One Man In Lahore

I WANT TO TAKE YOU HIGHER

2006-12-02T17:10:00.000-08:00

Possibly the most mind-blowing thing one can do in Lahore takes place every Thursday night at the 700-year-old Shrine of Baba Shah Jamal. At this time, several drum beaters gather together to play their hypnotic beats for a packed crowd. The weekly event has come to be known as "Sufi Night."

Sufism is a traditional form of Islamic mysticism with many different forms and interpretations, but the most common theme is the pursuit of spiritual freedom. The drum beaters in Lahore gain this through music and dancing.

The drummers I saw were the famed Gongasain brothers, the most reknowned musicians of their kind in Pakistan. One of the most amazing bits of information about this duo is that one of the brothers is deaf and learned how to drum by feeling the vibrations on his stomach. The fact that the two play in unison and harmony is a testament to their skill and dedication.

The part of the Shrine where the Gongasain brothers perform is actually quite small and totally crammed with bare-footed spectators (you have to remove your shoes to get in the shrine). The performance starts around 11:00 pm, and we arrived just in time. We barely got in, but were able to score front row seats.

The Gongasain brothers were complimented by four dancers who twirled around in clockwise fashion while shaking their heads vigorously from left to right as if in a trance. Because of our close proximity to the action, we were in danger of being trampled by them several times, but managed to survive the experience unscathed.

Photos were discouraged (maybe because the flash would prove distracting for the performers and therefore disrupt their spiritual journey). We still managed to grab some shots, but they really don't capture the excitement of the action.

In order to take more pictures, my friend Dennis turned off the flash on his camera. For this reason (and also because it was nighttime), the following pictures have an acid-flashback feel to them, but given the subject matter it seems entirely appropriate.

Sufi Night in Lahore is an unforgettable experience and truly a must-see for visitors to the city. It's become so popular that they even have signs advertising the event.

Special thanks to Dennis for supplying me with most of the pictures for this article.

PAKISTANI PAPARAZZI: BEASTS OF BURDEN

2006-12-02T16:23:00.000-08:00

At times, it seems as if Lahore is an actual urban jungle because of the sheer amount of animals that are constantly mingling on the streets with the locals. Aside from the creatues I will document here, the Lahore animal population included dogs, cats, chickens, sheep, cows and camels.

I also saw two smartly dressed monkeys on leashes, but their owners wouldn't let me take their pictures, so I had to steal this shot as they walked down the street:

Here is a goat that I saw on the sidewalk. When I asked why his two front legs were bound together, I was told that he was just waiting to be sacrificed within a few days.

Horses can be seen transporting people around town in carriages that range from the simple to the elegantly elaborate.

Generally, animals in Lahore are used as beasts of burden, and horses and mules are most often seen transporting heavy loads across town.

Most of the time, these animals appear overworked and overwhelmed. This donkey is practically skeletal, but he is still being required to lug a cache of children's bikes from one place to another.

Still, there are times in Lahore when you'll spot an actual person carrying a heavy load and when you do, you can bet that there's a horse, donkey or cow somewhere who is thankful for the break.

LAHORE RESTAURANT REVIEW: LEMON GRASS

2006-11-29T18:25:00.000-08:00

I'm the first to admit that Thai food is not my favorite menu choice. I can think of a ton of other styles of food that I would prefer to Thai and that was one reason I was glad to get out of Bangkok and over to Lahore, if even for just a little while.

But towards the end of the trip I decided to check out Lahore's first (and only) stand-alone Thai restaurant: Lemon Grass, and I'm glad I did.

If I was giving out style points, then this place would get high marks across the board. It looks like Thailand. It feels like Thailand. It even smells like Thailand (lemon grass, to be specific).

They even have several Thai staff members and everyone is dressed in traditional Thai clothes.

When you walk in, you're even greeted with the standard portrait of Their Majesties King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit, something you'll see in every business establishment in Bangkok.

The interior designers of Lemon Grass really went out of their way to make this place look authentic. Their are Thai-style statues:

Paintings:

Masks:

And other details:

The walls really reminded me of walls at the Jim Thompson house (see my article at One Man in Bangkok).

And the food was pretty good too. They offer all of the traditional Thai dishes, and they weren't too spicy for me (which Thai food in Bangkok usually is). Again, I am not a connoisseur of this kind of food, but some of the people I was with have lived in Bangkok for over ten years and one of them commented that Lemon Grass offered the best Thai food outside of Thailand that he has ever had, hands down.

So next time you're in Lahore and have a hankering for some Thai cuisine, look no further than Lemon Grass. You can't miss it, it's the place that looks like a teak-style Thai house that has been magically transported to Pakistan.

FLEETING IMAGES OF LAHORE

2006-11-28T01:21:00.000-08:00

I only spent a week in Lahore, but during those seven days I covered a lot of ground. For that reason, I was not able to spend as much time at certain sites as I would have liked to, so I am compiling them all here.

These next three images were all taken at different shopping areas around Lahore. To me, the really illustrate the hustle and bustle that makes the city so vibrant at times.

But Lahore is not all traffic and confusion. It has a reputation as a very green city, with many peaceful parks. This one is called Racecourse Park and it is home to a polo field (one of Pakistan's more popular sports).

Shalimar Gardens was conceived by Shah Jahan in the 1600s and is the only surviving Mughal garden/park in Lahore. It is fairly large and contains a lot of impressive buildings, pools and fountains. The current King and Queen of Thailand visited Shalimar Gardens in the early 1960s.

The Old City is considered to be the heart of Lahore. It is surrounded by a wall with thirteen gates. The Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque are part of the Old City, but there is also a thriving shopping district with winding streets where one could really get lost.

There are a bunch of other mosques in the Old City as well:

Getting around Lahore is easy if you have the patience to deal with congested traffic jams at various times of the day. The city streets are places where cars, trucks, carts drawn by horses and mules, bicycles and motorcycles converge to create chaos and disorder.

Another form of city transportation is the auto-rickshaw. People familiar with Bangkok will recognize these three-wheelers as "tuk tuks."

Buses in Lahore are canvases for artists to express themselves through wild and colorful designs. This one reminded me of the bus the Beatles drove in "Magical Mystery Tour."

The Minar-i-Pakistan (aka Pakistan's Tower) is often referred to by locals as Pakistan's Eiffel Tower, although it's not nearly as large. It was built in 1960 on the same spot where the Pakistan Resolution was signed twenty years earlier.

One could spend a few half a day at the Lahore Museum if they had the time to examine each and every article it contains.

Like any worthwhile museum, Lahore's has plenty of historical artifacts:

And not everything here focuses on Muslim culture. There is a Hindu section and this statue of the fasting Buddha is a famed image around the world:

Art both old and new also has a home at the Lahore museum:

On the outskirts of Lahore along a dried out river is what was explained to me as a "gypsy village." I had never seen one of those before.

And while Lahore may be the cultural hub of Pakistan, I'm not sure if the latest James Bond film "Casino Royale" has made it there yet, but in case it hasn't it's nice to know that Pappo Gujjar is around to save the day.

PATRIOT GAMES

2006-11-27T23:09:00.000-08:00

If anyone would have told me that a flag lowering ceremony involving Pakistan and India would have been one my fondest memories about my trip to Lahore, I would have thought they were crazy. A flag lowering ceremony???? How exciting could it be???

Well the answer is quite exciting. And fun too. Where else can one go and stand at the "zero point" of the two countries? In this picture, the guys on the horses are in India and I am in Pakistan.

This is an event that has been taking place about an hour before sunset on the border of Pakistan and India every day since 1948 (excluding rainy days and times when the two countries were at war, the last time being sometime in the 1990s). The crowds start to gather on both sides of the border about an hour early, eagerly anticipating the evening's festivies. The event is so popular that grandstands have been built to accomodate everyone (in fact, they were building additional seats when I was there).

It should be noted that men and women have to sit apart from each other. Tourists and other outsiders seem to get the best seats (for whatever reason).

The time leading up to the actual flag lowering is filled with bombastic music (I assume they are national anthems and other patriotic songs) and marching soldiers. Chants of "Pakistan zindabad!" (which means "Long Live Pakistan") are shouted to thunderous applause.

The soldiers do their best to help get the crowd whipped into a frenzy. This mainly involves animated marching and exaggerated moves designed to outdo what their counterparts are doing over in India.

By this time, the crowd is electric. Then a bunch of people run the Pakistani flag back in forth in front of the screaming masses to further incite them. It's nice that kids get to be involved in this kind of extreme patriotism.

Finally, an old guy comes out with the Pakistani flag and a matching shirt, screaming "Pakistan zindabad! Pakistan zindabad!" over and over. Apparently he has been doing this every day for years.

The whole atmosphere is one of a major sporting event back in the U.S. The only thing that was missing was "the wave." If they could somehow manage to coordinate that across the border of two countries, it would certainly be a spectacle to behold.

The crowd on the Indian side of the border was much larger than the Pakistani side, which makes sense when you compare the populations of the two countries. I was told by my Pakistani friends that what they lack in crowd size, they make up for in crowd passion.

The actual flag lowering lasts only a few moments. When it is done, the gates are closed and the two head soldiers from each country salute each other and then march their folded flag back to safekeeping admidst huge ovations.

Afterwards, you can hang out and take photos with the soldiers. All of them were more than willing to pose.

I found the whole thing to be fascinating and I felt an overall general sense of patriotism when the ceremony was all over. It is kind of inspiring to see people coming together to celebrate a mutual love for their country. It was very cool to be a part of. Someday, I would like to witness the same ceremony from India's side of the border (just to say I did both).

PAKISTANI PAPARAZZI: FASHION EDITION

2006-11-24T00:23:00.000-08:00

When it comes to clothes and fashion, Lahore, Pakistan is a place that runs the gamut of style. Indeed, many of the people I saw were wearing Western clothes, although many of them had outfits that looked like they dated back to my highschool years in the mid-1980s.

The traditional everday Pakistani clothing ensemble for men (and sometimes women) is the salwar-kameez. The salwar are the loose fitting trousers and the kameez is the extra-long shirt. The whole getup reminds me of pajamas, but is probably a pretty comfortable set of clothes. My friend Saeed here is also wearing a vest and a hat because he is in a mosque. Women would traditionally add a scarf to this outfit.

Around town you will often see women wearing a burqa, a long outer garment that covers everything but the woman's eyes. The decision to wear a burqa is usually determined by the tradtions or religious preferences of woman's family and is not required by law (as it was during the Taliban's reign in Afghanistan).

This woman, a dancer at a festival celebrating Indian food and music, had an entirely different outfit and I must admit it was pretty hot.

Lahore had no shortage of cute kids who were only too eager to pose for my camera. These girls had uniforms from a cadet school, one that they attended to instill discipline in their lives at an early age.

The children I encountered loved to get their picture taken and when I showed them the photos I took on my digital camera they got very excited (as if it were magic or something).

Seen here are a couple of teenage girls wearing the salwar-kameez with scarves. They also have designs painted on their hands from a henna plant. This is kind of like a temporary tattoo and very popular in Pakistan (it lasts about two weeks).

This girl already has an attitude that suggests a career as a fashion model someday.

Pakistan's version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band:

(Actually they were a band that was getting ready to perform at a local wedding)

Around town guards and doormen at local restaurants, hotels and other places of interest were often dressed in traditional Punjab garb. The turban styles in this province of Pakistan are different than other parts of the country.

One night we attended a music festival and I was taking some photos of the crowd. Suddenly, a security officer ran up to me and insisted that I take his picture. His look and pose give insight into what Peter Sellers could have possibly looked like had he portrayed a Pakistani security guard in one of his films (I don't believe he ever did).

The policemen in Lahore have a decidedly military look and they all carry armed rifles (similar to the soldiers that populated the Bangkok streets during the Coup back in September), but the ones I encountered were all pretty nice.

That concludes this edition of "Pakistani Paparazzi." Check back later for the next installment...

TOMB RAIDER

2006-11-23T23:54:00.000-08:00

Located just outside of northern Lahore is Emporer Jehagir's Tomb. It was constructed in 1637 by his son Shah Jahan and designed by his widow, Nur Jahan. Like most historical Mughal buildings in Lahore, the main tomb is surrounded by many other structures and walls.

After entering a series of buildings, you finally can see the main Tomb, which has a nice fountain and rows of trees leading up to it.

The Tomb has suffered much over the years, with many of its original ornaments and decorations having been stripped away, but the British government restored much of it in 1889-90. Restoration work was still being done to the top of the tomb while I was there.

Inside the actual Tomb is Emporer Jehangir's elaborate casket. The details are certainly beautiful and eye-catching.

I was able to get on the roof of the actual Tomb thanks to my companions from the Lahore Tourisim Department. The general public isn't allowed on there at the present time, because much of the current repair work is being done on the walls that surround the roof.

The roof has four towers and when you climb them you can get a really spectacular view of the whole Tomb complex.

One detail I found interesting was this swastika on the ground in front of the main Tomb. For those who don't know, the swastika was originally a sacred symbol of peace and love for Hindus, Buddhists and several other religions before Hitler corrupted in during the Nazi regime.

Just across the road from Jehangir's Tomb is one belonging to Nur Jahan. I didn't go inside, but I found it interesting that the woman who designed such an ornate final resting place for her husband has a somewhat modest one for herself.

PAKISTANI PAPARAZZI

2006-11-22T02:27:00.001-08:00

If people-watching is your thing, then Lahore offers plenty of opportunities to observe a colorful cast of characters going about their daily routines.

In my brief time there I saw some folks whose faces alone give indications that they have led interesting lives and have plenty of stories to tell.

For others, actions spoke louder than words. This man is holding a Pakistani flag and his shirt has the same moon and star emblem that adorns the country's national banner. His patriotism is unquestioned.

Consumption of food is an important part of the Pakistani lifestyle and various carts are all over Lahore offering a variety of items including barbecued meat, sweet potatoes and dates. If I spoke their language, I can imagine engaging these next three men in conversation, much the way a patron does with a bartender back in the U.S.

If you choose to watch people in Lahore, then you better get used to being watched as well, especially if you are a white person from the West. I was constantly stopped and asked where I was from, why I was in Pakistan, and what I thought of the country.

This was done both on a one to one basis and by a crowd of people. I didn't feel was a problem if the group was a bunch of school kids...

But when the crowd was mainly a bunch of males over the age twenty, I would be lying if I said that I didn't find the experience to be a bit intimidating. These guys didn't mean any harm, but when they surrounded me I honestly didn't know what to expect. I discovered that they were more or less an unofficial welcoming committee that took on the form of a rabble. They were curious as to why someone like me would visit their country. Additionally, they were not used to the situation and probably didn't consider that mobbing a visitor could feel threatening.

Everywhere I went, people wanted to take my picture and I was even asked to sign an autograph. One guy said:

"May I have a snap?" (as in snapping a photo).

I replied: "Why would you want a picture of me?"

"Because I am an English teacher and I want to show my students I met someone who speaks English."

This seemed like a sincere reason so I let him have his photo.

Other times, the crowds kept to themselves and did the same things they did every night, regardless of whether or not there were tourists around.

All in all, I found the citizens of Pakistan (specifically Lahore) to be a decent group of people with a lot of national pride. They are most likely aware that they have a certain type of reputation around the world, but as is usually the case, this reputation only applies to a small portion of society who for the most part ruin it for everyone else. The bottom line is that they love their country and want those who visit to love it as well.

BEHIND THE WALL: A VISIT TO LAHORE FORT

2006-11-21T23:51:00.000-08:00

Directly across from the Badshahi Mosque is the Lahore Fort (also known as Shahi Qila). This impressive structure has a long and storied history and it was built, altered and rebuilt between the years 1566 and 1673. It is another spectacular example of Mughal architecture and is very similar to other forts in Agra and Delhi. It is essentially a series of buildings surrounded by a massive wall.

Upon entering the Fort, you can walk through various structures, all of which were built at different times by different Mughal emporers like Akbar and Jehangir. I didn't really keep track of which ones were which and who built what, but you can get the general feel of the place from the next series of photos. The Fort has an eerie, deserted feel and while several of the structures are ruins, most are surprisingly intact.

Like any historical site, the real treat of the Lahore Fort is in the details. Precious stones, carvings, mosaic and rough tiles and murals are still contained throughout and one can spend considerable time just taking it all in.

One of the more memorable structures in the Lahore Fort is the Shish Mahal (also known as the Palace of Mirrors). It was built in 1631-32 by Shah Jahan.

Unfortunately, the Palace of Mirrors was under renovation when I was there and if I had included its picture here, all you would see is a bunch of scaffolding. The entire wall is covered with small mirrored tiles and this was the place where the empress and her court hung out. There were other parts of it though and the screens you can see here were installed so the empress could have some privacy.

You can leave the Lahore Fort by way of Pakistan's only surviving elephant steps, the actual ones used by elephants when members of the Royal Family wanted to make an extremely grand entrance or exit. If you walk down them, the huge strides you have to take will confirm that the steps were indeed designed for the world's largest living land animals.

The last thing to see as you exit the Fort is the picture wall, so named for the exquisite artwork and tiles it contains. It also has a bunch of built in birdhouses for the local pigeons.

The Lahore Fort is a must-see attraction in Lahore. Anyone with an interest in history would consider it an essential part of their visit to Pakistan's cultural heartland.

LAHORE RESTAURANT REVIEW: THE VILLAGE

2006-11-21T22:51:00.000-08:00

An essential part of any visit to a foreign country is sampling the local cuisine, and I did a lot of that in Lahore. Simply put, I loved the food there and preferred it to the native food offered in Thailand. Like Thai food, most Pakistani dishes are spicy, but it's a different kind of spice and one that was much more suitable for my own personal palate. Pakistan also far exceeds (in my opinion) Thailand in two important food groups: bread and dessert - and I can have a full meal based on those two categories alone (thankfully for my waistline I was only there a week).

My personal favorite restaurant of all that I visited was called the Village and it's part of a local chain called Salt n Pepper. Each restaurant in this chain has a different theme (like fast food and barbecue) and this particular one is set up like a traditional Punjab village. No detail is overlooked and the exterior even looks like an old Punjab house made of mud and clay.

This is a buffet style restaurant and it is done up like a live bazaar, with all of the food cooked fresh in front of you. There are over forty main dishes to choose from and the menu changes all the time to reflect what vegetables are in season and what desserts should be served (hot ones in the winter and cold in the summer).

There are also salad carts and a fruit stand that looks like one you would find on any Lahore street.

The desserts were fantastic and I particularly enjoyed kulfi, which is a Pakistan's traditional version of an ice lolly. Again, these are made fresh right before your eyes.

The atmosphere is livened by a flutist who plays traditional Pakistani folk music. This is a nice touch and it helped me relax as I devoured myself into a food coma.

The owner of the Salt n Pepper chain is Mahmood Akbar and his cooking and expertise are so renowned that he was asked to contribute the entire Pakistani section of a new book entitled Curry Cuisine, published by Dorling Kindersley. He is also a great guy and really puts out a lot of effort to make you feel welcome in his restaurant. His hard work must be paying off as his customers have included Princess Diana, Hillary Clinton, Pervez Musharraf (the current President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan), and now yours truly.

HOUSES OF THE HOLY: BADSHAHI MOSQUE

2006-11-21T01:26:00.000-08:00

One of the world's largest structures of its kind, the Badshahi Mosque is also the Mughal Empire's final architectural contribution to Lahore (completed in 1674).

The structure has several large towers and domes.

The domes each have a symbol of three religions: the top spire represents Hinduism, the inverted lotus is a sign of Buddhism, and the main dome stands for Muslims.

The courtyard is huge and supposedly holds about 100,000 people - which begs the question - if the Badshahi Mosque ever gets to maximum capacity - and if everyone who enters here has to remove their footwear - how do they organize 200,000 shoes when this place empties?

The interior of the Mosque is more classic Mughal handywork and design. It's nice, but not as ornate as other places of worship (like Thai wats or Catholic churches for instance).

The floor tiles are all individual prayer boxes, so that worshippers have their own space. This is also typical of Muslim mosques.

Outside the Mosque is the Tomb of Allam Mohammed Iqubal - a 20th Century poet and one of the great thinkers in Pakistan's history. He is widely credited with proposing the idea of an independent Pakistan.

Because of its history and religious significance, I found the Badshahi Mosque to be an essential part of any Lahore sight-seeing trip. I went there in the morning, so the place wasn't that crowded, but I imagine that during the main prayer times in the afternoon, it could be a pretty busy place.

ONE MAN IN LAHORE

2006-11-14T00:07:00.000-08:00

Lahore, Pakistan is over 2000 years old, making it one of the oldest living cities in the world. It is a place with a rich cultural history and during its existance all conquerers from the North (and many different settlers) came through Lahore at some point, including the Ghaznavids, Khiljis, Tughlaqs, Sayyids, Lodhis, Suris and Mughals.

In November 2006 I invaded Lahore and this site will detail what I saw.