The house of the dancing girls
According to history books, the red light area was located inside the Lohari Gate before the Sikh rule and most of the affluent dancers had built beautiful Havelis in Lohari. The famous Chowk inside the Lohari Gate, Chowk Matti was also named after a prominent dancer “Matti Bai”. With the passage of time, the Red Light area was shifted to Chowk Jhanda, then Tibbi Gali and eventually spread over the Heera Mandi.
Resembling the gigantic gates of Lahore Fort, the Lohari Gate has always grabbed my attention. It is one of the thirteen gates of the Walled City, the real Lahore, built by the third Mughal Emperor Akbar. Lohari Gate till today possesses the awe-inspiring havelis and intact architecture that depicts the old real Lahore. Walking through Lohari gate with open drains running on both sides of the street, one does forget the debris and muck while looking at the amazing architecture. With my curiosity to visit the Noori Building, I walked through the tangled streets landing at Mohalla Peer Shirazi from where I accessed the haveli of Poori Bai (dancer), now known as the Noori Manzil.
The residents of the area told me that it was a house of dancing girls during the Sikh period. It was built by a dancer “Poori Bai” and the Haveli was known as Poori Haveli at that time. As the time passed, the haveli, like many other streets and gates of the walled city, was renamed to Noori Haveli or Noori Manzil. According to history books, the red light area was located inside the Lohari Gate before the Sikh rule and most of the affluent dancers had built beautiful Havelis in Lohari. The famous Chowk inside the Lohari Gate, Chowk Matti was also named after a prominent dancer “Matti Bai”. With the passage of time, the Red Light area was shifted to Chowk Jhanda, then Tibbi Gali and eventually spread over the Heera Mandi.
I entered through a narrow dark entrance which led me into a huge courtyard, as we do not find open spaces and courtyards inside the walled city; it was a rare feature for me. No wonder the building was mesmerising and arrested my senses for a couple of seconds. I had heard from the neighbors and the shoe makers sitting inside the Haveli that it was haunted. The building was lying abandoned and only a few shoe makers were residing in it. Some of the rooms had been converted into shoe godowns and others were locked since they were thought to be haunted.
The courtyard of the haveli was wrecked, but still a staggering beauty. I believe (from what I observed) it was a living area or a main hall between the two sections of the building. I guess that must be a sitting place of the residents at that time. Along the sides of this courtyard were the main buildings structures decorated with carved and brick balconies reflecting Sikh Architecture. The lined designs are a prominent feature of Sikh Architecture which was visible all over the building. The Haveli was a two storeyed building with thirty two rooms. I couldn’t get a chance to see all the rooms as most of the rooms have been locked for ages with rusty chains. Once there was a stable for horses which has now been converted into show maker shops. The occupied area of the Haveli was 27 Marlas, which is considered huge inside the walled city at present. It was allotted to a Muslim family after the partition in 1947 when the Sikhs moved out.
I entered in one of the portions of the building on the right and I was lost into the majesty of the ruins. It was undoubtedly a magnum opus. The interior was spellbinding and yes mysterious too. The main area inside this double storey portion of the Haveli had a small square hall with rooms around it. The building was awfully dilapidated with pigeons all around and debris on the floor. Some parts were covered with bird droppings. The ceilings and few other portions still had the remains of the original fabric. The flakes of decorative material were seen on the walls and roof. It is a piece not less than any other Haveli inside the walled city; it is just ignored and blamed as being haunted. I didn’t feel anything in there.
The Noori Manzil was a doll house in a mess. The first floor of the Haveli was derelict too and it quivered with each step I took. The huge cracks in the walls, stair case and the roof narrated how ruthlessly the building was neglected.
This is one dilemma I see in the walled city of Lahore that the people living in such places do not understand the importance of the heritage. For them it is a piece of land and nothing more. If anything collapses they prefer pulling it down and raising a new building. Well, I also can’t blame the residents as some of them are not much economically stable and those who are prefer selling the property for commercial use and move out to other parts of the walled city. In my opinion an awareness campaign for the residents is important which informs them about the importance of the heritage.
