SA Site Cover: The Ruins of Payal, Ludhiana by Rattan Kaur Rainu

“Defaced ruins of architecture and statuary, like the wrinkles of decrepitude of a once beautiful woman, only make one regret that one did not see them when they were enchanting.”

                                                                                           - Horace Walpole

Rattan Kaur Rainu is a Research Wing member
at Speaking Archaeologically since August 2018

This blog doesn’t begin on an adventurous note. Neither does it involve a spontaneous road trip. Rather it is the product of an intrigue that drove me to explore a place  I had never even heard of until a few days ago.

Goethe said architecture is music. Well, architecture and music are the two things that have always been my favourite. Be it an an old abandoned house, or an enthralling corner of a fort, buildings have always appealed to me, maybe because, I am from a city that has been built, demolished and rebuilt seven times and hence the ruins and the ancient structures have always been my favourite hangouts.

Even as a kid, during the school picnics, “Delhi darshan” was the time when I used to sneak out an explore the historical spots —abandoned corners of the Tughlaqabad Fort, the coots and haunts of the Hauz Khas— I was always the one to sit and capture the moment, feeling the place, letting its history wash over me; afterall, these were the places where History as we know it today, was born and raised, where it played its games, danced, cried and laughed. This blog is exactly about one such place: the Payal Fort of Ludhiana and here's how I became acquainted with it.

Kalgidhari gurudwara, Payal, Ludhiana

No story should ever start with a funeral and yet, that's exactly how my escapade to Payal Fort began. We were supposed to go to Payal, a small town in Ludhiana District in Punjab, to attend the funeral of my mother’s uncle. Like any person who is likely to be more insensitive than compassionate n an occasion as triste as this, I didn’t want to go but like every other Indian mother, my Mother also didn’t know the meaning of the word, "No," and so, there I was, along with my little brother, sulking very visibly until I found out about the fort in Payal. Suddenly, the petulant pout vanished and I became all happy and cheerful— a surprising transformation from the person, who was irritated, bored and disinterested a minute ago.

Payal fort, Payal, Ludhiana

Now, the task before me was persuading my family to let me visit this place. I made every excuse possible and after a lot of cajoling, my mother had no choice but to relent. A colourful market welcomed us to the town: bright coloured suits hung on the doors of the shop, shimmering, sparkling yarns, bright ribbons and bangles— it was a typical, bustling Punjabi small-town market but my eyes were looking for was an old fort which I couldn’t locate. I wasn't until we reached the Gurudwara, however, and I stepped out of the car, that I finally saw the massive brick fort I was looking for. Custom demanded, though that, I had to go to Gurudwara, meet  the relatives, offer my condolences and pay my respects to the deceased before I could finally slide off the radar and rush to the fort.

At long last, we went there but a big rusty lock on a corroded iron gate welcomed us there and all my excitement turned into despair. I wasn't going to let it go so easily, though. I was adamant that I would go inside and so, I went to the shop adjoining the fort wall. The shopkeeper told us that not many people visited the decrepit monument and so, mostly, it was locked. My brother and I decided that we’d crawl down the gate, regardless because we were too invested to back off now. When we finally managed to cross the first barrier, what should welcome us there but a new gate, which was, much to my dismay, also locked! 

Dargah Mohammed Ghos Peer, Payal, Ludhiana

 My mother and my uncles were waiting for us outside, so we went around, looking for a different entrance and we spotted a relatively newly built dargah. That, and the tall fortified bricked walls, were the only accessible parts of the complex. My brother and I went there and saw an old man sitting, so we asked him to open the gate and told him that we were from Delhi and came especially to visit the fort. This time, we were in luck and the old man went and unlocked the rusty gate and now that my family was in there too. 

The entrance to main complex of Payal fort.

We now asked our saviour, Miya Sahib, to open the gate of the main building, but apparently the keys to that were with a pundit, the caretaker of the fort, who was, at that moment, not on site but in his village instead. It was bit of a shock for me that an ASI protected monument was not accessible to people before 5 pm. There were also no boards or information available there about the fort unlike other heritage sites.The internet, too, didn't offer any insights about this place, so we decided to get whatever we could out of Miya Ji. 

He told us that this was constructed by Maharaja Amar Singh of Patiala with the Mughal Aid in 1771 CE. He also added that this place was encroached by the people and that this was once also used as a Girls' School, that later the Government took over it. The fortified massive walls were all that I could see but one could see the entire panoramic view of Payal from up there. Unlike my initial expetations, it turned out that the fort was at the heart of the town and not at its periphery and despite that, it was windy and pleasant, lush green and gorgeous in a way all old places are.The walls had climbers and plants growing in the gaps . I could almost see how alluring the view must have been during the days of Amar Singh. 

Back side of Payal fort

The condition of the fort now was nothing short of pitiable when you think about its former grandeur. As there was not much to see there, we went back really dejected that we weren't able to enter the main complex . We then went to visit my mother’s aunt. We were walking on the streets as they were too narrow for our car to fit in. A few moments later, my brother poked me and pointed towards an old abandoned house on his left and this house lit a hope in my heart.

As we walked down the road, we saw couple of these grand town houses (havelis) which are now a little more than just ruins with bricks and weeds left in them. The walls were stylistically similar to that of the Payal fort and so, I was inclined to believe that these houses might be the ones from the same period. I could link the architectural characteristics like domed entrances to one I saw in the forts of Delhi so the Mughal Aid Miya Sahib told us about really did happen at some point of time. I googled about the town once again and voilà! This place was a medieval city once and had more than 64 hindu temples . I couldn’t visit them but the condition in which the houses were said it all. I almost felt these structures were calling out for help.

 The architecture and history of these monuments is crumbling into dust by every passing minute. There is a desperate need to look into their condition. Not many people know about this fort and countless more will never find out if this blind neglect of heritage continues. If the restoration and conservation of this old town doesn’t happen soon then we might lose an important page  from our history. There  is not much left of the houses, but the Payal Fort stands still in the centre of the city, mourning the condition of the ruins which once used to be the splendid havelis. 

Yet all is not lost—not yet, at least! The restoration and conversation may revive the town . Also,  information boards and signs on the roads and highways to help people locate the Payal fort could increase the tourism in the area. This in turn, may help generate enough funds to restore the heritage structures scattered about the town, even if we ignore the boost it will give the local economy and the employment it would generate for the people of Payal. Thus, the condition of the Payal could bea lot better than what it is today.

The word "payal" etymologically stands for an anklet that elevates the beauty of one’s feet. Maybe the forgotten town called Payal could be elevated to its former grandeur, too.