Farheen Ujjan Feature English MMC 66
Dhak
Bazar Shikarpur
Farheen Ujjan
Feature
M.A Roll no: 66
''A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and
culture is like a tree without roots''
Shikarpur
which was considered as the Paris of Sindh is not only famous for its pickle,
sweets, qulfi falooda or seven gates but Dhak Bazar is also one of them, which
adds beauty to Shikarpur city.
Dhak
bazar is covered with a sagwan wooden roof, it was said to be the longest
covered market in sub-continent in previous time.
Well
ventilated roof of the market was built with teak wood (Sagwan) and it has been
serving as a cool shade during the burning summer season of Shikarpur.
It is
an architectural marvel, it is located in the center of the city, it is a long
narrow street and it has shops on both sides, it originates from Lakhidar and
ends at Stuart Ganj.
This
market was built in the time of the Mughals by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in
the 1780 to 1790.
The
most interesting fact about this market is that it has a unique architectural
design of crisscross ceiling.
This
market is always crowded with narrow passages so that is why it is built to
allow light and wind to pass through it and the wooden framework protects this
market from rain and never let enter rain water in the market and there were
fire hydrants that were being used in washing the market but now a days they
are out of order.
It was
a street almost bisecting the city about 800 yards long and ramifying on either
side, it is a long passage darkened and guarded against the sun by mats resting
upon chevron-shaped beams which spring from the house tops on either side , we
find none the long acre speciality which, throughout the east.
Shikarpur
along with other contemporary cities like Bukhara, Samarkand and Istanbul had a
covered street market at that time and in present time there is also Qenchi
market in Matiari that is also covered with scissor like wooden ceiling and it
is very much identical to the historic Dhak bazar of Shikarpur.
Dhak
bazar has a large capacity to satisfy the local buyers, there are hundreds of
diverse markets at this place which is being crowded throughout the day with
buying and selling going on almost all day round from all sorts of clothing,
bangles, shoes, crockery, cosmetics, jewellery, household material, grocery,
electronics, sports goods, handicrafts, dry fruits, fruits, vegetables, dairy
products and pickle etc.
Dhak
bazar lined with shops mostly run by Hindus in previous time but currently
people of different castes run these shops.
In
previous time there was a person named Tara Singh Jawahri whose shop was very
famous because he had precious stones, pearls and diamonds in his shop for
selling such as Ruby, stones, Yellow Saphire, Gemstone, Brazilian Emerald green
stone, African diamonds and Red Coral stones were available in his shop.
Shikarpuris
are also the pioneers of the financial instrument called ''Hundi'', which was
acceptable in different parts of the world and was considered as good as gold.
Shikarpuris brought all their earnings to their town and that is why bankers of
different parts of the world had commercial relations with the market.
Shikarpur
was the centre for trading hub and was the greatest commercial city just
because of its strategic location, it was very famous for trade of clothes in
the world as Shikarpur had big and famous market which was one of the four
famous markets of the world so that is why merchants from different parts of the
world used to come here for trading...
Moreover
according to Professor Badarudin Ujjan: During British rule fire incident
happened in Dhak bazaar that was initiated from Meena bazaar and spread so
quickly that it was engulfed a vast area of roof, then our ancestors Ujjans residents of that area and few more people with the help of their own behalf
extinguished and quenched on fire, then British government present keys of
shops infront of those people including Ujjans and asked them to pick key of
any shop as reward but they did not accept it and set an example by returning
back those keys and after this act British government gave 5 rupee as reward to
them , this incident is not present in history but it should be written on
golden pages of history, however this was the reason that they disconnected the
wooden roof to control on fire and that is why it has decreased in length.
Before
partition of sub-continent this market was on exalting position but currently
due to carelessness many parts of the roof have broken and wood has stolen that
is why it has lost its beauty and now a days the market which was covered with
roof to serve as a cool shade during the hot and burning summer days it is now
on the verge of most unfortunate of time , it has been rendered and on the
brink of deterioration, it has been suffocated , shopkeepers and people who
come to market for shopping , trading and visiting complain about this thing
and hue and cry situation has been created due to narrow passage and
mismanagement of shops goods and mostly shopkeepers complains that they are in
trouble, they face difficulty it has been very difficult for them to sit in the
shops during boiling days of summer and in result it causes dehydration.
Visiting
Dhak bazar itself is a unique experience for visitors and Shikarpur being the
greatest commercial city in Sindh must be provided proper attention, it is very
important to maintain these famous and antique places because they have
historical and cultural significance and economic value.
I am
talking about something that cannot be bought, it is our heritage, and it needs
to be preserved for community, government should take some steps to protect it.
''A concerted effort effort to preserve our heritage is a vital
link to our cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational and economic
legacies, all of the things that quite literally make us who we are''
No comments:
Post a Comment