It is still quite early in the morning as I arrive at Bazar Kalan, one of the oldest bazaars of Peshawar. The road leads straight towards the hill top, where tehsil Gor Khatri is situated.
On my left is the famous and oft quoted Sethi Street or Sethi Mohallah in common parlance.
I know that this is the best time to visit the walled city to appease my nostalgic wave — after an hour or so, this area will be so overcrowded that even to walk here will be a difficult task, let alone drive a car. Unfortunately, I can’t relish my nostalgic drive enough.
The city has changed so much that it isn’t the same place that I saw in my childhood.
The old structures have given way to the haphazard commercial outlets giving an overall shanty look to the area.
The free-roaming vendors and makeshift stalls will soon occupy the leftover space: an apt situation for traffic jams and brawls on petty issues.
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The Peshawarites had a great tradition of hospitality and tolerance. Their conversation was always marked with endearing terms like ji and jan. Unfortunately, this tradition appears to be lost somewhere in the mists of yore.
Suddenly, I feel myself akin to the Hardyesque theme of ‘Deracination’. Thomas Hardy, the Victorian novelist, lamented on the cultural loss of England at the hands of rapid industrialisation.
To him, the then new age was bringing misery to the lives of the people and the tranquillity and serenity of the English rural scene was fading away.
Deracinated means ‘the one who has lost his roots or origin’. However, the British soon realised this phenomenon and made their best to preserve their cultural and ancestral heritage — and yes, they have been quite successful in doing so.
While walking in London one can still correlate to its past in a very palpable way that those might be the same cobbled roads which Charles Dickens and Shakespeare might have traversed.
The museums testify to their cultural heritage and the buildings preserved in original structures speak volumes about the natives’ adoration for their traditions. Sadly, Peshawar is losing its old face due to a sudden surge of rapid commercialisation.
Peshawar has remained the hub of civilisations and a confluence point for all the trading caravans coming from different parts of the world.
Peshawar has been termed as the oldest living city in South Asia — it was a province of Persian Achaemenid Empire from the 4th to 6th century BC followed by the Greeks, Mauryans, Scythians, Kushans, Sasanians, White Huns, Hindu Shahis, Ghazanavids, Ghauris, Afghans, Mughals, Durranis, Sikhs and the British before Partition.
The grave of the warrior
Gor Khatri is one of the ancient buildings of Peshawar, near the Gunj Gate where the stupa of a Kushan king was discovered by the renowned British engineer, Sir Alexander Cunningham.
In the Mughal era, it was the caravan serai or traveller’s inn established by Jahanara Begum, the daughter of Mughal emperor Shah Jehan.
Later, when Sikhs took over Peshawar, their mercenary General Paolo Crescenzo Martino Avitabile, who remained the ruler of Peshawar from 1838-42, converted Gor Khatri into his residence and general headquarters.
Avitabile, locally known as Abu Tabela, ruled Peshawar ruthlessly and struck fear in the hearts of the residents.
His name is still a byword for ruthlessness and being ancient amongst the Peshawarites. Gor Khatri originally means the grave of the warrior.
During the Sikhs’ time a monk by the name of Gorakhnath came to stay and established a temple there as well.
The signs of the temple still exist. The provincial government has developed an archaeological complex at this historical site by now.
Peshawar’s best archaeological asset is the Sethi Mohallah which is located right down the road from Gor Khatri.
Comprising seven houses, it is the apex of the city’s architectural heritage. These houses belonged to the Sethis, the oldest merchant family in Peshawar who traded in silk, cloth, indigo and tea.
They had their business offices in Shanghai and Russia. The design of the Sethi houses is a rare amalgam of vernacular architecture of Bukhara and the Victorian designs of the British Raj era. The cool cellars, balakhanas (upper storeys) and dalans (big halls) are some of their prominent features.
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The intricate wood work and refined mirror work add to their beauty and splendour. There are no two views about the historicity and excellence of architecture in Sethi houses albeit the fact that in those times other houses and neighbourhoods of the city also had such features which remain less projected in media.
Further down the road is the clock tower or Ghanta Ghar, originally named as Cunningham Tower after the then commissioner of Peshawar, Sir John Cunningham.
The tower was built in the Victorian fashion to commemorate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria. In between Gor Khatri and Qissa Khawani Bazaar there are numerous other sites and bazaars which have their own stories like Chowk Yadgar or Speakers’ Corner, Peepal Mandi, the Batair Bazaar (bird market) and Mochi Larra (cobblers street) to name a few.
Each building has a story to tell
Sir Herbert Edwards, commissioner of Peshawar during the middle of the 19th century described Qissa Khwani Bazaar or the Bazaar of Storytellers as the Piccadilly of Central Asia.
Indeed it’s a very interesting comparison, provided someone has seen both these places. Since time immemorial the professional storytellers would haunt the balakhanas and chai khanas (tea houses) of the bazaar.
People would gather around them to listen to the stories of folklore and bygone eras. The audience comprised traders and travellers who had come to Peshawar from the different parts of the world.
After the advent of radio and television, this centuries-old tradition has faded away. What remains is the story of the ‘once upon a time’ storytellers in this very bazaar.
Just outside the walled city, there is the strong citadel of Bala Hissar, standing aloft, telling tales of the ravages of history. Bala Hissar (meaning high wall) is mentioned in Emperor Babur’s book Tuzk-i-Babri, while his son, Humayun is said to have rebuilt the fort after defeating Sher Shah Suri. However, its origins are much older than the Mughals.
The well-known historian, Dr Ahmad Hassan Dani mentions in his book Peshawar: Historic City of Frontiers that the presence of the fort and royal residence was reported by the Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang who visited Peshawar in 630AD.
Unfortunately, the Sikhs ransacked the Bala Hissar after capturing Peshawar in 1834. They renamed it as Sumair Garh but the name couldn’t become popular and was soon forgotten as were the Sikhs after their short stint in Peshawar.
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After defeating the Sikhs in 1849, the British rebuilt and garrisoned it. In December 1948, Balahisar was made the headquarters of the Frontier Corps.
Peshawar Cantonment is a relic of the British Raj Period. Sir Colin Campbell laid the foundation of the Peshawar cantonment in 1850.
Following the British tradition, they built the cantonment comprising wide roads shaded with trees, churches, clubs, schools and other facilities for them outside the walled city.
The bazaar frequented by English men and women in those days is still remembered by old natives as ‘Gora Bazaar’ though renamed as Jinnah Street after Partition.
Deans Hotel in Cantonment was a historical building which used to be thronged by tourists from all over the world.
Deans has been scaled down in late ’90s and so is the fate of other sites. Peshawar has historical sites in abundance but there seems to be no end to the frenzy of eliminating historical heritage.
Fading history
Peshawar is the one of the most ancient cities in South Asia. Its cultural heritage dates back to more than 2,000 years.
Unfortunately, this heritage is receding into the background with the onslaught of commercialisation. The government has made commendable effort in preserving one of the Sethi houses and building an archaeological complex at Gor Khatri; however, culture and traditions are really not the sort of affairs to be managed by the government.
It depends more on the people to preserve their ancestral traditions, architecture and fine arts. I have seen numerous buildings and monuments in London and Scotland that have been meticulously preserved.
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I don’t think all of it has been done by their government; it is out of people’s own volition that they maintain their sense of identity through their historical and traditional heritage. The same is required in this context as well.
I still yearn to see these old places with jharokas, aroosis (windows), dalans (halls) and windows with wooden planks.
Now everything appears to be coming out of a fairy tale as these places have been sold out just for few rupees more. I wonder whether the next generation of the Peshawarites will be able to speak Hindko, the local language of the walled city, as the children are not encouraged to speak the language.
Urbanisation and commercialisation are the phenomena which transform a society but at the same time it takes away much from it.
I do not mean to say in any way that Peshawar may refrain from these social phenomena, as these are highly required for the development and prosperity of a society.
However, it must be kept in mind that this should not be at the expense of one’s history and traditions. I believe, it is high time that the people of Peshawar preserve their heritage, lest it be forgotten in the annals of history.
Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, July 31st, 2016