Garden of Mahabat Khan

The Mahabat Khan’s Garden which was once among many of the Chahar Bagh Gardens built along the road to Shalimar Gardens by the Mughal aristocracy. Now the garden is dilapidated and no one to look after it. There are waste heaps, high shrubs and wild growth everywhere. It is said by the historians that this garden of Mahabat Khan was originally surrounded by a high wall of masonry and is situated to the west of the Shalimar Gardens and south of Baghbanpura in Lahore. At present only few portions of the surrounding wall remain as much of the garden has been encroached upon by the local population. So let me say that this garden also met the same fate like many other monuments of the Mughal and Sikh eras. It is a painful sight when you reach this garden. This garden was built by Mahabat Khan.

Historic accounts say that this garden was known as “Saithan di Bagheechi”. The old gateway is on the west, and additions were made to the upper storey by Parsi merchants of Bombay who owned it in the late 1800s. A newer gateway was located to the north, however, only traces of it remain now as most of it has been replaced by houses surrounding the garden. To the east and south were rooms and chambers, built of substantial brick-working order but are no longer extant. To the south was a small mosque, now much renovated. During the Sikh rule, Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave the garden to Faqir Aziz-ud-Din, who looked well after it. On his death, Faqir Charagh-ud-Din, his heir sold it to Jahangirji & Co, Parsi merchants.