Padhana Haveli

Remains of Sikh heritage

The love and effort of the artisans oozed out of each brick there. It must have been a majesty of its times.

 

According to the locals the haveli had been a complex of residential quarters and a katchehri (a court of the magistrate)

Sounds strange? This haveli is right here in Lahore. The beautiful masterpiece is located near Bamabanwala-Ravi-Bedian (BRB) Link Canal close to the running border between India and Pakistan. This is Padhana, the last village on the Pakistani side directly facing the prominent Indian town Naushehra across the border. Yes I must say the location is a bit tricky and risky in the present conditions. Well, reaching the village it is not difficult to access the haveli as you can easily ask anyone about it and the people will happily escort you to the place. It is located inside a narrow street and the residents also live there but in a newly constructed portion.

As I went into the narrow street the façade of the haveli was revealed. It was a beautiful gaudy and majestic structure. The love and effort of the artisans oozed out of each brick there. It must have been a majesty of its times. At first I felt glimpses of Noori Haveli and Dhyan Singh Haveli in this building as the structures resembled a lot. I went inside and inspected the outstanding three storey structure which was built of nanak shahi bricks. These were decorative bricks used for structural walls during the Mughal era and continued in the Sikh era as well. With these bricks the origin of the haveli is traced back to Mughal times, a bit more precisely to the times of Emperor Akbar and the same was told to me by the local person I met there.

If I talk about the architecture of the haveli, it was an amalgamation of Mughal and Sikh styled buildings. The domes, squared top pavilions on the corner towers, bricked arches running parallel on multi-story structures and the paired pilasters give the building a real Mughal touch. The main building unit is the red burnt brick with the typical lime plaster of old times. Years of neglect have resulted in the wearing out of the building. The structures are seen falling apart. In some parts of the haveli the place is being used for cows. The other parts are housing debris of the falling pieces. I think that the interior and exterior of the building must have had some fresco work as well which is now washed away but slightly visible at a few places. The roof as well of the entire structure is derelict and little intact, but mostly crumbling.

I think the haveli should have been well preserved as a tourist spot or maybe the owners could have been given an option for opening it up for tourists. This model would have helped the residents to make the haveli self sustainable and have expenses for its preservation and maintenance. I would suggest the archeology department of Punjab to preserve this masterpiece before it crumbles down to join the debris. So far, I see many old residential structures lying abandoned which should be taken up by the archeology department, a proper re-use is important for these heritage homes, so that these are preserved for future generations.

According to the locals the haveli had been a complex of residential quarters and a katchehri (a court of the magistrate). The katchehri now is entirely wiped out and the residential quarters also lie in ruins. The family residences have moved to a partitioned corner, in a complex that has been rebuilt.

You must be thinking that who owned this place. It was the Haveli of Padhana Sikh Sardars, Sardar Jawala Singh Sandhu, who belonged to this village. They were Sandhu Jatts, one of the oldest Sardars in the Punjab. Sardar Jawala Singh was a commander in the Sikh army and fought alongside Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa. Sandhu Sardars of Padhana held high posts in Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army and court. The Sandhu Sardars of Padhana were people of power till the partition of 1947. It is said by historians that Padhana had a large number of Sikh Sardars from 18th century to the 20th century. Their proud haveli today sadly lies in ruins and is being used for cattle, built with small bricks and standing strong still, needs attention of the government and related organisations. This place can also become a part of tour for the Sikhs who visit Lahore for the Yatra. The government should take steps to preserve the pieces of history and re-use them as museums, tourist spots, restaurants, cafés or a cultural centers. I see that in India and other parts of Asia, heritage homes are being used as hotels, wedding halls and community centers; I wonder why Pakistan has failed to do so. The tourism and archeology department should come forward with such incentives which can make a place self sustainable. If we keep ignoring the precious pieces of history then one day Lahore, the heritage hub, will have no more heritage.