The last Hindu temples in Islamabad 0 0 The dharmshala and Rama Shrine before renovation Temple Complex in Saidpur Nestled within the Margalla Hills is the picturesque village of Saidpur, still inhabited mainly by Rajput and Gakhar tribes. One Mirza Fateh Ali Beg, a mystic and caste Mughal, who settled in the area around 1530 AD, founded the village. It came to be known after him as Fatehpur Baoli. The name of the village changed from Fatehpur to Saidpur when the Mughal emperor Akbar bestowed some of the area of Rawalpindi, of which Fatehpur Baoli was a part, to one Said Khan Gakhar. Said Khan was the son of Sultan Sarang Khan, the builder of Rawat Fort, who died fighting the troops of Sher Shah Suri at Rawat, after which the village became known as Saidpur. The Saidpur temple when it was used as a school for girls The temple at Saidpur used to house an image each of Lakshmi and Kali Saidpur, apart from other structures of religious significance, boasts a shrine of Rama. Around 1580 AD, Akbar's trusted general Raja Man Singh stopped at Rawalpindi on his way to Kabul. One day, Said Khan took Raja Man Singh to the village for sightseeing. Raja Man Singh liked the village's serene atmosphere and decided to build a temple there. At that time there was a large Hindu population inhabiting the village. The general was fond of architecture and had built a number of temples in the Potohar area of Punjab. A haveli which he ordered at Rohtas Fort was said to be remarkable for its elegance. In order to commemorate his visit to the village, Man Singh expressed his wish before Said Khan of erecting a temple, which Khan readily accepted. Man Singh willingly agreed on meeting all the expenses of the construction and its subsidiaries that included a two-roomed dharmshala (hostel or inn) and four ponds namely Ram Kund, Lakshman Kund, Sita Kund and Hanuman Kund, all named after the famous characters of the Ramayana epic. The domes crowning the dharmshala Hindus belonging to the lower classes were not allowed to enter the temple The Gazetteer of Rawalpindi District, 1893-94, describes a village fair at Saidpur. This is a Hindu fair; the shrine at the heart of it is known as Ram Kund. The fair is attended by about 8,000 people annually and takes place in the season of Baisakh (April-May). The temple at Saidpur used to house an image each of Lakshmi and Kali. Beside the temple is located a gurdwara which is believed to have been built by Sikhs in the early 20th century. Attached to this gurdwara is a structure which served as a school where Sikh philosophy was taught to children. After the partition, the gurdwara was turned into a school, doing great damage to the whole structure. It was entirely whitewashed, which played havoc with the frescos. The temple too was whitewashed. It had Gajalakshmi representations - scenes in which elephants are throwing water on Lakshmi - on its walls. (Ghulam Nabi, a resident of the village who is now in his 80s, said that when the Hindus left for India, he went first time to see the temple from inside. It had paintings of elephants and a woman.) Raja Man Singh Raja Man Singh liked Saidpur's serene atmosphere and decided to build a temple there Hindus belonging to the lower classes were not allowed to enter the temple; rather they could take darshan from a distance. Only Hindus of the upper classes were entitled to take both darshan and prasad. Muslims were also not permitted to enter the premises of the temple. Basant Ram, who was a businessman of Rawalpindi, carried out the extensions in the temple complex and built an ashram that was used for conducting spiritual exercises. He also made some changes in the dharmshala and increased the numbers of rooms. Almost every businessmen of Rawalpindi lavishly spent money on the extensions, and their names are still inscribed on the marble floor. When Hindus migrated to India, three people, namely Ram Lal, Radho and Diwan, who were caretakers of the temple, took away the brass statues of Lakshmi and Kali with themselves. When Saidpur was declared a tourist village, the gurdwara was turned into a gallery which now contains the images of Islamabad and Saidpur and the temple of Kali and Lakshmi. The dharmshala was also renovated. These changes were insensitively made and took away from the beauty of the original structures. Some marble tiles carrying the names on the donors were also damaged during the renovations. Temple at Rawal Lake A Hindu temple stands in a dilapidated condition at Rawal Lake just opposite the Red Onion restaurant in Islamabad. (Formerly, this place was known as Rawal village.) The temple is rectangular with two arched openings on its south. There are five flights of steps to reach the grabhagriha. The first cusped archway leads to a room, which was apparently used as a dharmshala. A view of the Rawal Lake temple Now the temples exist only in the memories of the old inhabitants of Rawal village Before partition, a mostly Hindu population inhabited Rawal village. There were over a hundred households in the village of which only 40 belonged to Muslims. At that time, Ishar Singh was the lumbardar (headman) of the Rawal village. Some Muslim castes, namely Rajas, also known as Gakhars or Kiyanis, Syeds, Bafanda (weavers), Thakyal Rajputs and Malhiar (Arian) lived in the village. Apart from this temple, there were two other temples. One was located opposite the present-day temple. It had two rooms and eight archways to enter it. After partition, some Kashmiri families occupied the temple. After the construction of the Rawal dam, this building was damaged by the occupants. It was located where today stand the cabins of men named Arshad and Sardar. Until 1980, eight dats (arches of the temple) had survived. The other temple was located west of the present-day one. It was known as Gurukal temple. After the construction of the Rawal dam, the Gurukal temple was submerged in water. Now the two temples exist only in the memories of the old inhabitants of Rawal village. Before partition a samadhi belonging to a Hindu ascetic was located near present-day Rawal Chowk. It was a small domed structure. After partition, it was destroyed by locals. Today one finds garbage inside the main chamber of the temple. The temple in Golra Sharif Interior of the Rawal Lake temple Today one finds garbage inside the temple This temple is located just behind the haveli of the pir of Gorla Sharif in Islamabad. It is also adjacent to the old bazaar of the Sikh period where there are still remains of some of the Sikh and Hindu shops. The temple is in a pathetic condition and is occupied by a Kashmiri family which has placed its household belongings in the grabhagriha. This temple is remarkable for the foliated pillars that decorate the corners of the outer wall of the sanctum. Its main entrance opens eastward and one enters into the courtyard of the temple through this gate. Formerly, the courtyard was covered but nowadays the ceiling has caved in. The main arched entrances of Golra Temple The Golra temple The grabhagriha has three blind arches on the southern, western and northern walls. One can find traces of paintings on these arches. Formerly, the sanctum too was adorned with paintings. According to a local called Muhammad Ramzan, the western and northern walls had the paintings of a god who was wearing a snake garland, a depiction no doubt of Lord Shiva. Close to this panel was another panel that depicted a person with an elephant head. This was the depiction of Ganesh, son of Shiva. Ramzan also said that on the northern walls, there was a painting of a man playing the flute and two women were standing with him. This is probably a reference to Krishna who is invariably shown playing the flute either with gopis (milkmaids) or Radha by his side. The ceiling of the circumambulatory passage ( pradakshinapath) was similarly painted with paintings representing Shiva, Ganesh, Krishna and goddesses. According to the current occupant of the temple, the walls of the grabhagriha were later whitewashed by the first occupants. The outer walls of the grabhagriha are also decorated with blind arches. The outer walls of the temple are decorated with cut brick ornamentation. The Writer is Research Anthropologist at Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE