A VISIT TO A HISTORICAL PLACE
"The Earth is full of God's Goodness." (Richard Ralston)
Events happening tO us imprint lifelong memoirs on the past pages of our minds. Naturally, two types of situations occur with us; cheerfulness and melancholy. Humans tend to seek happiness in all their acts. One such act is known as recreational activity. We plan and accomplish such full of beans visits not only to raise the literacy but also to refurbish the aesthetics within. Surely, it would be an icing on the cake if this enchanting spirit is mixed with the love for history.
"History is a cyclic poem written by Time upon the memories of man." (Percy Bysshe Shelley)
If you want to understand today, you have to search the yesterday. I think no matter where you go. you will be happy as long as you know why you are there. There are places we fear, places we dream. places whose exile we became and never learned it until, sometimes, too late. But I remember the place with fondness and would never forget my one such visit to the Badshahi Mosque Lahore. Places like people are complex, and loving them is not simple. Even places you know well can take on a touch of the unknown when you arrive there from a different direction.
"Your imagination will take you to places." (L. G. Akita)
Born British in a Pakistani family, I had always a sweet hearing of the historical places of Pakistan. I had an intuitive love in my DNA for my ancestral country. In September 2014, I VIsited Lahore for the first time. For the people here, the weather was cooler than the summer but for me, newly arrived from England, it was hot. After meeting all my kith and kin and distant acquaintances, I went to my favorite place The Badshahi Mosque the day after my arrival. No Words can depict my feelings while standing in between the doors of Badshahi Mosque and Royal Fort. My cousin made me feel the grandeur of the Mughal Empire by narrating to me the chronology of the site. This mosque was built by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1674. The façade is similar to the Jama Masjid Delhi.
"The more you read, the more you know. The more you learn, the more places you will go." (Anonymous)
My cousin urged me take a picture of the four minarets of the grand Badshahi Mosque with Minar-e-Pakistan in the background. Each minaret is 200 feet tall. My cousin informed me that in respect and honor of these minarets, the height of Minar-e-Paksitan was settled at 195 Teet. We offered Asar prayer there and on our return paid our homage to the Poet of the East Allama Muhammad lqbal. As Pearl Buck said, 'we are the prisoners of history', so was I (a prisoner) after this treasured visit. We returned home and after one week stay in Pakistan I left for Britain.