Haveli Barood Khana

So I’m not quite sure how they managed it, but the organizers took us to spend time at a private haveli, Haveli Barood Khana, one with significant literary and cultural history. More on that shortly.

(I love that first photo, featuring workshop student Sadi…)

Here’s a definition of a haveli:

“A haveli is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. Haveli Means Old Private Mansion in the Old City, Owned and Used by a single family (family should be living there). The word haveli is derived from Arabic hawali, meaning “partition” or “private space”, popularised under the Mughal Empire, and was devoid of any architectural affiliations. Later, the word haveli came to be used as a generic term for various styles of regional mansions, manor houses, townhouse found in the Indian subcontinent.” — Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haveli

Lahore, Pakistan.

It turned out that the day we were visiting the haveli, they were also filming something there! So we didn’t spend time in the central courtyard on the first floor, but we got to see actors and film folks working, with it all decorated as if for a wedding. Fun!