The Hindi novel Mayyadas Ki Marhi (translated into English as The Mansion) by Bhisham Sahni is written in the historical setting of Bhera, District Sargodha
Bhisham Sahni’s ancestors belonged to Mohalla Sahniawala, Bhera, a locality that still echoes with memories of old families and pre-Partition life.
An eminent Hindi writer, he authored the celebrated novel Mayyadas Ki Marhi, set against the historical and social landscape of Bhera. He later translated it into English under the title The Mansion.
The novel portrays the lives of the people of Bhera—their struggles, aspirations, and moral dilemmas—during a period of great political transition. It vividly captures the fate of the local landed gentry following the decline of Sikh rule and the establishment of British authority. Through the story of Mayyadas and his mansion, Sahni presents a sensitive and layered depiction of a society caught between fading traditions and emerging colonial realities.
For readers connected to Bhera, the narrative carries a special resonance, as it immortalizes the town’s social fabric, cultural ethos, and historical transformation in literary form.
*Note :*
A travelogue on bhera.org recounts how Kalpana Sahni, daughter of Bhisham Sahni and niece of Balraj Sahni, visited Bhera and wrote about her emotional connection to the ancestral town in an essay titled The Persistence of Memory.
In her narrative, she recalls conversations about “Sahnian da Mohalla” in Bhera and family recollections, keeping alive memories of the town where the Sahnis’ forebears lived.
For details about Bhisham Sahni and his elder brother, Balraj Sahni, an acclaimed Indian film and stage actor of the mid-20th century, see Wikipedia and the website, bhera.org. The links are given below :
Zahid Mumtaz
