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Blast rocked Lahore city on May 27, 2009. The cloud with a ring in the sky was seen for half an hour.
Lahore my city is full of photographic opportunities. We Lahories call
"Lahore lahore ae Jinnay Lahore nae tkia o jamia naee." i.e. "Lahore is Lahore and you are not in this world if you have not seen it ....:)"
Dedicated to my friend Kamisyed.......due to Colours .
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and is the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi. It is popularly known as the Heart of Pakistan, due to its historical importance in the creation of Pakistan, and also being a cultural, political and educational centre of the country and economic centre of the country's biggest province, Punjab. It is also often called the Garden of the Mughals or the City of Gardens because of the heritage of the Mughal Empire. It is located near the Ravi River and Wagah, close to the Pakistan-India border.
Much of Lahore's architecture from the Mughal and colonial eras has been preserved. Mughal structures such as the Badshahi Mosque, Ali Hujwiri, Lahore Fort, Shalimar Gardens and the mausoleums of Jehangir, and Nur Jehan are popular tourist spots in the city. Colonial British structures such as the Lahore High Court, General Post Office (GPO) and many of the older universities still retain their Mughal-Gothic style.
Punjabi and Urdu are the native languages of the province and is the most widely-spoken language in Lahore and rural areas. Urdu and English, however, are becoming more popular with younger generations since they are officially supported, whereas Punjabi has no official patronage. Many people of Lahore who speak Punjabi are known as Lahori Punjabi due to their use of a mixture of Punjabi and colloquial Urdu. According to the 1998 census, Lahore's population was nearly 7 million. Mid-2006 government estimates now put the population at approximately 10 million.[2] This makes Lahore the second largest city in Pakistan, fifth largest city in South Asia and the 23rd largest city in the world.
The Lahore Fort, locally referred to as Shahi Qila (Urdu: شاهی قلعہ , Punjabi: ਸ਼ਾਹੀ ਕਿਲਾ , Hindi: शाही क़िला, Śāhī kilā) is citadel of the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern corner of the Walled City of Lahore. The trapezoidal composition is spread over 20 hectares.
Origins of the fort go as far back as antiquity, however, the existing base structure was built during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605), and was regularly upgraded by subsequent rulers, having thirteen gates in all.[1] Thus the fort manifests the rich traditions of Mughal architecture
Een goed bescherm boek, vermoedelijk een oude Koran, afgeschermd achter glas in een van de moskeeën van Lahore.
A old book, probably a Koran book, in a cupbord with glas in front of it.
Grand Jamia Masjid Lahore is a masjid located in Bahria Town, Lahore, Pakistan. With a capacity of 70,000 worshippers, it is the third largest masjid in Pakistan and the seventh largest masjid in the world.
The Lahore Fort, locally referred to as Shahi Qila is citadel of the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern corner of the Walled City of Lahore in Iqbal Park which is one of the largest urban parks in Pakistan.
Nawab Nusrat Khan alias Khawaja Sabir belonged to a distinguished family of nobles and received the title of Khan-e-Dauran from Shah Jahan. He died at Lahore in 1659 and the present mausoleum was raised to his memory by Aurangzeb.
Location
Nusrat Khan's tomb is located at a distance of approximately ½ mile northwest of Zafar Jang Kokaltash's tomb in thegrounds of Carriage and Wagon Shops of Pakistan Railways. It can be reached by traveling north on Mughalpura Road until it ends on Workshop Road. Traveling some distance east on Workshop Road, you will reach the Pakistan Railways Carriage and Wagon Shops gate on your right. The tomb lies hidden deep within the grounds of the Carriage and Wagon Shops and is inaccessible to the general public due to the security requirements of the Pakistan Railways.
Construction
The tomb is a massive structure, built entirely of small Lahori bricks without the use of stone or Kashi Kari. The octagonal mausoleum stands in the centre of a platform of octagonal shape which is now covered with grass. The building has an ornamental niche decoration on its façade and pigeon-holes in a schematic way on its dome. The double shell dome is raised over a circular drum. There is a clear evidence of tendency towards the evolution of a bulbous dome. The monotony of the circular drum is broken by rectangular panels set back slightly. On the eastern side, the drum has been pierced with a small window giving an entry to the cavity between the two shells.
At the top of the dome, there can been seen the remains of a lotus base for a pinnacle that is no longer extant. The building is surmounted by turrets of much elegance and beauty. Many of them survive to this day, however; the domes have fallen off of a few of them. The interior was decorated with paintings of different colors but unfortunately now has been paint-washed in the traditional colors of the Pakistan Railways, green and yellow. The tomb has been converted to the use of a mosque for the employees of the Carriage and Wagon Shops. Most of the arched entrances have been closed up and metal posts have been used to support a tin roof over a portion of the first storey.
Historical Background
The tomb suffered extensive damage during the reign of Ranjit Singh when the marble embellishments were removed. The tomb was also used as a private residence by General Court, a member of Ranjit Singh's army. General Court added many rooms to the building but they had all been destroyed by the early 1890s except three arches in the upper storey to the west. It was further damaged during the British time when it was turned into a hall room for military officers. The structure came to be called Gumbad Bijjar-wala on the account of people from the Bijjar tribe having lived in it after the collapse of the Sikh government.
My Journey of Two years to get permission to visit this Tomb:-
Two years back, I was searching the list of Tombs present in Lahore. Most of them, I had seen in past or at least know there locations. Then there was a name came in front of me, “Nusrat Khan Tomb”. I had never heard about it and also did not know about its location or see any of its pictures. I thought it might be vanished in past and may be some ruined exists of it. Only information which I got on internet that it was located few kilometers from Kokaltash’s tomb. At that time, I did not have idea that it is inside the grounds of carriage shop. So the search begins after my office work, I reached near Kokaltash tomb and asked from locals is there any tomb there. There were very funny interesting answers. Someone was telling me about Mian Mir Tomb and someone speaking me about Madhu Lal Tomb. Then I reached near the Chabacha stop there was railway line coming out of carriage railway workshop. Few railway policeman were standing there, I also inquired the directions from them. They were not sure about the name but they told me same structures like Kokaltash also exists inside the carriage workshop but it was using as Mosque and they did not know was there any grave inside . So at last the mystery solved. I asked them how to visit there. They told come at early 8 in the morning and take permission from inspector railway deputed at Railway Carriage. Next morning, I reached there and meet the inspector. There was quite interesting conversation. Firstly I told him my reason of my visit. He answered there is no tomb exists inside. Secondly he questioned, do I visit there for making documentary film? He again questioned, you looks an educated guy are you preparing report for some organization. I wanted to explain him I have passion to explore historical architectures but I could not able to convince him. When I was about to leave he smiled and advised take promise from headquarters or bring some media card with you, you might get permission.
I was not disheartened in fact I got more anxious to visit it. The second attempt was discussing this site with one of friend Syed Faizan also known as Lahore ka khoji. He tried to get permission but it was also in vain.
Thirdly I asked one of my friends and my table tennis coach as well Masood Ali, who plays table tennis for Pakistan railways to grant me permission from head quarters. He asked from seniors but they told the site is prohibited to visit as the area is sensitive.
I also asked one of my friend, who is editor in a renowned newspaper. But he also failed to get permissions.
After so many failed attempts, I again asked few of my friends who have passion of history and architecture like me. But none of them, able to get permission of visit.
At last after two years when I visited all the tombs of Lahore, I found a way how could I visit this last tomb a tricky way but it works. Someone told me meet railway worker union president. I found him and told him the reason of meeting. He was not willing first but I offered him some handsome fee for his great generous services :P. After few weeks he called me that I can come in morning but I am not allowed to bring DSLR camera with me. Well that I did not listen next I day I was there with camera bag and two mobile camera as well for Plan B. luckily at entrance they did not check my bag I have only two three minutes to see the great architecture. I took few shots all around, absorb the site in mind and left the place with feeling of accomplishment.
800 Days Daily DuoLingo Fabulous Fun French Language Learning Lessons - IMRAN™
Finally, a lot later, but a tiny bit closer to another life goal. 800 days streak of learning French. How and why did that take so long?
Bedsides my late mother’s Urdu language, my late father’s Punjabi, and English learned as a student in Pakistan, I’ve always hungered to learn more languages. As a pre-teen, I was making some progress learning very basic German from Teach Yourself books in the mid 1970s. I won’t mention here BASIC, Pascal, FORTRAN, C, or C++ type programming languages I had also learned!
But then real tough Cambridge school certificate, then Cambridge A’ levels, and later professional electronics engineering degree studies left no time that was taken up being a student political leader in the 1980s. An engineering classmate from Lahore, Amir, did learn French at the Alliance Français and got me hooked on French movies around 1983.
In 1987 (West Germany) became the first country I visited, and fell in love with, followed by France. So, despite my love for Germany and the German people, French became my language learning goal.
Then 30 years of life, and history, flew by. I bought all the books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, and even apps, as the technology of language learning evolved. I even got the DuoLingo app when it first came out. But time remained the constraint.
Until the pandemic. When everyone was asking others what Netflix series to binge-watch, I took advantage of the time to get and spend time walking with my two German Shepherd Dogs, took off 32 pounds of weight I had put in 32 years living in USA, started work on my second music album, and more.
But what I am so happy I was able to pull off into a consistent habit was doing at least 10-minutes or more of French learning every day. Every day, at least once, before midnight.
By the grace of God I just hit 800 days of consecutive learning days, and my 75th week streak in the highest Diamond League of DuoLingo’s gamification system (which really incentivizes the competitive spirit in me).
Can I have a real conversation with my French neighbor, CFO of a major FinTech, Julien? … Pas vraiment, mais peut-être un peu…. But, my life’s journey to be a Learn It All continues. Je vous parlerai (en anglais, français, Urdu/hindi, Punjabi) bientôt!
© 2022 IMRAN™
#IMRAN #autobiography #languages #learning #French #English #prose #Urdu #Punjabi #Lahore #DuoLingo #TeachYourself #LearnItAll #learnandgrow #learningjourney #learnerforlife #languagelearning
The Lahore Fort, locally referred to as Shahi Qila (Punjabi, Urdu: شاہی قلعہ) is citadel of the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern corner of the Walled City of Lahore. The trapezoidal composition is spread over 20 hectares.
Origins of the fort go as far back as antiquity, however, the existing base structure was built during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar between 1556–1605 and was regularly upgraded by subsequent Mughal, Sikh and British rulers.It has two gates one is known as Alamgiri Gate build by Emperor Aurangzeb which opens towards Badshahi Mosque and other older one known as Maseeti (Punjabi language word means of Masjid) or Masjidi Gate which opens towards Masti Gate Area of Walled City and was built by Emperor Akbar. Currently Alamgiri Gate is used as the principal entrance while Masti Gate is permanently closed .The fort manifests the rich traditions of Mughal architecture.[1] Some of the famous sites inside the fort include
The sun set on the Sikh rule, the samadhi of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh stands mute testimony to all the treachery that led to downfall.The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is the mausoleum of the Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Located in Lahore, Pakistan, near the Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque, the mausoleum was begun by his son Kharak Singh on the spot where he was cremated, and was completed by Dalip Singh in 1848. The tomb is a splendid example of Sikh architecture, with gilded fluted domes and cupolas and an ornate balustrade round the top. Ranjit Singh's ashes are contained in a marble urn in the shape of a lotus, sheltered under a marble pavilion inlaid with pietra dura, in the centre of the tomb. Other tiny urns contain the ashes of his four wives and seven concubines who threw themselves on his funeral pyre. These urns were removed from the marble pavilion and were replaced by a simple slab around 1999. This desecration of the mausoleum was part of the preparations for the Khalsa Tricentenary and the visit of Sikh dignitaries from India.The Samadhi was damaged by the earthquake in October 2005.
Two small monuments to the west of the main mausoleum commemorate Ranjit Singh's son Kharak Singh and grandson Nau Nihal Singh, and their wives.
The Lahore Fort, locally referred to as Shahi Qila (شاهی قلعہ ) is citadel of the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern corner of the Walled City of Lahore. The trapezoidal composition is spread over 20 hectares. Origins of the fort go as far back as antiquity, however, the existing base structure was built during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605), and was regularly upgraded by subsequent rulers. Thus the fort manifests the rich traditions of the entire Mughal architecture.[1] Some of the famous sites inside the fort include: Sheesh Mahal, Alamgiri Gate, Naulakha pavilion, and Moti Masjid. In 1981, the fort was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the Shalimar Gardens (Lahore).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahore_Fort
Photo Taken from Baradari, in front of Lahore Fort
Main gate of Lahore fort. In the foreground is the baradari (a structure with 12 doorways) built by Ranjit Singh.
The Lahore Museum was originally established in 1865-66 on the site of the hall or building of the 1864 Punjab Exhibition and later shifted to its present site located on The Mall, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan in 1894. The current building of Lahore Museum was designed by the well-known architect Sir Ganga Ram. The Museum is the biggest museum of the country.
The Museum contains some fine specimens of Mughal and Sikh door-ways and wood-work and has a large collection of paintings dating back to the Mughal, Sikh and British periods. It includes a collection of musical instruments, ancient jewellery, textiles, pottery, and armory. There are important relics from the Indus Valley civilisation, Ghandara and Graeco-Bactrian periods as well as well as some Tibetan and Nepalese work on display. The museum has a number of Greco-Buddhist sculptures, Mughal and Pahari paintings on display.The Fasting Buddha from the Ghandara period is one of the most famous objects of the museum.
The Museum displays archaeological material from pre-historic times to the Hindu Shahi period. It has one of the largest collections of archaeology, history, arts, fine arts, applied arts,ethnology, and craft objects in Pakistan.It also has an extensive collection of Hellenistic and Mughal coins. A photo gallery is dedicated to the emerging of Pakistan as a state.
The Alamgiri Gate is the fortified main entrance to the Lahore Fort in Lahore, Pakistan. It was built in 1637.
The Lahore Fort, locally referred to as Shahi Qila (Urdu: شاهی قلعہ ) is citadel of the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern corner of the Walled City of Lahore. The trapezoidal composition is spread over 20 hectares. Origins of the fort go as far back as antiquity, however, the existing base structure was built during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605), and was regularly upgraded by subsequent rulers, having thirteen gates in all. Thus the fort manifests the rich traditions of Mughal architecture. Some of the famous sites inside the fort include: Sheesh Mahal, Alamgiri Gate, Naulakha pavilion, and Moti Masjid. In 1981, the fort was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the Shalimar Gardens (Lahore).
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