The samadh of Sher Singh (1807-1843), son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and ruler of Sikh state of joint Punjab, in Lahore has been vandalised beyond recognition.

No trace is left of the samadh of his son Kanwar Pratap Singh. Its remains have been painted red and green to merge with the mosque nearby.

Bobby Singh, director of the UK-based S.K. Foundation (dedicated to preserving the Sikh heritage), stated this after a tour of Pakistan to The Tribune here today.

He also discovered that the samadh of Bhai Vasti Ram, spiritual guide of the Maharaja in Lahore, also lay derelict and vandalised.

Inscriptions on the samadh are, however, still visible. Bobby Singh said if action was not taken, the invaluable
Sikh heritage would vanish forever.

In a search for Sikh monuments, the Foundation director also visited the hostile terrain of Peshawar by imperilling his life.

He said he travelled further north into a tribal territory near the Afghan border at a great risk and ventured into the Jamrud Fort, built by the founder of the Sikh commander in 1823.

Describing his visit to Pakistan’s hostile terrain, Bobby Singh said he visited the area with his security guards where ordinary shopkeepers had displayed rifles, Ak-47 rifles and rocket launchers like vegetables. They are proud selling such firearms and it is just normal in this arid landscape.

The highlight of his itinerary was the Jamrud Fort, the foundation stone of which was laid by Gen Hari Singh Nalwa and was completed in six months by Kanwar Nau Nihal Singh, grandson of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

He said the amazing mud fort which at present was under the border paramilitary forces, still stands defiantly and some parts of the walls are 2-m thick.

The actual cremation site of General Nalwa is clearly visible, but out of bounds for the public.

He, however, was able to take some snaps despite the presence of watchful Army sentries who were clearly glancing down at him.

“I thought for a moment that perhaps I was the only Sikh that had come to Jamrud since Partition and fulfilled dream of viewing the famous Jamrud Fort”.

Further northeast in Hazara, Bobby Singh located the Harkrishan Fort also built by General Nalwa during his stint as Governor of the province.

However, nowadays only some parts of the fort exist that house a police station. Originally, the fort was surrounded by water and a drawbridge must have been used to gain access into the fort.

There are numerous Sikh monuments that lie in ruins in Peshawar. Bobby Singh said the S.K. Foundation (UK) was set up for trying to highlight and educate others to the cause before it was too late.

Prior to the initiation of construction on Bagh-e-Ibne Qasim, 73 acres (300,000 m²) of land was freed from the grip of land grabbers. The entire Clifton beach, and the area now covered under the park. In June 2005, Sindh Governor Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan took it upon himself to restore this major historical entertainment area to its original splendor. City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal also played a part in gifting the Jehangir Kothari Parade back to the people of Karachi.

For entertainment purposes of visitors, the park has a turtle pond, in addition to which it also has 24 state-of-the-art washrooms. In order to create an element of originality, the park also has 20 stone canopies. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of unique rose saplings have been planted throughout the park. The park will also feature fast food outlets able to accommodate 500 persons at a time. This park has various murals of dinosaurs that are extremely huge and add to the excitement on the faces of the visitors that come from various parts of Pakistan. This park overlooks the 90 meter fountain of kpt and thus adds to the beauty of the Clifton area.

The stupa was enlarged on five occasions during the following centuries, every time by building over, and encapsulating, the previous structure.

Excavation

The stupa was excavated by an Italian mission (IsIOAO: Istuto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente), led by archaeologist Pierfrancesco Callieri from 1955, to clarify the various steps of the construction and enlargements. The mission established that the stupa was “monumentalized” by the addition of Hellenistic architectural decorations during the 2nd century BCE, suggesting a direct involvement of the Indo-Greeks , rulers of northwestern India during that period, in the development of Greco-Buddhist architecture ^.

An Indo-Corinthian capital representing a Buddhist devotee within foliage has been found which had a reliquary and a coins of Azes II buried at its base, securely dating the sculpture to earlier than 20 BCE.

The nearby Hellenistic fortifications of Barikot are also thought to be contemporary.

A large quantity of the artifacts are preserved in the National Museum of Oriental Art and the City Museum of Ancient Art in Turin’s Turin City Museum of Ancient Art.

The stupa was described by Chinese pilgrims in the 7th century as the tallest stupa in all India. Archaeologists have examined the remains of the structure and determined that it had a diameter of 286 feet. Ancient Chinese manuscripts tell of Buddhist pilgrims reporting that the stupa had a height of 591–689 feet (The measurements they stated were in Chinese units, which were 600–700. This height was equal to about 180–210 meters or 591–689 feet.

Three Chinese reports are known (by Faxian, who travelled between 399–412 CE, Sung Yun who arrived in India in 518 CE, Xuanzang who went to India in 630 CE). Sung Yun describes the stupa in the following terms:

“The king proceeded to widen the foundation of the Great Tower 300 paces and more. To crown all, he placed a roof-pole upright and even. Throughout the building he used ornamental wood, he constructed stairs to lead to the top….there was an iron-pillar, 3-feet high with thirteen gilded circlets. Altogether the height from the ground was 700 feet.”

The stupa was discovered and excavated in 1908–1909 by a British archælogical mission, and led to the discovery in its base of the Kanishka casket, a six-sided rock crystal reliquary containing three small fragments of bone,relics of the Buddha (which were transferred to Mandalay, Burma for safekeeping, where they still remain), and a dedication in Kharoshthi involving Kanishka.

According to Buddhist the building of the stupa was foretold by the Buddha:

“The Buddha, pointing to a small boy making a mud tope….[said] that on that spot Kanishka would erect a tope by his name.” Vinaya sutra

The same story is repeated in a Khotanese scroll found at Dunhuang, which first described how Kanishka would arrive 400 years after the death of the Buddha. The account also describes how Kanishka came to raise his stupa:

“A desire thus arose in [Kanishka to build a vast stupa]….at that time the four world-regents learnt the mind of the king. So for his sake they took the form of young boys….[and] began a stupa of mud….the boys said to [Kanishka] ‘We are making the Kanishka-stupa.’….At that time the boys changed their form….[and] said to him, ‘Great king, by you according to the Buddha’s prophecy is a Sangharama to be built wholly with a large stupa and hither relics must be invited which the meritorious good beings…will bring.”

A French officer General Court in the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh first mentioned about Takht-I-Bahi in 1836. The monastery is believed to date back to the 2nd or 3rd century AD. Takht-I-Bahi is an impressive Buddhist Monastery in Pakistan. The site has rectangular court and the small shrines that surround the stupa-court. The shrines are classical example of fine design and architecture. The hill offers magnificent views of the surrounding area.


The site is a great source of information on Buddhism and the way of life people here used to follow. The site is an excellent example of brilliant planning and scientific architecture. Song Yun, a Chinese pilgrim, who visited the region, describes Takht-I-Bahi as one of the important city lying on the commercial route to India.

Excavations of the site have unearthed a number of building blocks like the courtyard, the main stupa, assembly hall and the low level chambers.

It is a wonderful experience to tour Takht-I-Bahi. A tour to Takht-I-Bahi is not only about history. The tour also offers a wonderful opportunity to know and understand the culture of the region.

The Shalimar Gardens are laid out in the form of an oblong parallelogram, surrounded by a high brick wall, which is famous for its intricate fretwork. The gardens measure 658 meters north to south and 258 meters east to west. In 1981, Shalimar Gardens was included as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the Lahore Fort, under the UNESCO Convention concerning the protection of the world’s cultural and natural heritage sites in 1972.

The three level terraces of the Gardens

The Gardens have been laid out from south to north in three descending terraces, which are elevated by 4-5 metres (13-15 feet) above one another. The three terraces have names in Urdu as follows:

* The upper terrace named Farah Baksh meaning Bestower of Pleasure.
* The middle terrace named Faiz Baksh meaning Bestower of Goodness.
* The lower terrace named Hayat Baksh meaning Bestower of life.
410 fountains

From this basin, and from the canal, rise 410 fountains, which discharge into wide marble pools. The surrounding area is rendered cooler by the flowing of the fountains, which is a particular relief for visitors during Lahore’s blistering summers, with temperature sometimes exceeding 120 degrees fahrenheit. It is a credit to the ingenuity of the Mughal engineers that even today scientists are unable to fathom how the fountains were operated originally. The distribution of the fountains is as follows:

* The upper level terrace has 105 fountains.
* The middle level terrace has 152 fountains.
* The lower level terrace has 153 fountains.
* All combined, the Gardens therefore have 410 fountains.

Trees of the Gardens

Some of the varieties of trees that were planted included:

* Almond
* Apple
* Apricot
* Cherry
* Gokcha
* Mango
* Mulberry
* Peach
* Plum
* Poplar
* Quince Seedless
* Sapling of Cypress
* Shrubs
* Sour & sweet oranges

* Numerous other varieties of odoriferous (fragrant) and non odoriferous and fruit giving plants

The majestic Clock Tower of Faisalabad was constructed out of the funds raised by the local Zamindars who collected it at a rate of Rs. 18 per square of land. The fund thus raised was handed over to the Municipal Committee which undertook to complete the project.

The locals refer to it as “Ghanta Ghar” in Urdu which translates into Hour House in English. It is located in the older part of the city. The clock is placed at the center of the eight markets that from a bird’s-eye view look like the Union Jack flag of the United Kingdom. This special layout still exists today and can be viewed using the latest software from Google Maps.

During festivals of Eid and Independence Day the mayor (nazim) of Faisalabad delivers a speech at this site and hangs the flag at full mast.

During a severe earthquake in 1843, the north-western minaret collapsed and cracks appeared in the central arch. This has however been restored as much as was reasonably possible and the gateway now looks quite as it might have been during the time of its Mughal patroness. The restoration was carried out by the Department of Archeology in the late in 1960′s.

The architecture of Chauburji represents a strong blend of Mughal architecture with ancient Muslim style of building. Its distinguishing features are the minarets which expand from the top, not present anywhere in the sub-continent. Some, however, believe that there were cupolas upon these minarets which collapsed with the passage of time. Arches are of the so-called ‘Tudor’ style, adapted to Islamic architecture, particularly in Mughal mausoleums and mosques. The red brickwork is typical of the Muslim buildings of the sub-continent; the doorways and windows running through the interior corridors are examples of the living style that characterized the Mughal buildings. However, the main purpose of building Chauburji appears to be strictly monumental. The decrepit building, which has not lost its elegance, stands alone surrounded by hoardings and bustling traffic on the busy Multan Road.

Dr. Ajaz Anwar wrote in an article published in The Pakistan Times in April, 1985: “But the real prototype of Chauburji is the Char Minar of Hyderabad Deccan constructed in 1591 by Muhammad Quli as a triumphal arch at the junction of four roads, leading to the four quarters of the old city. Octagonal minarets were later used along the corners of Jehangir’s tomb itself. This became a motif and was incorporated in the Taj where the minarets flank the corners of the platform… The Char Minar, though it comes closest to Chauburji, has a striking contrast and a sense of negation between the very simple lower portion and the heavily decorated upper portion. In the tomb of Akbar, the white marble and variegated stone give the feeling of having been added later… Chauburji, because of the colour of the brick adorned with glazed tiles having the look of flowering creepers, retains a distinctive unity.”

Originally it was gateway to the Garden of Zeb-un-nisa or Zebinda Begum, the accomplished daughter of Aurangzeb. This garden is believed to have been extended from Nawankot in the south to the main city of Lahore towards north. However, no traces of such an expansive garden are now available. A fragmentary inscription on the eastern archway records that the garden was built in A.H. 1056 i.e. 1646 A.D. Although most of the inscriptions have been lost, on the upper-most part of the construction Ayat-ul-Kursi can be seen in Arabic script in blue and worked in porcelain. Others include two couplets written in Persian above the arch: “This garden, in the pattern of the garden of Paradise, has been founded (missing line)… The garden has been bestowed on Mian Bai. By the bounty of Zebinda Begum, the Lady of the Age.” It is thus understood that it was commissioned by Sahib-e-Zebinda (one endowed with elegance), Begum-e- Dauran (Lady of Ages) and was bestowed upon Mian Bai Fakhrunnisa (Pride of Women), the favourite female attendant of the princess.