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Colonial Punjab preserved in time
·
 Photographs
of Badshahi Masjid, Anarkali’s tomb from late 19th and 20th
centuries depict serene localities, now surrounded by overcrowded
areas
Staff Report
LAHORE: The Lahore University of Management Sciences’ (LUMS)
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences hosted an exhibition of
photographs of colonial Punjab taken by London’s Royal Geographical
Society (RGS) during the late 19th and early 20th centuries at the
campus on Thursday.
The photographs have been exhibited in London and now the RGS has
allowed LUMS to exhibit the work across Pakistan. The exhibition
would also be taken to the National College of Arts (NCA) and
Beaconhouse National University (BNU), and at any other institution
that requests it.
The photographs were appreciated by art enthusiasts as they offered
them a glimpse of colonial Punjab, which has undergone various
changes brought on by different empires and migrations. The display
included travelogues collected and written by RGS members during the
colonial period. One of the photographs bore the inscription:
“Punjabis are everywhere; wherever you go, you are going to come
across Punjabis”. The photographs covered a wide range of events in
Punjab’s history and reflected the way the events were linked to
British history.
Serene localities: Photographs of Badshahi Masjid, Anarkali’s Tomb
and other places show how serene the localities were at that time,
and draw a stark contrast to the congestion seen there today.
Statements about Lahore’s popular traditional sport, Kabbadi
(wrestling) were inscribed on the photographs. Pehlwans (fighters)
have also been photographed exercising and practicing.
In another photograph titled “Trains in Punjab”, the railway network
and trains from colonial times have been gloriously captured. India
and Pakistan’s difficult relationship has been traced in photographs
of the partition, when over 500,000 people died in the violent
upheavals and 15 million people migrated across the newly created
border. The information in the partition photographs is vital and
useful for students studying the history of the subcontinent,
according to a viewer at the exhibition.
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Emperor’s new secret
LAHORE: The Lahore Fort administration claims to have discovered
these new sites in the fort. The wall on the left dates to the days
of Mughal Emperor Jahangir, while the room on the right is an
extension of the khilwat khana. iqtidar zaidi
Daily
Times:June 05,2009 |
