Gujranwala in 1985 was a bright, alive and bustling town. The bazaar was crowded with people, some drinking cold milk (which seemed to be a particularly favourite drink), others buying fruits and vegetables and others still bargaining eagerly for steel trunks and pots and pans. Mr Abidi was eager to buy a thaan of fabric, which he had been told was ideal for making dupattas. Soon, the shop of an acquaintance was found and the bargain struck. However, when Mr Abidi returned with his prize to Karachi, he discovered that the fabled thaan from Gujranwala had in fact been manufactured in Karachi. This little mishap aside, the true fame of Gujranwala lies in the ability of its people to copy any machine from anywhere in the world simply by observing it. Mr Abidi was lucky to meet with some of these mechanical wizards and to discover that the stories of their prowess were not in any way exaggerated.
Gujranwala has also produced many celebrities: bodybuilders (the then ‘Mr Pakistan’), sportsmen (hockey player Mir Latif), judges (including our erstwhile president justice (retd) Rafiq Tarar) and writers (Noon Meem Rashid and Waris Shah, the creator of the legend of Heer Ranjha). It is not, however, a historic town! It does not appear in any Mughal records even though Akbar settled Aimanabad and Hafizabad very near it and Dara Shikoh settled Sheikhupura (which was originally known as ‘Shikoh-pura’). According to some, Gujranwala was established in the 18th century by a tribe of Gujjars who had been expelled from Amritsar by their arch-enemies, the Jats. Although the Gujjars had originally planned to go to the banks of the Chenab, they set up camp at the site of present-day Gujranwala and liked the place so much that they decided to stay here.
The Gujjars, however, did not live in peace for too long and Gujranwala was soon captured by the Sikhs. Not surprisingly, therefore, the town boasts a number of Sikh buildings, including the birthplace of the Maharaja, although even by 1985, a number of these had been converted into madrassas. Gujranwala was once again noticed when its residents participated actively in the Non-Cooperation Movement of the early 1920s by pulling out railway tracks. The British retaliated by rebuilding the railway station many miles outside the city. However, such was the power of the residents that the British were soon forced to relocate the station closer to town. The same station is now very much inside the city and is a testament to how much it has grown over the years.
From Gujranwala, Mr Abidi went by bus (to Ali Pur Chattha) and from there on a tonga to Syed Nagar, a somewhat large village located about 20 miles off GT Road. He had expected village life but was not prepared for the anachronism that awaited him: Syed Nagar was inhabited by Syeds that had migrated from Muzaffar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, India, in the twilight of the Mughal era. And so it was that Mr Abidi found himself delighted by chaste Urdu in the heartland of Punjab. It was with some reluctance that Mr Abidi took leave of the gentle Syeds to finally leave for Lahore. He had often heard it said that a person who has not seen Lahore is not yet born. And it was with the wide-eyed curiosity of a newborn that he arrived in this city. But more on that next time.
(To be continued)
Published in The Express Tribune, November 3rd, 2011.
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i think mr yousaf recheck history. Mughals rules from 1527 till 1707, so it was 180 years. in 180 years they did lot of work too. you looks impressed with British scholarship who were/are habitual to criticized her old lords. it is usual practice in state craft. just check, what american did with Britisher and her civilization in last 60 years, after Atlantic charter 1941. it always happens but we should analyse it independently. it was Britishers who annexed The Punjab in 1849 and than spreaded many stories about Lhore darbar. they called Lhore Darbar a Sikh government and spreaded its conflicts with pathans and Muslims. that was all rubbish yet many of us still believe it. same is the case in mughals rule yet K.K.Aziz father , great sheikh aziz wrote a book on institutions of mughal times. Tudar mal's system of land is one example in this regard. i read about gakkar sardar, sheer shah suri, he has no connection with Afghanistan, he married with a lady of tila gogian and tried his best to use gakkar power yet he could not rule more than five years.
@yousaf
Thanks for the insight on SSS regime. Honestly never gave much thought to SSS, may be because we have been fed too much of Mughal splendour and being blinded by it. Can you recommend some read about SSS (in English please).
Lady, Gujranwala is quite historic my mother-in-law was born there now can any place be more important than that.
@Ambar Dar c/o Mr.Raza Ali Abdi esq.You were impressed by the largesse of Humayun,the failed emperor of mughal empire who,as you said,gave gakhar as a gift to Gakhars for siding with him against Sher Shah suri.For your kind information mughals during their 330 years of rule only built monuments(maqbaras)killed each other even brothers and sisters.One jailed his father for 9 years,built huge palaces to keep their keeps for pleasure.SSS on the other hand during his 5 years of rule in India fought mughals,built forts and renovated the many thousand years old GT road which was lying un-attended and in ruins for over a thousand years.To put it in simple words mughals had a me attitude and SSS had a you attitude for the people.If compared,mughals were just a small boat whereas SSS was a man-of-war.Abdi sahib is a"sharif aadmi"may be this is the reason for his going to Syed Nagar,a remote and peaceful place with very nice people living there.They are all pure Syed-Zadas with no one like them anywhere,making it very dificult for them sometimes to find proper match for their children specially females.@Poor Mauladad,he did not realise that British here were not to get favours but to grab.He went to meet saab with a kukkar, providing saab with best oppertunity to show piousity and look clean.Mauladad could not understand that we are penny-wise and pound foolish,whereas British are penny fools but pound-wise.....so much so far!
it is good, but is it english translation of raza abidi ? there r many usefull information in i yet there r also some misconceptions too. when humayun had to left hind-punjab it was due to soori but it is also a fact that might of soori was in his alliance with gukkars. whenever gukkar supported any sardar he became king and whenever they rejected him he either died or left. in mharaja time, and remember it is not Sikh times as described by Britishers and their supporter intellectuals out of revenge, like rawal pendi , the city of gujranwala was created by Lhore Darbar for defense purposes. out of his love with Urdu, Mr abidi tried to pinpoint places in the Punjab where he found good urdu speakers. for him, like many urdu wallas, good Urdu means delli wali or lucknow wali urdu. it is a fact that Urdu and Hindi was introduced and promoted by britishers after rejecting the mother tongue Punjabi and classical language of Punjab Persian at that time. punjabis invented their own urdu and than produced Iqbal, Hali and faiz and manto. the last thing is regarding waris shah who lived in shekhopura, jandyala sheer khaan, not in gujranwala. indeed, amenabad was a famous place and late ahmad bashir in his novel describes its glory too.
Reading a travelouge is nearest to the experience of travelling the course. Thanks madam.Thanks a lot.