Anarkali is a famous Bazaar of Lahore that is a heaven for shopaholics as they experience a rush of adrenaline at the thought of all the bargains on offer. Narrow winding alleys reveal the beauty of the bazaar.
Anarkali can be described as a crowded, full of lifelabyrinth of crammed streets and little shops located outside the Lohari Gate. Having a significance as an old market is was on its peak during the 50s and the 60s where shoppers flocked to buy jewelry, clothes and shoes.
Back then, Anarkali was more like a social and cultural hotspot, with recreation and number of restaurants on the offer.
Today, devoid of glamour, the major attraction is tasting the true essence of the Lahore’s culture. The market offers plethora of imported items and traditional garbs including overcoats, dressing gowns, dress shirts, chiffon and cotton dresses. Varying trinkets and accessories are on the display here that women choose for dressing up during wedding season.
The most prized attraction at Anarkali remains the famous food street that offers the best Punjabi street food; falooda, fish, samosa and the likes.PaanGali brings a slice of Delhi to Lahore, with its wide offerings of Indian goods ranging from saris and jamavars, to herbal products, oils, bindis and rangolis.
Lively and frenzied, Anarkali personifies Lahore’s spirit of splendor, challenge and co-existence. Amongst shops selling everything from stationery to handembroidered khussas to fresh nimbopaani, architectural styles are a treat to many.
Squashed between buildings in the traditional sub-continental design decorated with wooden jhorakas lies the Anarkali Church, a red and yellow building that speaks of European influence. Sikh architecture is visible in the rounded cupolas of General Allard’s tomb near the historic Jain Mandir.
Not many visitors to Anarkali know that located inside one of the narrow alleyways exists the mausoleum of Qutub-din Aibak, the slave general of Mohammad Ghauri and the founder of the Slave Dynasty in South Asia. He was killed playing polo in Lahore and was buried at Anarkali. The tomb was originally constructed in 1210 and renovated by the government in the 1970s.
The legend of Anarkali – the beautiful courtesan who seduced the Mughal Prince Saleem only to be entombed alive in a wall for her transgression by Salim’s father Emperor Akbar – has inspired poetry, music and films but no tribute is as enduring as the tomb built by the grieving Prince in her memory. Completed by Emperor Jehangir aka Prince Salim in 1615 to mark the spot where she was buried, the tomb gave name to the bazaar that sprung up around it during the time of the British, close to 200 years ago.