The road to Ferozepur

The roads of Lahore are in many ways more than just ribbons of asphalt that carry people from one place to another - they are like living throbbing arteries that are laced with history, tales of adventure and memories. I have, in the past, written about The Mall, Lawrence Road and Walton Road, but it would be unfair to the city of my birth, if I do not devote some space to more of these bustling avenues. Ferozepur Road, as the name suggests, once linked Lahore with the historic city of Ferozepur that now lies on the other side of the border with India. However, since the boundaries of this column are restricted to the administrative map of Metropolitan Lahore, I shall confine my journey along this historic route within these limits. Our journey begins at Mozang Chungi, named partly after the nearby village of Mozang that lay one days travel from the walled city. Historical records show that this village was notorious, as many of its residents earned their livelihood by waylaying travellers and caravans to and from Lahore. Bahawalpur House stands a stones throw distance from the south of Mozang Chungi. It was built in the 1890s, as a residence for the young Nawab when he was a student at the Chiefs (or Aitcheson) College. At some later point in time when the chungi became a junction of several roads, a toll collection barrier was set up here. The toll barrier is no more, but the spot is now almost the centre of the great Lahori metropolis. The next village on this route was Ichra, whose population was predominantly Hindu. The place was a well known spot to travellers, who could replenish themselves from its well stocked shops. Ichra is now a bustling urban locality and has somehow retained its commercial legacy in spite of the fact that its Hindu residents migrated to India in 1947. During the 1950s, the area between Ichra and Mozang Chungi boasted few buildings on both sides of the road backed up by green fields. The most prominent of these structures were the Omnibus Depot and the 'Borstal Jail. While the jail still stands, the depot vanished with the demise of the omnibuses and double deckers that plied the roads of Lahore. As one crosses Ichra, a small road leads right from the main dual carriageway. This road once led to a film studio called 'Screen and Sound - the birth place of some early Pakistani films like Pukar (not the Sohrab Modi epic), Nath (Punjabi) and Tauheed. In the late 1950s, the premises fell prey to litigation and then disappeared from the Lahori scene. The Lahore Canal or the Upper Bari Doab Canal continues to be a recreational landmark for generations of Lahoris. It cuts across the landscape and is spanned by a bridge on the Ferozepur Road, just short of the rear boundary of the Forman Christian College Campus. This college was founded as Lahore Mission College in 1864, by Dr Charles W. Forman and got its present name in 1894. The campus was originally located in Nila Gumbad (near Anarkali), but was moved to its present location next to the canal in 1940. Its alumni include two Presidents and one Prime Minister of Pakistan, a Prime Minister of India, and the first Chief Justice of Pakistan. The college also fostered the work of the Nobel Laureate, Dr Arthur Compton, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1927. Beyond the canal and the Forman Christian College, both sides of the road were farmland dotted with small rural looking structures. In 1959, Lahore witnessed the commissioning of an international level stadium on the left of the road at some distance from the Forman Christian College Campus. This was the Lahore Stadium now known as the Gaddafi Stadium - the home of Pakistani Cricket. Garden Town, located across the road from the stadium was converted to its present shape after acquiring farmland in 1960. Some kilometres ahead and beyond more fields, a road led left to the Walton Airport, Lahores air terminal of the 50s. I have some great memories of this spot as I watched Dakotas, Super Constellations and Viscounts take off and land from the small lawn in front of the airport building. The facility now houses the Lahore Flying Club. Model Town lies across the road from the Walton Airport. The idea of this beautiful residential cooperative was proposed in 1921, by Advocate Dewan Khem Chand and accepted in a meeting chaired by Rai Bahadur Ganga Ram. Model Town was home to many big names, one being the famous communist leader BPL Bedi, father of Indian actor Kabir Bedi. n The writer is a freelance columnist.