privileged access

post-nap i tried calling ali, my couchsurfing.com contact. after listening to urdu recordings presumably telling me what i was doing wrong on my awfully expensive gsm world phone, we connected. on his way to work ali stopped by to welcome me to lahore. a young IT whiz who was raised in an affluent family and schooled by jesuits, he was calm, good humored and had impeccable english. lucky for me, hes also taking tomorrow off so he can take me to sights unseen since his boyhood. im especially grateful to have a local host this time around.

regale inn proprieter, malik shams
photo by swati maheshwariof

when ali left i decided to take a walk. given most peoples modest, loose-fitting garb, i retired my homo-tight jeans and shirts in favor of looser corduroy slacks and a collared shirt. walking along the main drag in clothing that left more to the imagination, i tried not to injest the thick clouds of vehicle exhaust that languished in the air. to this end i purchased two hankerchiefs and moistened them before placing them over my nose and mouth. after a few minutes i found lahores only backpacker hostel. for the first time on my trip i wanted to be among other travellers, rather than locals. but as i passed them on the stairs and lingered awkwardly amongst them in the cramped 'lobby' that doubled as the office, it was obvious that my garb and demeanor werent fluent in their ways. in their presence i felt uptight, anti-social, and too concerned with technical details. clearly these backpackers were legit, ernest practioners of the vagabond lifestyle.

despite the gulf between us, lonely planet devotes an entire praising page to the regales proprieter, malik karammat shams. i was eager to meet him and inquire about the activities that i had read so much about. malik supported struggling musicians during his days as a journalist and now they thank him by allowing foreigners privileged access to sacred spaces. every thursday he takes guests to special venues without charge. even tho i wasnt staying at the hostel he kindly told me to come back at 2 pm.

4 horses

a coupla hours later 12 of us boarded 4 tuktuks. i sat with two young women, a friendly kiwi who had been in pakistan for the past 3 months and a korean who had made her way here (solo) from cairo. even in their modest hijab the three of us attracted considerable attention along our drive. 15 minutes later we arrived at the shrine of data ganj bakhsh hajveri, a large complex flanked by two towering minarets resembling spears. we left our shoes at the entrance and walked down stairs into a cool, large basement. malik led us to the front of the many rows of men who gathered each thursday to watch qawwali ( قوٌالی ) (islamic devotional singing).

qawwali performers
photo by swati maheshwariof

for the next coupla hours, we saw several qawwali troupes perform. each of them had 1-3 primary singers, as well as drummers and someone playing what appeared to function like an accordion. during the performances, men in the audience would take turns flattering each other by placing gaudy flower leis over the heads of distinguished arrivals. these men would kiss the lei and keep it only briefly before bestowing it upon someone else. audience members were encouraged to hand 10 rupee notes to a man who circled the crowd gathering tips for the performers. men with more to spend would approach the stage and shower rupees onto other mens bowed heads in a show of goodwill. another man misted us of sweet-smelling rose water while handfulls of very sticky, sweet candy were passed around. by the second hour the most impressive groups performance inspired some in the audience to shake their heads vigorously as they succumbed to a trance-like state.

taken by the moment
photo by swati maheshwariof

at 9 pm i returned to regale for part 2: whats been called 'sufi night'. sufism is islamic mysticism especially popular among the poor. thinking they are too sinful to contact god directly, practioners communicate with god through saints, or sufis. this can be done thru ecstatic and transcendent dance. although sufism can be found throughout the islamic world, many conservatives disdain the pervasive hash smoking and say its focus on saints is un-islamic. but for several centuries, reknown dhol (drum) players have performed at the tomb of sufi saint baba shah jamal every thursday. again, thanks to maliks kindness and network, we were granted unusual access to pakistani culture.

dhol artist, pappu sain
photo by yasuo osakabe

we climbed a crumbling staircase to a small foyer that was surrounded by modest buildings and covered by a low canopy of trees. hundreds of pakistani men sat on the ground cramped together. for several hours they sat and chat. many of them rolled and smoked hash blunts while others puffed from what resembled an industrial size houka. after some initial performances, pappu sain, a massive, bearded man who is among the most esteemed traditional dhol ( ڈھول ) players in the world, slung his drum over his shoulder and began producing a hypnotic beat. in short order some of the men in the audience nodded their heads to the rhythm - first slowly and then furiously - and, seemingly spellbound, men would stand and gravitate towards pappu sain. one young boy (maybe 10?) accompanied the drumming with a haunting song made more so given what felt like a very adult environment. this boy wielded surprising authority, choosing which revelers could approach pappu sain and roughly shoving away those that could not. the hours of hypnotic beats, the singing, the hundreds of tightly packed bodies and the hash smoke created a spiritual and other-worldly space.
more lahore photos here.