures Lahore: Civic issues Lahore: History Lahore: Parsi cusine Lahore: Protected Monuments Bhai Ram Singh
