Chauburji (Lahore)

 museum, place with historical importance, Mughal Empire, interesting place, town square

Chauburji or Chouburji was the grand entrance to a lovely Mughal garden on Multan Road in Lahore. The garden, which is no more, is said to have been laid out by Princess Zeb-un-Nisa Makhfi, daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir and a recognized poetess of her time.

Princess Zeb-un-Nisa is an intriguing figure. She never married, but legend has it that she fell in love with an Afghan soldier whom Aurangzeb had killed. Zeb-un-Nisa, or Zebinda Begum, as she is also known to historians, was a highly talented woman. She wrote poetry and took a deep interest in architecture. In 1646 she decided to have a beautiful garden laid out in Lahore.

The porcelain mosaic which decorates the walls, though most of it has been chipped away, is of high quality. The outer walls are brilliantly enameled and decorated with blue and green encaustic tiles and frescoes of exquisite beauty. The motifs most used are those of willowy cypresses, bowls of fruit, and winding trellises. Originally, the gateway had four towers, as well as a central dome, but over the years the dome collapsed and one of the hexagonal towers crumbled away, leaving a truncated gateway with chipped enamel and four rooms within. From these, not just the frescoes but even the plaster vanished.

The uppermost part of the building has a passage from the Holy Quran inscribed on it in Arabic letters of blue colour worked in porcelain. At the end is written the year of its foundation, 1646 AD. Above the arch are inscribed the following verses in Persian: "This garden, on the pattern of the Garden of Paradise, has been founded. The garden has been bestowed on Mian Bai. By the bounty of Zebinda Begum, the lady of the age." On either side of the arches north and south of the middle arch is inscribed the word "God" in blue Arabic letters enclosed by a circle.

The gateway has recently been restored, and a roundabout has been constructed. The fourth tower has also been rebuilt, as without it the building would never have also been a Chauburji, which means "four minarets.".