Another ignored piece of heritage
Since my childhood, Shah Alam Market was something amazing for me as I could get anything I wanted from there. I had never thought of its historic importance then. The market stands in the place of the Shah Alam Gate, named after Emperor Shah Alam (who died in Lahore in 1712), the third son of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Before his death, the gate was called the “Bherwala Gate”. This gate is situated between the Mochi and Lohari Gates.
These gates around the city were built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar when he raised a thirty-foot wall around the city for defence purposes. But the names of the gate kept changing as happened in the case of this gate. The gate, like many other gates of the walled city, no longer exists. The entire area was burnt down during a fire at the time of partition (1947) and the subsequent riots. It was rebuilt and modernised after the fire but the gate was never restored. The transformation of the area resulted in modifications of the structures and today it has an urban fabric contradictory to the remaining Walled City. Despite rebuilding, the arrangement of the streets did not change and we still see the narrow twisting streets there which link Shah Alami to other parts of the Walled City.
The market has enriched generations of merchants, the Sikhs and Hindus before Partition, and the Pathans, Afghans and current residents, all of whom came to the market later. The original Shah Alami was a centre of wholesale commerce, providing an outlet for the countryside of the Punjab. Today, Shah Alami has become the largest wholesale market of Pakistan and provides you with all imaginable items.
The market has enriched generations of merchants, the Sikhs and Hindus before Partition, and the Pathans, Afghans and current residents, all of whom came to the market later
Before partition Shah Alami was a Hindu populated area with businesses owned by Hindus. Here is an interesting story. Before entering the gateway, across the circular road you will notice a double-storey mosque painted white. In May 1922, the Muslims and Hindus had riots over expanding a Temple. The Muslim residents were perturbed by the Hindus’ plans. The dispute grew and was eventually taken to the British judge who decided to visit the site before issuing a final judgment. The passionate group of Muslims, in one night, erected a mosque and occupied the place. This is the famous Masjid Shab Bhar ‘One Night’ Mosque’, which became celebrated because of the couplet of the poet Iqbal: Masjid To Bana Di Shab Bhar Mein Iman Ki Hararat Walon Ne, Mann Apna Purana Papi Hai, Barsoun Mein Namazi Ban Na Saka (Though the mosque was built overnight by the believers, Our heart being old sinner for years devout could not be).
Now let’s move inside the gate. Walking on the main path if you take a left you will reach Chowk Matti in Lohari Gate, whereas the right side is densely commercialised. If you keep moving on the straight path you will come across the Rang Mahal Mission High School. In 1849 Rang Mahal Mission School was started by the Rev CW Forman of the American Mission as the first English school in the province and in 1852 was acquired by him from the authorities for Rs1,000. In due course the school developed into the famous Forman Christian College. Lately, the college shifted but the school is still there.
The same passage from Bazaar Sadakaran will take you to the Rang Mehal Chowk, Kasera Bazaar, Sooha Bazaar, Baoli Bagh and the Golden Mosque. From there you can take your way to the Chowk Surjan Singh which will direct you to Pani Wala Talaab, Lahnga Mandi and the Fort Road Food Street. See how twining the streets are. You cannot travel in alone through these streets; you have to have a local guide with you. Throughout your route you will come across interesting street and koochas like Koocha Gopi Chand, Koocha Soosiyan Wala, Koocha Patt Pattayian, Koocha Hari Parsad, Gali Rani Gul Begum, Koocha Killi Khana and many more which are no doubt hard to remember and pronounce. It’s an amusing route, and the more I explore, the more I love my city.
Now coming back to Shah Alam Market, the real estate is exorbitantly expensive there. Even a small shop, measuring just 200 square feet, is worth millions of rupees. This is the affect of commercialisation in that area. There are more than one thousand shops in Shah Alam. You will now see towering plazas falling over you in the narrow streets and mind blowing connectivity of the basements. These are the wholesale shops of perfumes, electronics, cosmetics, household items, crockery, house décor, toys, bags, decorative lights, artificial decorative flowers and all you can think of.
This place can indubitably be turned into a tourist spot as it holds so many interesting streets and bazaars
An interesting thing is that the only means of transporting goods in and out of the shops of Shah Alam Market is on the backs of brawny men. You would be surprised to see the size of the loads labourers carry on their backs. The streets are too narrow to allow vehicles to go through. The narrowness of the streets and building of high rise plazas has caused safety hazards in the bazaar as there is absence of any emergency escape route in case of fire or any other incident. This is one drawback of the area. The road is congested and you will have to search for a parking space if you wish to shop from there, or it is better to reach there by a local transport.
This place can indubitably be turned into a tourist spot as it holds so many interesting streets and bazaars. At present the community of the Shah Almi area is not very welcoming of photographers and media persons as they are at a risk because of encroachments. If they are taken into confidence, the place can be developed for tourists as so far the place is not much known for its historic streets, it is more popular for its commercial use. It can be transformed into a tourist market if the traders are involved in the process and like wholesale markets in any other part of the world, this market and gate can gain immense importance and recognition.