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Punjab rhymes with nawab
Established by a Punjabi, Ved Ratna Mohan, Mohan Meakins was once synonymous to business in Lucknow. Mohan, who went on to be elected the mayor of Lucknow, was a renowned Hindi writer. Another great writer of the mid-60s, Yashpal, was one of the trinity comprising Amrit Lal Nagar and Bhagwati Charan Verma. These are some great Punjabis who left a mark on the history of Lucknow.
Established by a Punjabi, Ved Ratna Mohan, Mohan Meakins was once synonymous to business in Lucknow. Mohan, who went on to be elected the mayor of Lucknow, was a renowned Hindi writer. Another great writer of the mid-60s, Yashpal, was one of the trinity comprising Amrit Lal Nagar and Bhagwati Charan Verma. These are some great Punjabis who left a mark on the history of Lucknow.
The city’s Punjabi connection is old. According to president of Lucknow Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee and patron of the World Punjabi Organisation Rajendra Singh Bagga, the first Sikh to the city was Guru Shri Guru Nanak Devji during his first ‘Udasi’ (travelling) between 1497-1509.
According to the map and records of Lucknow Gurudwara Prabandhak committee, the city was one of the destinations of Shri Guru Nanak during the 12 years period of his first Udasi.
Bagga claims Naka Gurudwara is situated on the sacred place where Guru Nanak stayed for a while. It is said that Guru Nanak came from Nanak Mattha near Bareli to meet his disciple Bhikam Shah of Kakori and stayed at the same place on his return where the Gurudwara is situated.
Rai Bahadur Sardar Saligram Singh ji understood the historical importance of the place when he came to know about it and purchased the Nazul land and made a Gurudwara on it in 1898.
He remained the mukhya sewak of the Naka Gurudwara from 1898 to 1923 till the time of his death. Rai Bahadur Sardar Saligram Singh’s family now lives in Model House.
Shri Guru Govind Singh, 10th Sikh Guru, came to Lucknow with his mother and stayed where Gurudwara Yahiyaganj is situated.
Most of the Punjabis in the city came as refugees but mixed with the society soon. Lucknow absorbed lakhs of refugees in 1947. It was a big culture shock with the ‘nawabi’ traditions getting a Punjabi ‘tadka’. Providing house and employment to each migrant was not easy as most of them were homeless, penniless and jobless. They had to spend a bad time living in refugee camps.
According to noted historian and expert on Avadh’s history Dr Yogesh Praveen, “The refugees first settled near the station and later in Naka and Pandariba. The government created Chandan Nagar, Singar Nagar, Adarsh Nagar, Alambagh and Lajpat Nagar colonies for the refugees. The migrants turned Alambagh into a Punjabi locality and locals nicknamed Alambagh Lahore of Lucknow.”
According to Captain Harbhajan Singh, who migrated from Pakistan, “Punjabis and Sindhis were outspoken and their language was rash. Our women were never in ‘purdah’, against the culture of the city. Most of the locals were shocked by our tone, but did not reject us. Rather, we were welcomed with open arms.” B Tandon, who belongs to a Punjabi organisation, says, “Most Punjabis own shops in Mohan Market Aminabad, Sadar market, Guru Nanak Market Charbagh, and Alambagh. We control nearly 50 per cent of the city’s business.”
Owner of a cloth shop in Alambagh who migrated from district Sukkhur of Pakistan says, “ We were helped by the locals and government, we were given shops and provided training in various disciplines for our livelihood at the place where Army grain depot is located today. After 60 years, Punjabis are a powerful community in the city. We have a Rajya Sabha member in Virendra Bhatia and MLA Vidya Sagar Gupta. We employ many non-Punjabi youths in our business too.”
