Prior to the partition of British India in 1947, the Hindu community constituted the second-largest population in Lahore. During that time, the city had not expanded significantly beyond the periphery of the walled city of Lahore (WCL) and was home to numerous Hindu temples. However, in the present day, most of these temples and their adjacent properties have been illegally occupied.
One such temple, named 'Hanuman ka
Mandir,' is located inside 'Masti Gate' on 'Jamdaran Gali,' near Moti Bazaar.
Hanuman, a prominent character from the Hindu epic Ramayana, was a Brahmachari
(a lifelong celibate) and one of the Chiranjeevi. He is also mentioned in
various other texts, including the epic Mahabharata and the Puranas.
Finding the location of this temple
without a local guide can be quite challenging, as the main entrance is
concealed behind the shops of the adjacent shoe market. A small stairway-like
entrance leads to the structure of a two-story temple. Unfortunately, the
current condition of the temple is deteriorated, and there is a risk of it
collapsing at any time. The floor level of the temple is still four to five
feet higher than the street level, indicating that it was constructed on a
raised platform. On three sides of the temple, one can still observe rooms
built using traditional Lahori bricks. After the partition of British India,
not a single family remained in the walled city, and these rooms were left
abandoned and occupied by impoverished families who had migrated from the other
side of the border.
The structure comprises a
single-story square "Sanctum," which was designed to house the deity.
In the corners of the sanctum, squinches were constructed, filled with extended
flower bouquet elements made of lime. However, these squinches have
deteriorated over time. Surrounding the sanctum, there is an open assembly hall
for devotees, known as "Ayatana" in Hindu terminology.
Above the square sanctum, the main
temple features a curvilinear spire, commonly found in northern Indian shrines
(Latinas). The construction of the curvilinear spire utilized smaller dimension
bricks, which differ from those used on the ground floor of the temple.
One intriguing architectural feature
of this temple is the construction of the Ardha Mandap (entrance porch), which
has a small spire on its roof, resembling the pattern of the main spire.
A crowning ornament, known as "amalaka" in Hindu terminology, is missing from the top of the shikara. This ornament supports the embedded spire, which may have been gold-plated during the initial construction phase.
The temple is adorned with seven
rathas, referred to as "saptaratha" in Hindi.
On the external walls of the temple, one can observe double facet vertical offset projections, known as "ratha" in Hindu temple architecture. These rathas ascend from the base of the temple towards the superstructure. The corners of each ratha touch imaginary circles on the temple's plan centered on the murti (sacred image) in the sanctum. The sides of the rathas align along the primary horizontal axis of the temple.
