A Love Affair with Lahore

thanks! got it :)

Amrita, do try Penguin India`s Web site. I bet you could order it from there

Bina, this made me want to read the book all the more ... i checked amazon and its still not available. sigh.

# 21, yes we called it nehri.
# 22, motia is jasmine flower

Re: # 23
Ullu De Pathay: Wah bhai wah kiya baat hai.
Ishradd, muqarrar....

Bina shah: Why is your name a Hindu Name? did your parents run out of Islamic names?
Not that I care about it, but you could be tried under Blasphemy law.

Once you have spent time here you get addicted to the city.If Karachi is fast, Lahore reveals itself slowly and gracefully with all of its mystic past, bazaars, foggy December nights and what not.Ibn-e-Insha once wrote a poem for Karachi which was something like that

``Meri khwahishon ka Roma, Meri hasraton ki dilli``
``Mujhe aur kaun jaane,Mujhe aur kaun pehchaane``
``Tu hi de tau de gawahi,Ae balda-e-Karachi``

Kudos to Bina ji for this tribute to the city in prose (Lapait lapait ke maar rahi hain).
This city has something for everyone from pauper to the prince.
Cheers to Lahore ``The city with a soul``.

Re: # 20
what the hell is a motia?

If it is the tree, how would it fit in a gharra?

#20

did you guys used to call those sandstorms `neri` we used to be so happy to here `neri agayii, neri agayii` usually it would be followed by rain...

Stuka, the following pasages from the article reminds me of Amritsar
``– the haze and fog of a typical chilly Lahore morning, as the sun struggles manfully to shine through. The very climate of Lahore is passionate, whether it’s the thunder and rain of a monsoon downpour, the scorching heat of a summer afternoon, or the angry red sky of an approaching dust storm.``
`` the taste of the jamun and mangoes they picked from tress planted at their grandparents’ houses; or the heavy fragrance of motia.
``Their memories of home are colored with the remembrance of delicious food, lovingly cooked and forcefully administered to them by nanis and nanas and khalas and phupas and relatives of every gender and age.
``Long naps during stifling summer afternoons, the excitement of the arrival of the monsoon, and the shopping trips to the bazaars.``
Another similarity bet Lahore and Asr is the excellent food that is found in both cities,
people who haved lived in Asr always remember and talk about the food.
Though, Lahore is a much bigger and more beautifull city than Asr, being not very far from each other there are a lot of cultural similarities.
I remember the hot summer nights when we use to sleep on the roof. We would fill bowls
with water and motia, and put it by the bed side, and we would come running down when there was a dust storm followed by rain. Even the dust storms have stopped now.

I didn`t do it!

BINA BINA BINA, WHY HAVE THY REMOVED MY POSTING...

BINA BINA BINA, WHY HAVE THY REMOVED MY POSTING...

us bewafa ka shehr he aur hum haiN dosto
ashke rawaN ki nehr he aur hum haiN dosto

Reminds me of my own trip to Lahore. I don`t think there is any comparison between Amritsar and Lahore. The latter has a far more pervasive sense of history and culture. In Amritsar, outside of Golden Temple, there really isn`t much. Durgiana temple and Jallianwala Bagh at best.

I think that the modern aspects of Lahore do not take away from what is traditional. I agree with Kulharee about the importance of Data Sahib. The triangulation of Data Sahib, Badshahi Masjid and the fort seems to be the cultural centre of old Lahore, with Gurudwara Dera Sahib being a symbol of the city`s intercommunity past and Minar e Pakistan a symbol of the future. One can soak this in and then head over to the opulence of Pearl Continental for a different mindset. One thing I did appreciate is the conitnuity of new Lahore and Old Lahore, and I think restaurants like Cuckoo`s Grill, places that attract the well off to the old parts of town, are integral to that approach. Lahore is above all the quintessential Punjabi city.

Great city, look forward to going again...BTW, is Shanzeh Haque related to another Lahori Haque who has been a long time interactor of Chowk in times past?

All my Lhauri mami`s are fat except for the couple that are actually from Lhaur, the others too were slim before their marraige, after coming to Lhaur even the one from Karachi has now taken on majj like proportions...

Gol gappey kha kha, aap gol gappey bann giya!

Even tho Lhaur Lhaur ay!

also sadly for karachiites, karachi women are into boring stuff like careers while lahori women are into partying.