Memories from Lahore - Umra Anees

This piece is an impromptu conversation between me and Umra, a colleague at work. I was totally amazed by her memoir of Lahore and the journey of a young Indian girl to Pakistan all by herself. What particularly intrigued me was the fact that, unlike popular beliefs her experiences were completely opposite the stereotypical portray of Lahore by the media. I have always wanted to go there and she has built the curiosity even more.

Aditya: How is Lahore?

Umra: Lahore is a little cleaner than Delhi and the traffic is much less. It is full of Sardars and there are at least 3 markets completely run by Sikhs. There are many pretty Gurudwaras as well. There is a masjid named after my grandfather and my Chacha ji still lives in the same gali, where we stay when we visit Lahore.

The markets are pretty much like Chandni Chowk with dedicated streets selling specialized goods however, it is much better. The rush is pretty similar with handcarts trying maneuvering the narrow lanes. There is a lot to shop there (also because we find it cheaper as our currency is stronger than their currency).

There is a zoo there but it just has a lion worth seeing and sadly it was sleeping the entire time and just didn’t move. I once went to a McDonalds outlet there and to my surprise I couldn’t find anything vegetarian. So vegetarians should just not go to Lahore. Lol. I wanted to have a normal burger but couldn’t find it. There is absolutely no concept of vegetarian food there. I was fed up after a week and wanted to come back. I went alone and came back alone too.

Aditya: You went alone? All the way from here? How do you go to Lahore from here?

Umra: Yes. I went alone! I went alone as my parents went a couple of days before me as I did not want to miss my classes. People go by train but I prefer to travel by bus. First you have to take a visa from Pakistan High Commission. Then you take a bus from Asaf Ali Road near Turkman Gate. You gotta reach at 5 am and bus starts at 6 am. Monday, Wednesday and Friday it departs from Delhi and the Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday it comes back. They ask you for seat preferences and allocate seats very wisely they make men sit with men and women sit with women). I usually take a front window seat. I was seated with a newly married Bengali lady whose husband stayed in Lahore while she stayed in Delhi. I even met her husband once I got there.

It feels really cool to be in that bus escorted by convoys and the police van changes as you enter each state. There is a lot of checking involved as well, at Wagah Border and Lahore entrance, they check all your baggage and also frisk you. The place we stop in India for lunch is also very pretty along a river with a very cute hotel by it. We also get refreshment at Lahore baggage checking point. We never get any traffic on the way as there is a police convoy with the bus. We only got a little traffic in Lahore. We are really tired by the time you reach as we have already got our baggage checked twice or thrice. My parents had already told the security officials that our daughter will be travelling in a few days so please take care of her. So that personnel was there to help me out when I reached. There is a list with which passengers are screened and asked for our purpose of visit and other details.

My parents are always late so as usual they weren’t on time. So when I landed there no one was there to pick me and all our telephone networks do not work there. The guards did not let me go outside the gate unaccompanied. So I had to borrow a phone from someone to call them up. They were stuck in traffic and my father and brother came after a while as I waited near the bus stand office.

Aditya: Interesting. How are you connected to that place?

Umra: My dad’s father went to Lahore just before partition when everyone was moving back and all his brothers resided there. Dad’s mother was stayed back in Delhi and grandfather used to visit once a year or once in two years. That is why my chacha ji and all have impeccable Punjabi. My dad has a lot of relatives there who hold property and everything.

My cousin chacha ji is our closest acquaintance there. They are two brothers who live together with four sons and five daughters respectively. They do export business and mainly export different kinds of perfumes and oils to Middle East. It’s a thriving business and as we use a lot of itr, its part of our culture. All the itr in my house is from Lahore.

Aditya: Your grandmother is quite a character. How come she never moved?

Umra: I still can’t understand why my grandmother did not move. May be she did not move or may be her parents were here and she did not want to move leaving them behind. My dad also stayed in Lahore for quite some time but came back after a while as his mother was here. My dad’s real brother and sister are all here and no one left.

Aditya: How is the feeling of being there and how is life in general in Lahore?

Umra: My cousins go to college and girls can move around freely contrary to belief. My family is liberal that ways but I am not sure if that is true for other parts of the country as I haven’t been anywhere else. Once my cousin even took me out shopping and it was a lot of fun as she knew everything and we bought a lot of ladies suits. We had a car and driver so we did not have to bother about anything. We visited a lot of distant relatives. There is a neighbor who is close to my mother and makes amazing fish and cakes. She even sent a box of muffins when I was coming back. She loved cooking and cooking was her life. I got bored of food at chachu’s house as they made non veg and dal everyday and I got really bored having it every day for lunch and dinner. I went in winters so most of the discussion topics revolved around the season and similarities and dissimilarities between India and Pakistan. 

Aditya: Okay, so what are the must visit places or items to buy there?

Umra: Shalimar Bagh, Minar e Pakistan, Jallo Park are interesting apart from the other popular Mughal structures. Oil, ittar, suits (clothing) are a must buy!