Haveli Diwan Dina Nath

Government should own and preserve a part of our heritage

This is a huge Haveli inside the Walled City and reflects a typical Sikh architecture. The total area of the Haveli is 47 Marla with nineteen rooms and two basements including verandas and an open space backyard

As you enter the Royal Trail or the Shahi Guzargah by passing through the giant arches of Delhi Gate Lahore, you can take your route to the Phoolon Wali Gali. This street is named so because once there were some flower vendors sitting in this street and one or two are still seen there. This is the street that houses the Haveli of Diwan Dina Nath. The Haveli is named after a Hindu Raja, Dina Nath, who was a courtier during Ranjit Singh’s rule in Punjab.

First let me tell you about Dina Nath so that you can visualise the importance of this man and also his haveli. Raja or Diwan Dina Nath belonged to a Kashmiri Pandit family living in Delhi. In 1815 Maharaja Ranjit Singh had invited Dina Nath to Lahore and offered him the post of mutsaddi or writer, in the department of military accounts. In 1826, after the demise of Diwan Ganga Ram, one of Ranjit Singh’s courtiers, Dina Nath succeeded him as the head of the military accounts department and keeper of the privy seal and in 1834 he became the head of the civil and finance office. Maharaja Ranjit Singh awarded the honorary title of Diwan to Dina Nath in 1838, which means the custodian of finances. Raja Dina Nath was one of the signatories to the treaty which was made between the Sikhs and the British after the First Anglo-Sikh War, which was fought between the Sikh empire and the East India Company between 1845 and 1846. Later, when a council was constituted in December 1846 for the governance of the Punjab, Raja Dina Nath was made its president, with the active support of the British. He was well and a happily-styled Talleyrand of the Punjab and his life and character bore a strong resemblance to those of the European statesmen. Raja Dina Nath died in 1857 near Kot Khawaja Saeed, at Lahore, Pakistan.

Now come to this Haveli again. This is a huge Haveli inside the Walled City and reflects a typical Sikh architecture. The total area of the Haveli is 47 Marla with nineteen rooms and two basements including verandas and an open space backyard. An underground tunnel and basements also exist in the Haveli. The last time I visited the Haveli the residents of one portion were upset as the original ceiling of the main living area had collapsed during the monsoon. Today, I was happy that the ceiling was restored and it was safe for the residents.

The interesting part is that the same types of ceilings are seen inside the Lahore Fort and many other Sikh era havelis. This cutwork of mirror and wood in the ceilings is taken as an expensive embellishment, so I thought that the builder must have been an important and a rich person. Apart from the ceilings, the walls of the Haveli still have fresco remains, very clearly visible. The residents have painted the fresco with white wash in all the rooms but the sharp colors still reflect under the white wash. Well the entrance of the Haveli, too, is an interesting dark narrow staircase that leads you into an open courtyard. Such courtyards are also seen in many Havelis which still exit inside the Walled City of Lahore.

The cold basements of the Haveli are also an interesting feature. The residents call it Sard Khana (cold room). There are rooms being constructed in the basement of the Haveli and previously when I visited it, the basement was in its original condition

The Haveli is a declared tourist site and the residents are accustomed to visitors. The present owner of the Haveli, Mrs Khawar, told me that she was living there for last sixty five years and before her, the same family got the haveli allotted after partition. She said that after partition Haveli Dina Nath was transferred to her father in law, Khursheed Sahib. At that time five families were residing in this Haveli but three of them had moved out to other parts of Lahore some years ago.

The Haveli is no doubt a mesmerising piece of architecture. The yellow painted structure with a huge platform and basins of fountain was typical Sikh architecture with arches, balconies, carvings, fresco work, worship places and the secret staircase to mezzanine floors. Sikh architecture, developed almost 300 years ago, is a blend of sophistication, ascetic beauty, and elegant lines, which is reflected strongly in this Haveli. The resident told me that their ancestors had found many antiques and record books in the lockers and cabinets in the mezzanine and basements, which were sold or given away by the family. They must be ignorant of the value of those things, I thought.

The cold basements of the Haveli are also an interesting feature. The residents call it Sard Khana (cold room). There are rooms being constructed in the basement of the Haveli and previously when I visited it, the basement was in its original condition. At present the basement has lost all its original fabric and one can’t say that there were small temples and prayer areas there. I was sad to see that. The basement should have been preserved. I think that such places should be acquired by the government and turned into typical tourist sites. If not all havelis then only a few should be taken up for conservation and restoration purposes. If these steps are not taken up then we will surely loose a few remaining havelis as well because the residents will keep making changes in the original fabric of the Haveli.