Photographers filming the historic buildings of Lyallpur

Settled in the early 19th century during the British rule, the city of Lyallpur, which is now Faisalabad, is not more than a century old, but many of its historic buildings have been obliterated in that short period of history.

The old buildings located in the eight markets of Ghanta Ghar and other ancient areas of the city are also gradually getting lost in the dust of time due to lack of maintenance. This indifference towards this historical heritage by the ruling elite has been going on for decades.

Seeing these conditions, senior photojournalist Mian Bashir Ahmad Ejaz started preserving historical buildings in the eye of his camera almost half a century ago so that future generations would not forget the milestones of this city’s history at all.

He also has rare photographs of many historic buildings that have now become a part of the past and are only mentioned in history books.

Speaking to Independent Urdu, Mian Basheer Ahmed Ejaz said that he started his career as a sports photographer in the 1970s and was assigned to photograph the first cricket match played between Pakistan and India at the Iqbal Stadium in 1978. It is also an honor.

“Actually, this journey started when Dr Riaz Majeed, the former principal of Government College, told me that if you do photography, take pictures of four or five famous buildings of Faisalabad so that they can be preserved.”

Mian Bashir says, ‘As he continued to photograph historical buildings, his obsession grew.

‘I started with five or six pictures and went up to five thousand. Even outside the city, the buildings that were seen here and there, the neighborhoods were seen, wherever I could reach, I reached there.’

He said that he wanted to find a place where he could display these pictures for public display and in 1995 he was given a hall on the upper floor of the Municipal Library which is now known as the Lyallpur Picture Gallery. Is.

‘All the pictures in it are my own and all the framing etc. is my money. This is what I earned in photography, returned again for people to see, your city is safe in front of you.’

Mian Bashir Ahmad Ejaz along with some of his friends has formed a group that collects artifacts found in old buildings of the city.

‘If an old building falls down in the city, we bring some bricks for it. Bring its spices. These buildings are falling down. Here you will also see the clock tower stones that we have kept. The bricks belong to the District Council, many building materials are preserved here.’

According to Mian Bashir: ‘Faisalabad is essentially an abandoned city whose historical heritage is not disturbed by anyone.

‘It was an Arya Samaj library in Montgomery Bazaar, a great one. Such excellent woodwork that you will be surprised to see. In front of me, over 25 to 30 years, all its woodwork slowly crumbled down. No one handled it. There are many such buildings. Central Cooperative Bank was established in 1921 at Kachhari Bazar. He still exists. Look at his condition. Thus many historical buildings have been made commercial by people. Now there is a pile of encroachments. No one is going to ask.’

A room in the Lyallpur Picture Gallery is decorated with photographs of world-renowned qawwal and musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan from Faisalabad.

Mian Ejaz said that when Shahbaz Sharif was the Chief Minister, he renamed the Hall of Arts Council as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Auditorium to pay tribute to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

In this regard, he tried hard to make a gallery containing the pictures of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan so that the foreigners who came from abroad would know what kind of personality Nusrat Fateh Ali was, but his efforts were not successful. can

‘Now I have put those pictures here. I have many pictures of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, but I have put as many as I see space here.’

Mian Bashir Ahmad Ejaz said that he is working on two books containing pictorial history of the city. They will soon be on the market after which they will focus on expanding the Lyellpur Picture Gallery so that the remaining pictures they have in store can also be presented to the public.