Underneath the marble floor

Shahi Hamam

Underneath the marble floor was a whole new world to be explored. The astounding hypocaust system of the Royal Bath is what we know today as the spa or the sauna bath. That’s the Shahi Hamam or the royal bath and how many of us know about the wonder inside the Walled City of Lahore? Hardly a few. It is the only one of its kind in Asia now.

As we walk through the gigantic arches of the British built Delhi Gate and take the first left turn we see a building marked with a four feet high retaining wall. That is the Shahi Hamam or the Royal Bath. It is the only existing Royal Bath, one of the few remainders of 17th century monuments built during the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.

What was the Shahi Hamam for? It was a public bath built in 1634 by the Mughal courtier Wazir Khan or Hakim Ilm-ud-Din Ansari. The man was known for curing diseases and got close to Muhgal Emperor Jahangir after the treatment of an incurable disease his wife, Noor Jahan, had. The public bath was then named after Wazir Khan and on the same path the beautiful Mosque of Wazir Khan was also built in subsequent years.

The public bath offered facilities like bathing, massage, spa, sauna and what not. Historically and geographically the existence of a Hamam made sense at this place. The travellers would enter Lahore through Delhi Gate, freshen up in the Hamam and then go further for offering prayers at the Wazir Khan Mosque ahead. It is claimed by historians that there was a rest house (Wazir Khan Sarai) opposite the existing Hamam. The rest house provided a facility to the travellers for overnight stays. It was demolished in the Sikh period and later when a disruptive flood struck Lahore.

The Hamam was very perfectly managed and must be a fashionable service for travellers and the public at that time. It is said by historians that there were attendants who would welcome the public inside the Hamam and informed them about the services being offered. The Hamami or the attendant provided the people with towel and soap and they would sit in the waiting area of the Hamam for their turn. The Hamami or the attendant would call the person on his turn and offer the services of cold and hot bath along with massage. Hair cutting, trimming, manicure and pedicures were also a provision. The charges of all the services were minimal so that it could serve the masses and all economic classes.

Some historians’ claim that it was meant for the royal females only in the beginning and afterwards it was converted into a public bath, and few days of the week were specified for the females. The services for females were offered by female attendants in the Hamam.

The building of the Hamam is still deftly decorated with fresco work. The cold bath area or the main hall is a stunning success of fresco with all the walls and ceilings ornamented with colourful motifs and designs. This attests the Emperor’s interest and attention to details for the public. Small openings in the ceiling of each room were made for ventilation and lighting purposes.

How did the Hamam function? The steam channels were made under the floor which we know as hypocaust system. The woods were burnt under huge furnaces having water. That steam would swivel through those channels heating up the floor and the water in the reservoirs. The water pipes in the form of tunnels were concealed between the walls which provided fresh water to the people. The used water was drained out through the open drain channels in the floor which was collected in a central pipeline from where it was thrown into the main drain of the area.

Recently the Shahi Hamam has been restored as the Norwegian government showed its interest in conserving the remains of the monument. The conservation was carried out by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in partnership with the Walled City of Lahore Authority. Shukar Ullah, the project in charge, explained that all the walls were painted with white wash which had to be removed through certain chemicals for revealing the fresco underneath. For this task fresco experts were called from Sri Lanka who toiled with the students of National College of Arts. This was a good initiative for training our own resources in fresco. Marble floors were laid in all the rooms of the Hamam in a 1991 restoration initiative by the Archaeology department. These floors were excavated in present conservation to re-establish the hypocaust system. The conservation was completed in two years as it is always a time taking process.

The Hamam is a single storey building and covers an area of about 1,000 square meters. At present it has 21 inter-connected rooms. These were the bathing rooms. The waiting area has now been converted into a conference room with audio visual facilities for tourists. It is claimed by historians that the Hamam was an extended building which was partially demolished while reconstructing the Delhi Gate during the British Rule. The foundations of some parts of the Hamam were revealed during the present excavation which endorsed the historians. The foundations of other rooms and buildings were also revealed along with the main water channel of the city which has also been preserved for tourists.

The Shahi Hamam like many other historic buildings underwent different usages during Sikh and British times. Its heating system was destroyed during the Sikh rule and many ornaments were pulled out of the ceilings and walls. During the British era it was transformed into an accommodation for the police and soldiers. After 1947 it was changed into a boys’ primary school, a girls’ vocational school, a dispensary and also served as office for various government departments. Rooms to provide residences for the government employees were also erected on the roof top. The northwestern rooms (Hujras) were rented out as shops by the Department of Auqaf and additional shops or encroachments were made on the northern, western and southern façades of the Hamam. These encroachments damaged the structure as well as water ingress in the foundations. In short, every effort was made to destroy the elegance of Shahi Hamam but somehow it survived. This also depicts the solid structure and stability of the building material that was used in its construction. The building passed every test of turbulence successfully.

It’s news that the building is successfully conserved and now opened for tourists. A minimal amount of Rs20 per head has been set as ticket by the authority, and this amount goes to the Hamam to make its conservation sustainable. Saving heritage is essential to make the heritage alive. We at our level should contribute by any means we can.