Travel for Purpose Rather Destination

by Syed Nasir Hassan (Pakistan)

I didn't expect to find Palestine

“Every night love perishes and the whole tomb descends into love, but it can only be witnessed not by historians, but lovers”. It all started from the above mentioned verse, an exact translation of what I heard in a song when I was kid. The song was staged in Mughal era and centered on an incomplete love story between two historical characters. The crust of the story was that Anarkali named character loved a Mughal prince, Jehangir and they used to meet secretly. When the king of that time Mughal Emperor Akbar found it out, he buried Anarkali alive into the walls. Back in 2018, I went to Lahore to visit some relatives but instead of having kebabs at my uncle’s place, I thought of exploring the city known for its cultural heritage and monumental sites where the city walls tell the tales of hue and cry. I had seen many of these historical sites during my childhood days but there was a building named as Anarkali ka Maqbura, i.e. Anarkali’s Tomb that was still a fascination to me because of its attribution to love and hence it was the first thing on my list. Upon reaching there, I was stopped at the entrance as the building was part of some governmental secretariat and was a sensitive facility now. I was asked to come the next day since the office timings were over by then. The very next day woke up earlier than usual and skipped breakfast at home to have it on the food street next to the tomb. Here, I would have to admit that no matter how much Islamabad boasts of its natural landscapes, Lahore can still beat it through its rich in taste foods. In a while after filling in my belly, I was back on my voyage. I went there again ant told the security guard prelude. He allowed me to visit but warned not to take any photos since it was prohibited. That made me still on ground zero. Upon insistence he agreed to make me meet security in-charge of the civil secretariat. I reached his office and was under confident. We sat down, had a few words and I felt a bit relaxed. By this time, I started flaunting with the little historical knowledge I had from book-reading. He know seemed impressed, at this point in our conversation, I requested him to allow me to take photographs and God knows why did I lie that I was working on a research project about historical sites in Lahore. Intrigued, he inquired more. I don’t know how I created this false story and kept developing it. Guess what? It worked! He agreed and told me to write an application to Director Archives and attach a photocopy of my University card as well. I stumbled thinking things are getting off track now because if the truth came to surface I would definitely land in hot waters but still decided to face the heat. I followed the requisites and went to director achieves. With a green signal from her, I could finally see my fantasy right in front of me. I took as many photographs but instead of feeling the dialogue form my childhood I started enjoying the marvels of the architecture. Here is why. When I met the security in-charge, he broke this myth for me and told me that there was no such story, Anarkali is just a fictional character and there was no such thing as told often. The tomb is of a lay Mughal female slave. When I came back and listened to the same song with those dialogues coming up, I didn’t know what to feel. There was only smile. A smile comes when it seems it is over for good. I smile after the realization that I was running for a mirage. To this day, I still cannot comprehend whatever it was and maybe I want to keep it that way for one day I may visit the place again to find the answer. However, one answer I had found years ago, “Travel for purpose rather than destination”.