The Fort of Lahore represents the architectural beauty and grandeur of a period ranging from the reign of Akbar to that of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, reminisces Subhash Parihar

The glory and splendour
of Lahore Fort

Lahore Fort represents the architectural beauty and grandeur of a bygone period, ranging from the reign of Akbar to that of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Spread over an area of 30 acres, the enclosure of the fort has three entry points — Masti Darwaza, Alamgiri Darwaza and Hathi Pol Darwaza. Masti Darwaza pierces the western wall of the fort. In front of this gate is a mosque built by Mariam Zamani, the Rajput mother of Jahangir. Due to its proximity to the mosque or maseet (as a mosque is commonly called in Punjabi), this gateway came to be known as Maseeti Darwaza.

This name with the passage of time got corrupted to Masti Darwaza. This massive and robust gateway is the only surviving part of the fort which was erected during the reign of Akbar (1556-1605).

At present the entrance to the fort is provided through Alamgiri Darwaza, built by Aurangzeb in 1673-74.

Inside the fort, a line of buildings divides it into two parts. The southern part was reserved for administrative buildings whereas the northern part, on which side the river Ravi flowed past, for royal palaces.

Now the only surviving building in the southern half of the fort is the Diwan-e-Aam, originally built by Shah Jahan in 1631-32.

But most of the present structure is of a later date because after the death of Ranjit Singh, his son Sher Singh destroyed the building with bombshells. It was in this building that the dead body of Ranjit Singh was placed for public view.

The rear wall of Diwan-e-Aam is attached to Daulat Khana-e-Khas, which was a royal residence. During the Sikh period, in the early hours of October 9, 1839, this building witnessed the murder of Chet Singh Bajwa, a favourite of Maharaja Kharak Singh, but a rival of his minister Dhian Singh Dogra.

In front of the Daulat Khana-e-Khas is a vast court surrounded by various buildings. This portion of the fort was built by Jahangir. Hence it is known as Jahangir’s quadrangle. The building exactly opposite the Daulat Khana-e-Khas is Khwabgah or sleeping apartment. Now it houses a museum exhibiting a collection of historic coins, manuscripts and miniature paintings.

Finely carved red sandstone brackets of the buildings on the eastern and western sides are their chief attraction. These brackets take the forms of lions, elephants and other animals and birds. In the centre of the court is a platform lying in the midst of a tank studded with fountains.

Daily in the evening, there is a "light and sound show" in this court just as one sees in the Red Fort in Delhi. In this show, the history of the fort is narrated with the help of colourful lights and commentary.

In the history of Mughal architecture, the reign of Shah Jahan is known as the "period of marble" due to the excessive use of marble in the buildings of the period. The emperor demolished some of the old buildings in the Lahore Fort too and got erected magnificent marble buildings in their place. In his small Khwabgah and Diwan-e-Khas may be seen exquisite latticework.

The Sheesh Mahal or the palace of mirrors was built as an official residence by Shah Jahan in 1631-32 but some minor additions to it were made during the reigns of Aurangzeb and Ranjit Singh.

The walls and ceilings of the palace are decked with thousands of tiny convex mirrors which reflect myriad images of anything placed in the palace. The dazzling effect of lights at night is not difficult to imagine. It was in this palace that the British victory of India was completed when after the second Anglo-Sikh war (1848-49), here, Punjab was formally handed over to them.

The small but graceful pavilion to the west of the Sheesh Mahal is known as Naulakha. The name has its origin in the belief that the pavilion was built at a cost of Rs 9 lakh. The chief attraction of this harmoniously proportioned building is the fine pietra dura work on its walls.

Just before the enclosure of the Sheesh Mahal, there is a court, the western wall of which has a marble pavilion. An oil-painting of the durbar of Ranjit Singh by European artist August Schoefft shows that here the Maharaja used to hold his durbar. Beautiful paintings of the Krishan-Lila theme adorn the walls of this pavilion.

The elegant Moti Masjid in the fort was also built by Shah Jahan in 1645. Ranjit Singh used it as a treasure-house.

There is a clumsy-looking double-storeyed building in the fort, known as the haveli of Rani Jindan.

Now it also houses a museum. Its ground floor displays a variety of arms captured by the British army in the Anglo-Sikh wars. The personal collection of Princess Bamba, the grand-daughter of Ranjit Singh, is exhibited on the upper floor of the building.

The exit from the fort is through the Hathi Pol Darwaza or the elephant gate built by Shah Jahan in 1631-32.It was meant to be exclusively used by the royalty. From this splendid gateway begins the renowned picture wall of Lahore Fort.

About 72,000 square feet of this wall displays a wide variety of themes such as elephant fights, camel fights, beribboned winged figures, court officials, game of polo, a cup bearer, richly caparisoned horses, a standard bearer on an elephant, a dragon pursuing a goat, birds etc.

The medium used for the execution of these panels is glazed tile mosaic. This wall is unique in Asia in so far as there is no other instance of glazed tile on a Muslim building in which the designs include such a wide range of animate motifs. Historian V.A. Smith rightly calls these mosaics "the most remarkable series of pictures in the world."

Deservedly the fort now figures on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.