Will you come into my parlour?: The Sarai of Nur Mahal

The Sarai of Nur Mahal was built on the orders of Noor Jahan, one of the wives of Jahangir, the fourth Mughal emperor, and the power behind the throne. It was completed in 1620-21 A.D. Constructed on the old GT road connecting Delhi and Lahore, it seems to be quite well known in Punjab, not least because it is now situated in the middle of the town.

Till a few decades ago, the government school was located inside the sarai, and its bricks were being used to build houses. The Archaeological Department has taken over its maintenance now and while some parts seem incongruously shiny and new compared to the original, it is still a job well done, besides providing a walking space for the people of Nur Mahal.

Western Gate - August 2012

Photograph by Henry Hardy Cole (or possibly Joseph David Beglar) in the 1870s of the Western Gate to the Sarai. Source: http://www.bl.uk/

A view from the tower looking towards the arched gateway, with the town beyond - Photograph by Henry Hardy Cole (or possibly Joseph David Beglar) in the 1870s. Source: http://www.bl.uk/

Alexander Cunningham visited Nur Mahal during his Tour through Punjab in 1878-79 and provides a description of the complex -

"The Sarai is 551 square feet outside, including the octagonal towers at the corner. The western gateway is a double storeyed building faced on the outside with red sandstone from the Fatehpur Sikri quarries. The whole front is divided into panels ornamented with sculpture; but the relief is low and the workmanship coarse. There are angels and fairies, elephants and rhinoceroses, camels and horses, monkeys and peacocks, with men on horseback and archers on elephants. The sides of the gateway are in much better taste, the ornament being limited to foliated scroll-work with birds sitting on the branches. But even in this the design is much better than the execution, as there is little relief. Over the entrance there is a long inscription."

The second inscription on the western gateway consists of six short lines, as follows:

Cunningham writes that the sarai "is said to have been built by Zakariya Khan, the Nazim of the Subah of Jalandhar, during the reign of Jahangir. His inscription which is cut in sunken letters on the right jamb of the west gatewaty says nothing about the building of the sarai, while the main inscription over the western gateway distinctly states that the sarai was erected by the order of Nur Jahan. I suppose, therefore, that the actual work was superintended by Zakariya Khan, of whom I can learn nothing."

A Zakariya Khan, who was the governor of Punjab, is known in Sikh history for having ordered the mass torture and execution of Sikhs. However, he existed in the early 1700s, much after the construction of the Sarai. It may be that the plaque referring to Zakariya Khan is of a much later date, added to the wall upon his becoming governor and having perhaps renovated the Sarai.*

Cunningam mentions that "There was also a similar gateway on the eastern side, but this is now only a
mass of ruin, and all the stone facing has disappeared. There was also an inscription over this gateway...", which was provided to Cunningham by a local resident:

Cunningham's description of the sarai continued:

"...In the north side of the courtyard there is a masjid [mosque], and in the middle a fine well. On each side there are 32 rooms, each 10 feet 10 inches square, with a verandah in front. In each corner there were three rooms, one large and two small. The Emperor's apartments formed the centre block of the south side, three storeys in height. The rooms were highly finished, but all their beauty is now concealed under the prevailing whitewash. The main room was oblong in shape, with a half-octagon recess on two sides, similar to the large rooms in the corners of the sarai...From this description it will be seen that there was accommodation inside for about 100 people. But the great mass of the Imperial followers found their quarters outside, in an exterior court about 2,000 feet square, some of the walls which were pointed to me in November 1838; all of these have disappeared now."

It's interesting to note that the practice of whitewashing our history and making it disappear isn't new.

Surprisingly well-maintained laws by the Archaeological Department

The mosque and the well in the Sarai

Looking towards the outer walls of the Sarai with the main gateway at the left of the print - Photograph by Henry Hardy Cole (or possibly Joseph David Beglar). Source: http://www.bl.uk/

Looking to the South

Rooms on the southern side with the emperor's chambers - Town rumour has it that a tunnel runs from the chambers to a nearby lake which was used by Nur Jahan