Sheesh Mahal is a middle-sized mohalla. Located inside the Circular Road and the old walled city of Bhera ( see sketch ). In the east of it Mohalla Chitti Pully, in the north Sethianwala, in the west mohallas Kapooran, Sheikhanwala and Bazaar Dalgaran, and in the south Masjid Haji Meharban and Mohalla Gadianwala, in the southeast Jethuwali Khui and Mohalla Chibberanwala.
It is believed without any ambiguity that once an elegant and artistic palace, existed in mohalla Sheesh Mahal. Probably, owned by some Raja or King of Bhera, who was a man of aesthetic taste and style. Most likely, it was constructed after the middle of the 16th century, when Bhera was founded by Sher Shah Suri on the left bank of river Jhelum, opposite old Bhera. When Sheesh Mahal was built and by whom is not known. Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to procure any pictures/ sketches or authentic written material about it.
I heard about Sheesh Mahal from my father, Sheikh Muhammad Mumtaz, who was born in Bhera, in Mohalla Sheikhanwala in 1910. As a young lad, he saw it in disintegrated and crumbled condition – all ruins. Its huge pillars had fallen apart and scattered on the ground, and a portion of the wall without a roof had beautiful and captivating fresco paintings: a clear-cut indication that it belonged to some wealthy Hindu Raja. One could imagine the grand classic palace from its fragments. As a young boy, his mind was not inquisitive enough to know, to which family it belonged, when was it built, and when it started deteriorating and decaying. What happened to the original owners? Why was it not maintained? People from Bhera, even after partition had seen the remnants of the palace, but even they did not bother to know about its history. When I saw it about 40 years ago, there was no sign of any palace, it had completely vanished. In its place, I just saw a flat piece of plot. A few pictures of the site of Sheesh Mahal taken by me are shared.
Interestingly, Bhisham Sahni, an eminent and distinguished writer of Hindi, English and Russian literature, has reflected on the palace and mohalla Sheesh Mahal in his Hindi novel, ” Maay das ki Marhi ” written in the setting of Bhera. He also translated it into English, “The Mansion ”. Bhisham is the younger brother of Balraj Sahni, a well-known and popular film actor of his time. They belonged to Mohalla Sahnianwala, Bhera, but later shifted to Rawalpindi, and after partition migrated to India ( for details about both brothers see Wikipedia ).
If anybody has any pictures or information about Sheesh Mahal Bhera, Please share. It will be included in Part 2 of the write-up. To be continued…
Zahid Mumtaz
More pictures Mohalla Sheesh Mahal, Bhera, district Sargodha. Zm
