Shikarpur: The City of Gates
Noor-ul-Ain Siddiqui |Monday 10 February 2020| 2k18/MC/118
Castles and forts sound intimidating and speak power but what if we come across with the same castle in a complete different condition? Sometimes you won’t believe what you see before yourself but hides within a glorious past. The city Shikarpur was guarded by seven gates and a window and it is said that all these gates and the window got closed just as the sun set. The city was planned and well developed in terms of infra structure and its underground drainage system. The hydrants were hired who used to wash the streets and clean the drains with disinfectants; they also lit the streets with lanterns. It was a sight to see when people gathered at the autaaks to mingle and have their meal together.
Shikarpur was a hub of trading during the 17th century and was called as Emerald City. The city was recognized for its hospitability, culture, civilization, architecture and clothing, hand looms and embroidery. People of Shikarpur were tolerant and peace loving. This city has important roots of trading because it was near Bolan Pass and two national highways interconnect the city.
Almost 4 centuries back, Shikarpur was quite modern for its time because of the infrastructure, trading and people’s interest in education. Shikarpur was commercial and financial base in the British rule, Central Bank of India established one of their branches in Shikarpur in 1940s. It is famous for its educational institutes; Shikarpur has the honor to have the first degree college in the country. It wasn’t called “Paris of Sindh” for any reason.
People of Shikarpur were fond of hunting as it was a famous hunting ground and had a place called “Shikargah”. The city got its name from the famous sport of hunting; the word Shikar’s literal meaning is to hunt. It is because of the dense forest near Shikarpur.
Shikarpur is a district and it has its three sub divisions known as Garhiyasin, Lakhi Ghulam Shah and Khanpur. The downtown of the city is decorated with a clock tower which is build with the red stone by the Bajaj family in 1935. There is a famous bazaar which is covered by teak wood roof which is known as Dhak bazaar which is a marvel for the visitors because of the eye catchy architecture. It was said that Shikarpur had eight beautiful gardens but now only the Shahi Bagh is in a good condition. The civil hospital of Shikarpur has an interesting history itself, it was built by a Hindu philanthropist Rai Bahadur Udhodas Tarachand, also known as RBUT hospital and he was very down to earth person that he wrote his name on the marble footsteps of the hospital so the patients could step on his name so he could earn the reward, there was a statue of Rai Bahadur that was later shifted to university of Sindh and placed in the Sindhology department’s museum.
Every city or country has their specialty when it comes to their food and cuisine so as Shikarpur. The famous food items are the kulfi falooda, Dewan sweets and ice creams and the famous pickle. Haji Maula Bux Memon and Sikander pickles are the most famous pickle manufacturing companies. The pickles of Shikarpur are famous across the world and are in great demand which is something people look forward to while visiting Shikarpur, pickling is a home based business.
The significance of this city is because of the gates which act as the guardians of the city, these doors are Lakhidar, Hathidar, Siwidar, Wagnodar, Karandar, Khanpuridar, and Hazaridar. It is said that these gates were used for different purposes such as trading and transport. It is said that Hathidar was used for the entrance of elephants that carried goods and Lakhidar was linked to the road which leads to an area known as Lakhi. Today, Lakhidar and Hathidar are considered as the commercial and food street of the city.
The interesting information I gathered from my grandfather, who has spent his childhood and got his education from this famous city, my grandfather told me that he himself has experienced glory and fame of this city and witnessed its golden days, he says there was a thick brick wall at Hathidar and was very long but then people occupied it and made their houses over there. As we have our home at Nabi Shah Mohalla, my grandfather says that adjacent to our mohalla there was a pond of fresh water where people used to take a bath and in the evening, it was used for boating. My grandfather also used to boat there and says the boats were made of wood log and attached with four drums which floated the surface. At that time, there were separate areas for women who used to come there for bath and had separate bathrooms as well but after partition the pond became dry and authorities cut its connection with the canal.
As a child my grandfather has very funny and interesting experiences in the streets of Shikarpur, as there was an area near Nabi Shah Mohalla known as Kafla Qila where traders from Iran and Afghanistan used to stay at night, they came along with camels loaded with dry fruits and clothes, my grandfather along with his friends and cousin used to go there at night and steal the dry fruits and run away and the pathan traders chased after them.
From reviewing this glorious history of the famous city Shikarpur and seeing the current condition of the city, it is a complete contrast from the past. The past was magnificent in every way and the present is the requiem of those glories. It was after 1947 riots Shikarpur was populated with the rural majority and it started to decay and lost its beauty.
As I have spent a decent amount of time in this city, it was very disappointing to see the city in its bitter form, you won’t experience the same energy which was present in the old times, and the city is quite dull now. There is no check and balance, no care of streets and buildings collapsed because of no maintenance, wood got stolen from these historical remains, now only skeletons are left of these sights.
The drainage system is destroyed, no hydrants are there now to look after the streets, and encroachment is there and for this reason street become narrower. There is no sign of gates, the city is unguarded now.
We do not value things which we have and when they are lost, we lament over them and remember the past which is gone and only remains are left, same is with this poor city which has seen its golden days, now is decaying. It is ruined by its own sons and dwellers from those who got shelter once in the city now left it on its own.
This practical work carried out under supervision of Sir Sohail Sangi, at Media and Communication studies, University of Sindh Jamshoro
