A Journey on the Grand Trunk Road
A Journey on the Grand Trunk Road
Cover of ‘From Landi Kotal to Wagah’
Salman Rashid’s new book pairs gorgeous photographs with little-known history in tribute to the grid that has long connected far-flung areas of Pakistan
The extraordinary
From Landi Kotal to Wagah (UNESCO and Sang-e-Meel, 2021) mixes in equal measure excellent photography and storytelling to merit a status above that of the average coffee-table book that is more frills than substance.
Its storyteller is Salman Rashid, Pakistan’s preeminent travel-writer, who is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. The traveler in him blends with the historian and ethnographer to tell a hitherto untold story of the Grand Trunk Road connecting Peshawar to Lahore. He has written steadily about Pakistan’s far-flung and little known areas for the past 40 years and has contributed to a knowledge of history that is free of the ideological accretions Pakistan is habituated to
Guru Tegh Bahadur, Sikhism and Mughals
This first May (2021), was also the day of 400th Anniversary of birth of the Ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadurji
Thursday May 6, 2021 11:08 AM, Ram Puniyani
This first May (2021), was also the day of 400th Anniversary of birth of the Ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadurji. Guruji has a very important place in the consolidation of Sikhism; he was also the one who sacrificed his life for the sake of principles. As such Sikhism, the religion founded by Sant Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji has been a major religion which has developed in the subcontinent. When the orthodoxy of Muslim maulanas and the Hindu priests was stifling the humane aspects of religion, Nanak founded this religion, which was based on humanism and equality. Rather than having a confrontationist attitude to Islam or Hinduism, he was inspired and highlighted the values of equality in particular.
Failed Royals Who Still Rule Our Hearts, Through Music Raag Rang
As yellow-ochre rays of the new born sun illuminated the Sibtainabad Imambara, I stepped through its gate toward the tomb of Wajid Ali Shah, Nawab of Oudh and musical Badshah of Hindustan.
I have almost made it my practice to visit the imambara, located at Metiabruz in Kolkata, whenever I am in the city. Built in 1864, it is a replica of Lucknow’s Bada Imambara.
I moved gently towards the eastern side of its main hall where the tomb of Wajid Ali Shah lies.
But my feet suddenly froze.
LAHORE: The statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at the Lahore Fort after its arm was broken in an attack on Friday. Murtaza Ali / White Star
LAHORE: A man was arrested for vandalising the statue of Sikh leader Maharaja Ranjit Singh, located in the Lahore Fort, on Friday and several have come forward to condemn the act.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of the Sikh empire spread across many parts of Pakistan, with Punjab being the main territory, parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and even southern parts of the country. His statue was unveiled in the Lahore Fort at the Mai Jindan Haveli, on the emperor’s 180th death anniversary, by Sikh historian, writer and filmmaker Bobby Singh Bansal. Bansal’s London-based organisation the S.K. Foundation had funded the statue. It was sculpted by local artists, under the aegis of the Fakir Khana Museum.
LAHORE: The statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at the Lahore Fort after its arm was broken in an attack on Friday. Murtaza Ali / White Star
LAHORE: A man was arrested for vandalising the statue of Sikh leader Maharaja Ranjit Singh, located in the Lahore Fort, on Friday and several have come forward to condemn the act.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of the Sikh empire spread across many parts of Pakistan, with Punjab being the main territory, parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and even southern parts of the country. His statue was unveiled in the Lahore Fort at the Mai Jindan Haveli, on the emperor’s 180th death anniversary, by Sikh historian, writer and filmmaker Bobby Singh Bansal. Bansal’s London-based organisation the S.K. Foundation had funded the statue. It was sculpted by local artists, under the aegis of the Fakir Khana Museum.