Pak Tea House offers poetry lovers a unique place to socialise

Cafe is often graced by clusters of renowned legends of literature who share their insight on literary works

LAHORE: The cafe of Pak Tea House, built in 1948, has been in the limelight since its inception. The cafe is often graced by the cluster of renowned legends of literature for sharing their insight on creative and literary works in one place.

The city of Lahore has established its credentials as a creative capital by securing a place on the list of cities that has been designated as one of ‘UNESCO Creative Cities of 2019’. The city, long known for its culture, is among the 66 cities on the list for the year titled as ‘City of Literature’.

The tea house has remained instrumental in brainstorming for literary figures like Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Saghar Saddique and many more - old and young budding stars who had their thirst in literature and artistic activities.

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In the heart of Anarkali, near Nila Gumbad, lies one of the oldest buildings where many linguists, literary figures and social scientists spend time with each other to hold scholarly discussion on ideas and make in-depth analysis of books, literary figures, movements and events over a cup of tea.

A home for literature art and cultural studies, the two-storey building narrates the stories of the minds that were once the talk of the town and are still alive amongst thousands of their followers. Amongst other monumental and historical structures in the provincial capital, Pak Tea House has its own unique position, especially within those circles of people who love to explore history.

Literature students and lovers from all over the country deem it a must visit place when they visit Lahore. One of the attractive features of the café is its furniture, which even today gives the same look. The visitors feel privileged to sit on the seats which were once dragged from the table by Shorish Kashmiri.

Lahore is among one of the few cities in the country which has been able to continue its decades-old culture of Mushairas due to places like Pak Tea House. Students often take keen interest in the literary atmosphere of the building while enjoying tea.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2019.