Adil Najam
I had a tough time trying to decided which of Jawad Zakariya’s photographs to feature here today. I decided on this one because of the comments that were posted on this picture at Flcikr. The picture itself is of the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, with Ranjit Singh’s Samadhi on the left, both reflected in some rain water.
I think it is a terrific picture, but many of the commentators on Flickr thought that, photographically, it would have been better if he had focused only on the mosque and removed Ranjit Singh’s Samadhi from the frame. As a photograph, it may well have been (and, in fact, he does have one of those too). But as social commentary, it would have lost its meaning. The beauty of this picture is that it so eloquently highlights something that many of us–even those of us who are from Lahore–can miss all too often: the multi-religious and religiously diverse history of Lahore.
Sitting side-by-side, these two pieces of architecture–the most glorious mosque built by the mighty Mughals and the mausoleum of Lahore’s greatest Sikh ruler–encapsulate the essence of Lahore as the multi-religious, multi-cultural metropolis that it was. Here is a captivating reminder of the social milieu in which Muslims and Islam–particularly in Lahore–developed in an earlier generation.
Jawad Zakariya is one amongst many of an amazingly talented generation of Pakistani photographers displaying their work on Flickr.com. His photographs have this ‘picture-perfect’ postcard quality to them (and not just because of the border he uses). In fact, the masthead displayed on ATP this first week of July is also from one of his photographs.
Originally uploaded by jzakariya on Flickr.com as ‘Shahi Reflection‘.
the stories of Ranjit being a tyrant originate from pakistani’s who seek to create an fundamentally islamic history of themselves and can not conseed to a person of another faith helping them in any way. Sad how to be pakistani now implies to hate india (vice versa also).
TO ALLL MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS se this pic shows we alll are one . somewhere down the line we have same links.we all have been a target of politics lets unite! cos all of us have to go to one place tht is to god! and yes sab log mitti mein he millenge be it a muslim,hindu,christain,sikh allll of us are one!!!!!
janaab, Lahore sirf Ranjeet Singh he nahin…. kuch masjid ki bhi baat karain….
Theres is story associated with Ranjit Singh’s foreign minister (a muslim) named Fakir Azizuddin, who had a meeting with the British Governor-General. When Lord Auckland asked Fakir Azizuddin which of the Maharaja’s eye was missing, he replied: “the Maharaja is like the sun and sun has only one eye. The splendour and luminosity of his single eye is so much that I have never dared to look at his other eye.” The Governor General was so pleased with the reply that he gave his golden wrist-watch to the Maharaja’s Minister at Simla.