Articles and Pictures of Bhera. Information Centre & Museum Inside Shah Suri Jama Mosque ( AD 1540).
The Information Centre and Museum Bhera are located inside Sher Shah Suri Jama Mosque (AD 1540). Primarily, the aim of establishing it was that anyone visiting Bhera , may have a general idea how Bhera looked in the past, because visitors are disappointed to see things when they have a round of the town. Over a period of time beautiful old buildings / _Maris_ have crumbled down/ demolished , a few old darwazas are no more , some have been renovated but not in original condition , writings in Hindi and Gurmukhi have faded away on the buildings , welfare projects , schools , temples etc .
The Information Centre and Museum , Bhera can be further improved with the assistance of Punjab Tourism Department and local administration of Bhera , by having a bigger room and making the vicinity more clean and attractive for the visitors.
More antiques of Bhera can be added in the museum , some are still in possession of individuals living inside or outside Bhera. They should be given surety that items donated by them will be kept with the individual’s or family’s name . There will be proper handing / taking over with pictures of individuals , and if at any stage they feel like they may get their items back . If this exercise is not done now, after some time, antiques of Bhera will completely vanish … history will be lost forever.
Honestly , in whatever shape the museum is today , it is due to the efforts of Sahibzada Abrar Ahmed Bugvi , custodian of Jama Masjid . It was his initiative to make the Information Centre, inside the mosque, all credit goes to him. He is a clear-headed, straightforward , open-minded, educated person . Before 9/11, when the security issues were not very strict, a number of foreigners from Islamabad visited Bhera and Jama Masjid . Bugvi Sahib always briefed them properly about the history of Bhera and the mosque . Sahibzada Sahib has left a legacy , for which he will always be remembered by the people of Bhera. May Allah Almighty give him good health , strength, and long life to do more for the Information Centre and Museum , beside other noble things he is doing ! Ameen .
Some pictures of the Information Centre and Museum taken by me over a period of time are shared .
Zahid Mumtaz
