Bahawalpur - Culture

Culture

The city of Bahawalpur has a rich heritage and is an important hot spot for historians as well as archaeologists. Bahawalpur is known for its cotton, silk, embroidery, carpets, and extraordinarily delicate pottery. The Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) has established a Craft Development Center for Cholistan area, outside Farid Gate, Bahawalpur from where handicrafts manufactured in Cholistan can be purchased. Some of the souvenirs produced in the city include:

• Flassi – 4 ft by 7 ft, made of camel hair and cotton yarn; it is used for wall hanging, as a decoration piece and a carpet.
• Gindi or Rilli – Made of small pieces of many colors of cotton cloth and needlework; they can be used as wall hangings, bed covers, carpets and blankets.
• Changaries – Like big plaques, these are made of palm leaves in different bright colours with beautiful patterns and geometric designs. These are used for keeping the 'chapattis' and also as a wall decoration.
• Khalti – Like a purse embroidered on top with multicoloured threads.
• Artwork – An attractive type of embroidery done on dupatta, kurta and chaddar, etc.

The main shopping centers of Bahawalpur are Shahi Bazaar, Machli Bazaar, Farid Gate and the Mall. The commercial area in Satellite Town is a newly developed center that is gaining popularity. A few shopping malls, including Bobby Plaza, Takbeer Shopping Mall, Time, and Prince, cater for all kinds of needs. Shopping is a major attraction in the city; the city is bustling with traders and craftsmen selling all sorts of artwork for travellers and tourists.

East of Bahawalpur is the Cholistan Desert, which covers an area of about 15,000 km2 and extends into the Thar Desert of India. The region was once watered by the Hakra River, known as the Saravati in vedic times. At one time there were 400 forts in the area and archaeological finds around the Derawar Fort, the only place with a perennial waterhole, indicate that it was contemporaneous with the Indus Valley Civilisation. The average annual rainfall is only 12 cm, and the area's scant cultivation is made possible by underground wells, drawn up by camels. The water is stored in troughs, built by the tribes, between sandhills and din waterholes called tobas. The people are racially similar to those in Rajasthan – tall, with sharp features. They live in large, round, mud and grass huts, usually built on the top of sandhills. On the whole, they are pastoral and nomadic. The main tribes are the Chachar, Mehr, Lar, Paryar, Channar, Chandani and Bohar. The forts here were built at 29 km intervals, which probably served as guard posts for the camel caravan routes. There were three rows of these forts. The first line of forts began from Phulra and ended in Lera, the second from Rukhanpur to Islamgarh, and the third from Bilcaner to Kapoo. Built with double walls of gypsum blocks and mud, they are all in ruins now. Some of them date back to 1000 BC, and were destroyed and rebuilt many times.

Even with all the markets and forts, one thing for which Bahawalpur is recognised above all others is the numerous palaces that still remain intact ever since the fall of the Nawabs. There are countless palaces in the city, locally known as Mahals. Some of the most famous include: Noor Mahal, Gulzar Mahal, Darbar Mahal, Shimla Khoti Sadiq Ghar Palace and Darbar Mahal. The city also has a city gate called Farid Gate, which in its heyday provided the only entrance to the city for its rulers. The gate still remains and is now located in a busy market in the inner city. The Bahawalpur Museum and Bahawalpur National Library house various collections of coins, medals, postage stamps of the former state of Bahawalpur, manuscripts, documents, inscriptions, wood carvings, camel skin paintings, historical models and stone carvings from Islamic and pre-Islamic eras. There is a complete set of medals of all classes issued by the ex-state to its military officers, civilians, and other important citizens of the ex-state.

The city also has several mausoleums of prominent leaders who fought and defended the region over several thousands of years. Some of the most prolific include the tombs of Channen Peer Tomb Yazman and Mausoleums of Haugha Sahib. There is also an old fort of Munde Shahid, 50 km from Bahawalpur and Marot Fort, which are considered to be antiquities. A place outside the Marot Fort is known as 'Baithak Maula Ali'. The tomb of Naugaza is located in the Munde Sharif Fort.