Shahi Hammam is actually a Royal Bath House which is more spacious, luxurious and beautiful than many houses of this time. After seeing the Shahi Hammam, I was amazed at the way the Mughal emperors lived. When they can take bath in such lavish ambient environment then their standard of living would be really fascinating.
I was standing near the closed door of the Shahi Hammam and there I read on a board that the entrance to the Shahi Hammam was on the other side.
I was looking for the way to go inside the Shahi Hammam. That's why I was taking information from the people in the bazaar. It was a very unique experience for me because it was my first solo trip in my life. Solo traveling is a great thing and I think I should do that kind of traveling in the future. Because when you are alone and traveling, you observe things more carefully and you have no pressure of time and friends.
The shops in the bazaar have also been renovated and I am very happy to see that the government is working to preserve its heritage and they have renovated all the old buildings and places to make them a tourist support.
At the time I was walking in this market, it was two o'clock in the afternoon and there was a lot of hustle and bustle in the market. Many people came to visit the historical buildings but there were also many people who were there to buy some things from the market.
Tourists can also park their car or motorbike in the parking lot outside the Shahi Hammam. The parking area is reserved for tourists only and other people are not allowed to park there. There was a street vendorer outside the Shahi Hammam,who was selling groundnuts. My attraction went to that seller and then I diverted my attention to the board on my left on which the history of Shahi Hammam was written.
From the history of Shahi Hammam, we know that this hammam was built in 1635 by Alamuddin Ansari, the governor of Lahore, and the Mughal Empire was ruling the subcontinent at that time.
Later in the colonial times, this royal bath was used for many other purposes. In 2015, to revive this heritage, the Punjab government along with Aga Khan trust took responsibility to make this abandoned building a beautiful one. From that time, this building is open for tourists.
There is a proper organization which is preserving and taking care of all these historical sites. Isn't really amazing that the place where royal people use to take bath is a fascinating place and we are paying money to see that?
Ticket section was on my right side. I went to ticket booth and asked for ticket. The tourist ticket was of 50 Pakistani rupee. I had no change that's why i bought a student ticket.
There the checking people asked me about my bag, what are the things in my bag? I told them that there are some books and documents in it.One suggested me to leave my bag there and take back my bag on my return.
On the wall, there was a small board highlighting that the original building of Shahi Hammam extended in the west. The current renovated building of Shahi Hammam are remains of it.
I touched and felt the red thin bricks. I fell into thoughts as if i belong there and i been the part of this history. I don't know, what's magic these old and ancient buildings hold? I always crave to see the marvels of history.
These were the same doors through which royal people used to pass. These door ways are now empty and tourists of different regions come to explore the treasure.
There are long and elevated walkways inside the Royal Bath. Walkway was built to keep the ancient architecture persevered and protected.
It was a peaceful and leisure hour that i was the only one who was inside the huge ancient building. I can scream loudly but i didn't let my inner self come out. I was walking and observing the environment.
I entered the central octagonal chamber which was beautifully and delicately decorated with fresco work. This fresco work is identical to Mughal Architecture and inspired by Persian culture. The concpet of Hamman also came from Persia but it didn't get that much value in the subcontinent.
The geometrical patterns left long lasting impression and print on my mind. I can be hypnotized by these geometrical patterns. I wanted to sit there and stare at these geometrical perfections. This is creative work of so many engineers.
There is so much contribution of modern day artists in the renovation of this particular historical marvel. Beneath the main octagonal dome, there was a visual art representation. There was a black wooden ship which was stuck in the plastic styrofoam. I didn't get the idea behind that visual art. There was an informational display beside art. I read the details and i found that ship represents the people and the planet. Moreover, Styrofoam represents that humans have polluted the planet with plastic and the planet is loosing it's real beauty.
In next chamber, I found another visual art. That visual art consists of a crow sitting on a tree's stem and a lion was walking away. That visual art was depiction of Lahore. Lahore is known as City of Gardens but it's no more loaded with Gardens. I am afraid of the future of the city.
Now, Lahore city is the world's most polluted city and greenery is diminishing to the lowest level. The city is extending everyday with hundreds of homes and concrete walls. This is alarming and I am worried about the architectural beauty of the city.
Things and culture are becoming a matter of past and that past is just persevered in the museums and gallery. Alarmingly, society is shifting itself and changing the dimensions of living.
Previously, mud houses and clay made utensils were part of culture but they are gone. Everything became a faded and worn out past.
Silently, I walked away. I diverted my attention to fresco work. That fresco work was seemingly new and renovated.
There was another visual art and it's name was butterfly effect. It features a television in the middle and plants standing besides the television. This was representing the modern day world. We are occupied by technology but it doesn't mean that we forget our environment. The butterflies are dying and it's necessary to rescue these timid and beautiful creatures of nature.
The flowers on the wall are fading away. These flowers have bear the burden of time. In real world, we fought wars but these walls have also faced the consequences of wars and witnessed the downfall of Mughal empire in subcontinent.
A date tree reminded me of middle east and the origin of Mughals as they have roots in persia. I had ample time to look at each creative work. There was no one along with me. It was only me and me. The walkway was just holding my weight. I was just listening to my footsteps on the walkway.
Although, there were other many historical sites which i wanted to visit but i was very composed in observing and reading the fine details of each and every room.
Rooms and chambers were divided into hot bath chamber, cold bath chamber and dressing rooms. For both females and males, there were different sections.
Basements and the grounds were also exposed. These grounds are beneficial for steam baths. Warm water used to warm up the whole building of the Royal House.
Contemporary artists did great efforts to unmask the wonder of history that was masked by the dust of time. There are hundreds of historical monuments in Lahore who are still unexplored and unrevealed.
One chamber was one like a Museum where you can see pictures of some ruined monuments and buildings in Lahore.
Basement was flooded with plastic fishes. That triggered my mind. I was stunned that what sort of things these are? I found that particular chamber highlights the importance of aquatic species.
We humans have disturbed this planet so much that it will take millions of years to recover.
For a second, i thought that i came to visit some old civilization like harappa civilization in Pakistan's region.
The last part of Royal bath house was consist of hot water wells. These were three consecutive wells which always used to be filled with hot water that produced steam.
In few last mintues, A person appeared over there and i was frightened by his appearance. Actually, i was so engrossed in observing everything that his appearance made me feel frightened.
I came out of the main section of Royal BathHouse and i was greeted by a vibrant, exotic and cultural bicycle. This bicycle was crying a story to me. It was telling me that it is successfully replaced by motorbikes, electric cars and other vehicles. These vehicles have made this city polluted.
A closed wooden door also greeted me hurriedly. It also narrated it's story to me that he is also replaced by steel and iron doors and it has lost it's worth. I hugged him on his mourning.
On my way back, i stopped by the wall. On that wall, many displays were highlighting the history and explaining the architecture of Royal Bath House.
ANGEL HOLDING MAN-O-SALWA
The angel holding Man-o-Salwa, are present in the context of Royal Baths, its possible that they symbolize the luxurious and paradisaical nature of these spaces. The depiction of angels, commonly associated with heavenly realms, the idea of a blissful, serene environment of the Royal guests.
ANGEL HOLDING BOTTLE OF WINE
The bottle of wine represents a pleasure of life, reflecting poetic mysticism. the use of wine represents the secular nature of the Mughal Rule. It reflects how they were the king representing the memories of Medieval India.
After fully visiting the Shahi Hammam, I went out and wandered around the bazaar.
These historical buildings are our real asset but unfortunately people of today have forgotten all these architectures and they build modern type of houses which are not sustainable at all.
See you next 🌺
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