ARCHITECTURAL

DESIGN-III
PROJECT:

BHATTI GATE

NAME ROLL NO
MUHAMMAD USMAN 18(f)AR013
FAIZAN ALI 18(f)AR044
USMAN FAROOQ 18(f)AR046
 Bhatti Gate – The
Chelsea of Lahore
 

Bhatti Gate in the Walled City of Lahore was called the Chelsea of
Lahore. You must be wondering why. Chelsea is an affluent area in
London, England and is known to be London’s bohemian quarter, the
heart of artists, radicals, painters, actors and poets. In short, all the
literary personalities and artists came from this area.

We were lucky to have such a place here in Lahore as well which was
similar to the Chelsea of London. It’s the Bhatti Gate inside the Walled
City of Lahore. This is where the city’s poets, artists, herbal doctors,
lawyers, writers and intellectuals lived for years. Some were born there
and some migrated to this place after partition in 1947.

Let me tell you that it was Bhatti gate from where Sir Abdul
Qadir started the publication of his influential literary
magazine Makhzan, who can forget the importance of this
magazine. Agha Hashr, the famous drama writer, Fasih Ul
Mulk and Daag Dehlvi also lived here. Chaudhry Sir
Shahab Ud Din, Punjabi poet and the speaker of Punjab
Assembly and also resided inside the Bhatti Gate.

Faqir Syed Azizuddin and Faqir Syed Noor ud din, accomplished

Persian poets also lived here. Famous Marsia orator and poet Syed
Nazir Hussain Nazir Lakhnavi and Maulvi Ahmed Din also resided in
the Bhatti Gate.

Now enter into Bhatti Gate with me and you will surely fall into an
ocean of colours, literature, fragrances, visuals, sounds and feelings as
soon as you cross the colonial-built Bhatti Gate. This gate is a lot more
than architecture; it is a feeling and a trance. The more you get to
know about this place, the more you indulge into it.

Bhatti Gate was one of the thirteen gates built by the third Mughal
Emperor Akbar, to protect the Walled City of Lahore. It is one of the
two oldest entrance points into the walled city which controlled the
only major north-south thoroughfare during Ghaznavid time.

In the book Lahore ka Chelsea, Hakeem Ahmed Shuja states that the

real name of the gate was Bhutti gate, and it was the point where
Bhutti Warriors of Multan camped before the arrival of Mughals and
with time, ‘Bhutti’ became ‘Bhatti’. According to some books the gate
was called Bhatti Gate as it was capital of the Emperor Raja Bhatti in
ancient times. Another history reference narrates that the name of this
gate is also the existence and settlement of Bhatti Clan who lived there
for centuries. .

When you look at the present structure of Bhatti Gate you will have a
feel of the colonial built. This is because it was rebuilt in British era
after being destroyed by the Sikhs. Like Delhi and Lohari Gates, there
are rooms inside this gate as well which are presently occupied by the
local police station. The passage starting from Bhatti gate leads
straight to Taxali bazaar via Bazaar-e-Hakeeman and Tehseel Bazaar.
It is an amazing route which will mesmerise and attract you.

Bhatti Gate was once famous for literature and diversified

performing arts. Today one can experience the glimpses of
the elevated past while walking through the legendary
streets and crossing the balconies and Havelis, each brick
and stone of which, divulge a story, but we hardly see
anything on ground. As the time passes, we are only left
with memories because the cityscape has changed and
many people have moved out of Bhatti Gate and have
settled in other parts of the city.  

Walking down the Bhatti gate trail, we come across Mohallah

Patrangan. The name might sound strange to you, but it has a history.
The locality was named after many cloth dyers who once lived there.
In old days, the streets were named after famous castes, personalities
or occupation of the residents. This is the place where Molvi Asghar
Rohi, a guide to the knowledge of linguistics once lived.  Dr.
Muhammad Shafiq, the principal of Oriental College, was his student
and also lived nearby.

A street named after Mollana Rohi is also located inside Bhatti Gate
along with the Mosque built by him. Many of the professors of
Oriental College lived in Bhatti Gate, but unfortunately the houses
have been replaced by plazas now.
A little further down the lane, we see the Gali Nayian, where the
eminent lawyers of those times lived. The remains are no more seen
like many other buildings. These lawyers included people like Sheikh
Gulab Din who had translated many Persian and English laws into
Urdu.

Don’t miss to see the Victoria School there and Maidan Bhaiyan which
is located right in front of Haveli Kanwar Nau Nehal Singh. The Haveli
is now converted into Victoria Girls High School. There had been a
garden at this place which was the part of the same haveli. With the
passage of time, the garden was covered with buildings and houses
and thus today there are no traces of it.

If you are looking for significant and superb examples of Sikh

architecture in Lahore then you are at your destination “Haveli of Nau
Nehal Singh”. This spectacular Haveli was the private home of the
Prince Nau Nehal Singh who was the son of Maharaja Kharak Singh.

Today, this pompous Haveli is perhaps the showy of the surviving

Havelis in Lahore. With a startling rectangular floor plan the building
has a basement and four storyes above the ground level. The main
entrance of the Haveli is from the street bounded by an open space
named as “Bhaiyon ka Medaan”. Look around yourself and here you
will find a typical Androon Lahore life in the open space.

The Haveli was taken over by the British government when

Punjab was annexed in 1849 and converted into the first
public school for girls, The Victoria School. The school has
been used in many Pakistani films and dramas because of
its exquisiteness and splendor.

Opposite Mohallah Jalotiyaan is the house the most important

personality we can think of in Pakistan, the poet of the east, Dr.
Allama Iqbal. The house, he lived in once, is now converted into the
office of a local music band. All those poems that Iqbal wrote before
going to England and later published in “Bang e Dara” were written
while he was living there. Mohallah Jalotiyaan is considered an
important locality of Bhatti Gate due to residences of known and
educated personalities over here.

The other personalities who lived here for years included Maulvi
Muhammad Din Foq, Tahir Lahori, Sir Abdul Qadir, Maulana Zafar
Ali Khan, Shev Nath and Prem Nath. The name of Mohalla Jalotiyaan
changed as Mohalla Aurangzeb after 1947.  This Mohalla was a hub of
teachers, lawyers, writers and poets.

Near this street is the Mohallah Chomalah where stands the majestic
Oonchi Masjid. It was built on a towering platform and due to which it
is known as ‘Oonchi’ It was built in the reign of Akbar the Great and
associated with a water-carrier of Akbar’s time. This Mohalla got fame
due to short stay of Sixth Guru of Sikh religion Guru Hargobind Sahib
in a house of his Sikh follower over there. The house was later
converted into a Gurdwara—congregational worship place of Sikhs.

There was water well in Mohalla Chomala. ‘Cho’ means four and ‘Mala’
stands for the pot being used to pull water from a well.  Four Mala’s
were erected on all four sides of the well because of which this Mohalla
got its name as Mohalla Chomala‫۔‬ This area is now called Mohalla
Ghosia. Near the same place is the shop where the famous Indian
singer Rafi worked as a runner and a barber.

Koocha Shah Inayat is located near Oonchi Masjid and

attributed to the name of Great Sufi Saint Hazrat Shah
Inayat Qadri (R.A). Shah Inyat used to live here during the
last days of Mughal Era. He was spiritual Pir of Baba
Bulleh Shah. When Bulleh Shah came from Kasur to
conciliate his Pir, he became the disciple of Hazrat Sha
Inayat in the same mosque.  He used to sit in the stairs of
Oonchi Masjid.

Gali Khari Khoe is another interesting place. Almost a century back,

there were water wells in the streets and Koochas of Walled City
Lahore. People used to fetch water from these wells for their daily
usages at homes. Gali Khari Khoi was named after a well having saltish
water in the locality. In sub-continent big well was called as Kho and
small well was termed as Khoi.

If you are roaming around in Bhatti Gate don’t miss Wun Wali Gali.
Wun is a shady tree. Its branches stretch over large area but its wood
is almost useless. It was commonly seen in mohallahs and streets
beside open spaces during old times. Wun Wali Gali got fame as the
tree (Wun) was planted here and people especially women used to sit
under its shade during summer.

Thatti Malahan is another unique Mohallah with an interesting

history. Boating was common in River Ravi in ancient time when old
Lahore was almost at brink of eastern bank of the river. Tahatti
Malahan got fame due to houses of boatmen in the area.

You will also come across the Mohallah Zaildaran. A Zaildar was an
official designation introduced in British Period to control the internal
affairs of the city. In this system, an appointed Zaildar was responsible
to inform the government authorities about the activities within city.
Moreover, he was responsible to give detail tour and experience of city
life to the visitors. This Mohalla got its name due to residences of
Zaildars over there.

Mohalla Islam Khan is the most ancient residential area of Muslim

community in Bhatti Gate. It is said that the residents of this area
converted to Islam on the preaching of Hazrat Ali Hajveri Data Ganj
Baksh (R.A). Mohalla Islam Khan derived its name from Islam Khan—
a known Muslim personality of the area.

Mohalla Sathan is another site of interest with an amazing history. In

Persian language, the residential area of elites and respectable is called
Sathan. Mohalla Sathan was the residential area of pure Hindu
families where Hindu Pandit and Thakurs used to reside. There were
some houses of Sikh and low caste Hindus as well. Known Hindus who
contributed a lot in literary activities of the city were the residents of
Mohalla Sathan.

On the same road is the striking Sheesh Mahal Ghatti,

where Syed Muhammad Shah lived. He was a lawyer and
master of property laws in those times. Same is the place
where Muhammad Hussain the physician of Viceroy of
Lahore lived. There is the street of Mela Raam but his
mansion does not exist now. He was an esteemed
personality and was one of the contractors who built the
Railway Station of Lahore.

In front of the same place is a picturesque Koocha called Moti Tibba.

This is the place where Dr. Abdul Qadir lived for many years and his
famous magazine ‘Makhzan’ was first issued from there in 1901. The
initial edition of Makhzan was published with Iqbal’s first natural
poem ‘Hamala’.  The ‘Pesa Akhbar’ was issued from this very place by
Munshi Mehboob Alam.

A little further is the street of Pir Bhola where the famous allopathic
physician of British era Dr. Allah Din lived. We also see the famous
Jogi Mohallah inside Bhatti Gate where Muhammad Tufail lived. He
was the founder of the famous literary collection ‘Naqoosh’.

Faqir Khana, a private museum, is also located there. It is owned and

curated by a family that is residing there for the last two centuries.
Fakir Khana is a collection of private artifacts and antiquities in South
Asia including treasures of art, paintings, sculptures, manuscripts,
Chinese porcelain, Persian carpets and countless other masterpieces
related to Sikh Era.

Opposite the museum is the Koocha Faqir Khana which derived its
name from the family of influential Faqirs who were posted on
important public offices during the Sikh Rule in Punjab. Syed Ghulam
Ali Shah—the ancestor of Faqir Family—made Koocha Faqir Khana as
his first abode and lived here till he breathed his last in 1756 A.D. His
son, Syed Ghulam Mohyuddin Bokhari, succeeded him in the family,
later established a clinic at his father’s residence and became popular
as Nosha-e-Sani.
Inside this Koocha were houses of the Faqir Family and
opposite to it is the famous Haveli Faqir Khana which was
constructed during the early period of Sikh Rule. The
Haveli is now converted into a museum decorated with
rare collection and relics of Islamic eras as well as antiques
of the Sikh Rule.

Close to the Museum is the Haveli of Begum Wajid Ali Shah which is
still a residential property. Near the same place is the Imam Bargah of
Sayeeda Mubarik Begam (wife of Syed Mratab Ali). The graves of Syed
Mratab Ai Shah and his wife Sayeeda Mubarik Ali are in the
compound of this mansion.

Today, a part of this haveli is turned into Naqsh School of Arts where
the local students are trained, free of cost, in painting, calligraphy,
fresco, and sculpturing.  Near these Havelis, Hakeem Abdullah Ansari
built a mosque and the Bazaar was also named after the same person.

There used to be literary and poetic sittings at Bazaar e Hakeeman in

those days, famous intellectuals, scholars, poets, and politicians of
Lahore such as Molana Muhammad Hassan Jalandhri, Sir Abdulqadir,
Allama Iqbal, Sir Shahab Udin, Sir Muhammad Shah Din, Sir
Muhammad Shafi, and Faqeer Iftikhar Udin were regular part of those
sittings.

Near the Koocha Lal Haveli, comes the place where the renowned
wrestler Muhammad Hassan known as Hassan Pehalwan lived. It was
his son Hassan Muhammad Hayat who became the right hand of
Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar Johar.
The mansion of Session Judge Syed Muhammad Latif, who is more
famous because of his book Tareekh e Lahore, is also inside Bhatti
gate and a bazaar is named after him. The press of Sir Shahab Udin
was also in this Bazaar. The Muslim League representing newspaper
named ‘Khalid’ was also born inside Bhaati. The owner of ‘Tehzeeb e
Niswan’ Magazine Syed Mumtaz Ali is also among the big names who
lived there. His house was in Koocha Tehseel.
Maulana Zafar Ali khan lived in Kucha Sabz peer when he returned
from Hyderabad Dakan, and he issued a magazine called ‘Punjab
Review’ from there. Famous Urdu poet Saghar Sidiqui also spent a
great part of his life there. Bhaati has also been a home for famous
Urdu Fiction writer Ghulam Abbas, Chaudhry Barkat Ali, and Nazeer
Chaudhry, the editors of literary journals ‘Adab e Lateef’ and ‘Sawera’.
The writer Tahir Lahori also lived in Bhaati Gate.
Madrassa Nomanai and mosque are still intact inside Bhatti Gate.
These are attributed with the Shah Jahan’s period, but the façade and
interior have changed now.
Wrestling was a famous entertainment in vicinity of Bhatti Gate like
other parts of the city. This area got fame due to residences of
Pehalwans (Wrestlers) over here. These Pehalwans took part in
famous wrestling of the sub-continent. Shafi Machine-man, Labha
Pehalwan and Dita Pehalwan were the known wrestlers of Koocha
Pehalwana of Bhatti Gate.
Koocha Kaghzian is another place inside Bhatti Gate. Here, for the
first time paper making, press, book binding and other related works
had started. This Koocha got recognition due to establishment of first
paper industry over here. The papers were earlier being imported from
Kashmir and Sialkot to Lahore. In 1870 when Ghulam Mohayudin
Bokhari established his school and clinic here, he brought experts
from Kashmir and Sialkot and settled in this Koocha.
You will also see Kocha Teer Garan which was the residence of
fletchers (arrow makers) during Sikh Rule. Their main job was to
provide arrows to Sikh Army on its demand.
There are countless artists, writers, poets, actors,
musicians and sportsmen who were born in Bhatti Gate.
This is where Lahore’s movie industry took birth. Mian
Abdul Rashid Kardar, a resident of Bhatti Gate, made the
first silent movie in Lahore and rose to great fame and
fortune as one of the most successful filmmakers of India.
Bazaar-e-Hakeeman is the famous bazaar of Bhatti Gate.  Hakeem
Abdullah Ansari built a mosque and the Bazaar was also named after
the same person. There used to be literary and poetic sittings at Bazaar
e Hakeeman in those days. Famous intellectuals, scholars, poets, and
politicians of Lahore such as Molana Muhammad Hassan Jalandhri,
Sir Abdul Qadir, Allama Iqbal, Sir Shahab Ud din, Sir Muhammad
Shah Din, Sir Muhammad Shafi, and Faqeer Iftikhar Ud din were
regular part of those sittings.
Of the great singers, Ali Bux Zahoor also came from Bhatti. The music
composer Khawaja Khurshid Anwar was another Bhatti Gate man, as
was the famous writer, Mirza Adeeb.  Some of the greatest sportsmen
and kabbadi players came from Bhatti Gate. The great wrestlers of all
times such as Rustam-e-Zaman Gama Pehelwan and Rustam-e-Hind
Imam Bux, were from Bhaati Gate. Another great wrestler of the times
was Muhammad Shafi Pehelwan, a ‘shagird’ (student) of Rustam-e-
Zaman Gama Pehelwan.

The great Skipper Abdul Hafiz Kardar, Pakistan’s celebrated cricket

captain, a cousin of Abdul Rashid Kardar, also belonged to Bhaati
Gate. He is one of the few cricketers to have played for more than one
country. He was a member of the last team from undivided India to
tour England in 1946.

Bhati Gate witnessed many historic glories. At present the place is

changed into a food hub but you can still see the traces of the bygone
days. People living there will also narrate the stories of past if you sit
with them.