There is an old mansion in Mochi
Gate area of old Lahore known popularly as the "Lal
Haveli ". The people of old Lahore still place oil lamps there at an
old well known as the "Lal Khu" every year. They also purchase
"Barfi", a local sweet and distribute it to the poor.
Actually Lal Khu was the very well in the haveli of Chando Lal, whose water was
used by Guru Arjan during his incarceration by Chando Lal. Hence, the name Lal
Khu and its sanctity for the Sikhs.
Among his several achievements, two stand out:
Ø One,
he compiled Granth Sahib, the most sacred book of the Sikh religion.
Ø Two, he invited Mir
Mohammed Muayyinul Islam (1550–1635), popularly
known as Mian Mir or Sain Mir,a famous Sufi Muslim
saint of Qadiri order of Lahore.A close friend of Guru Arjun Dev Ji, to
lay the foundation stone of the Harmandir Sahib, (now known worldwide as the
Golden Temple).
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Sarovar and Golden Temple-Amritsar |
Guru
Arjan Dev ji refused to marry daughter of Chandu Lal
To explain this, very briefly, we
must first narrate the story that brought this place such prominence,
especially for Sikhs of the world. Chandu
Shah was a wealthy banker and revenue official during the reign of Mughal
Emperor Jahangir.
He once approached a Hindu priest to work out why his
aging daughter was not finding an appropriate match for marriage. The priest
consulted his ‘methods’ and proposed that the son of the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606), was most
suitable.
Chandu laughed off the proposal with
the remark: “He is a beggar who lives off alms.” The remark was reported to the
guru. Guru Arjan, when approached,
politely refused the match.
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Mochi Gate of Lahore |
Guru Arjan Dev's decision to give
shelter and blessed the rebel Prince Khusrau, who was attempting a coup d'etat against his own
father Jahangir
Jahangir came to Lahore in April
1616 in pursuit of his son Khusrau who was claiming the throne on his
grandfather’s wishes. Prince Khusrau
met Guru Arjan, who blessed him as
is customary for holy men to bless all those who call on them.
Conspiracy of Chandu Shah- Arrest
of the Guru Arjan Dev
Chandu Shah reported this blessing
of Guru Arjan Dev to Prince Khusrau, to Jahangir as a
conspiracy. Guru was arrested by Murtaza Khan on order
of Jahangir and brought to Lahore. A
hefty fine of Rs. 200,000 was imposed on the Guru and he was asked to delete
the verses from "Adi Granth" that were critical of Islamic and Hindu
rituals.
The guru responded by saying he had
done no wrong and refused to pay the fine, or let others pay it. He also
refused to delete any portion of the holy Granth.
On this, Chandu Shah was
allowed to drag the guru to his house and imprison him in a small cell at the
corner of his haveli inside Mochi Gate
of Lahore. Next to the cell was a well and a ‘Berry’ tree, the ones that
still survive.
Chandu imprisoned Guru Arjan in this
cell and proposed to starve him to death. Hazrat Mian Mir offered to pay the
fine, which the guru disallowed. For six whole months no food was allowed to
Guru Arjan. Every Thursday, Hazrat Mian Mir would come and pray for him.
Mian Mir and Barfi of Lahore
It is said
that Hazrat Mian Mir also prayed that the ‘bairi’ tree continue giving sweet
‘bairs’ throughout the year and that the water of the well remain sweet. He
would purchase barfi from a poor shopkeeper at the corner of the opposite lane,
wrap it in a cloth and throw it through the tiny cell window.
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Barfi of Mochi Gate Lahore |
After six months, the then governor
of Lahore, Murtaza Khan, asked Chandu Shah whether the guru had
starved to death. When replied in negative, he flew into a rage. He ordered Guru Arjan Dev be dragged through the
streets of Mochi Gate and brought to
the Lahore Fort.
Aftermath of Martyrdom
The
result was a scarring of the Sikh psyche that would reverberate for centuries
and ultimately destroy the Mughal Empire forever. Mian Mir raised
slogans on the streets of Lahore to mourn the martyrdom of Guru Arjun
Dev. He never accepted any gift sent by Emperor Jahangir, or
his Ministers or nobles.
One source claims that Muslims of
the area sang poems about Karbala when he was being taken in chains to the
fort. At the fort, he was tortured by making him sit on heated iron sheets.
Mughal court documents say he died after five days of torture
(Tuzk-i-Jahangiri).
Sikh sources say he was to be sewn
in a buffalo skin and thrown in the Ravi flowing outside. But the guru wanted
to have a bath, and dived in the river, never to return. The place he did this
is seen today inside the ‘samadhi’ of Ranjit
Singh outside the Lahore Fort.
Sikhs believe he will return on the Day of Judgement to represent them.
The
End Of Chandu Shah
The end of Chandu Shah is amazingly
ironic. Jahangir turned against him
and handed him over to Arjan’s son Guru
Har Gobind, who had the Sikhs of Lahore drag him out of ‘Chandu de Haveli’ and along the same route to the river by the
fort. On the way, every Sikh slapped and kicked him in rage. The final ignominy
was that the man who poured hot sand on Guru
Arjan was made to do the same to Chandu
Shah.
Over the
ages, Sikhs have paid homage to the well and the ‘bair tree’ that fed their
guru for six long months. Some even purchased barfi from the small shop and
gave it to the poor to eat. That tradition remains till this day. The people of old Lahore still remember the friendship
of Hazrat Mian Mir and still place oil lamps there over any ‘manaat’ they make.
Lal Khu is known to people of Lahore and many Pakistanis abroad as the
place where the tastiest “Barfi” is made by Rafiq Sweets. Actually Lal Khu was
the very well in the haveli of Chandu Lal,whose water was used by Guru Arjan Dev Ji during his
incarceration by Chandu Lal.
Over time, Laal Khu has become more
famous for its barfi, not the mullahs. There is a hadith (Bukhari-553) claims
that on the Day of Judgement, God will not look at those who withheld water for
the people.
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Smadhi of Guru Arjan Dev ji in Lahore |
Written
and posted by Engr Maqbool Akram with the help of materials available on net
and photos too are taken from sources on net with thanks.