RAWALPINDI: One of the oldest and most vibrant markets in Rawalpindi, Moti Bazaar is typically assumed to have been named after the Urdu word for ‘pearl’.

If not, it is, rather amusingly, taken to be named after its prevalence as shopping centre solely for women.

But it appears that Moti Bazaar’s image as a place for women may have sustained throughout its colourful history.

Within the narrow streets of Rawalpindi, there stands a historical landmark known as the Haveli of Moti Lal, after whom the bazaar may have been named.

In the late 1880s, after the death of his wife, Moti Lal opened the gates of his home to the city’s widows, possibly to aid women who escaped the then-common practice of satti.

The haveli soon transformed into a Kaniya Ashram for women in need. As the number of women seeking refuge in Moti Lal’s ashram increased, those living in the haveli began tailoring and embroidering clothes and selling their work on the street, which soon became a full-fledged market.

A plaque at the Haveli Moti Lal in Hindi reads, ‘Shriman Rayzada Bholaram Bali dedicates this to the memory of his wife Shrimati Krishnabanti (daughter of the Late Gokulchandji) who passed away on the 19th of June 1926’.

Decades later, in the 1960s, the Punjab government took control of the haveli and converted it into a government-run secondary school. It is now known as the M.C. Boys’ High School, Moti Bazaar, Rawalpindi.

The haveli-turned-school building is a marvelous piece of traditional architecture. Its narrow wooden entrance widens into a central courtyard, which is surrounded on three sides by buildings featuring intricate woodwork on the balconies and windows.

The outer walls of the haveli are also decorated by artful woodwork, but it is overshadowed by the signboard for shops along the side of the building.

As is the case with a lot of traditional architecture in the country, the building is rapidly decaying due to negligence.

Gurneet Singh at his shop which is one of many such businesses in the narrow lanes of Moti Bazaar. — Photos by the writer

Speaking to Dawn, historian Shiraz Haider narrated the same story about Moti Lal and the market named after him.

“The bazaar was established in 1901, so it’s not so ancient that people don’t know its history,” he said. “Moti Bazaar is named after Moti Lal.”

Haider added that legendary Indian actor Balraj Sahini – who was born in Rawalpindi – mentioned Moti Bazaar in his autobiography when he talks about a dozen or so shops within the market at the time of the 1947 Partition.

Curiously, there is no mention of Moti Lal within the haveli. There are four marble plaques fitted on different walls on the building, inscribed with the Sanskritised Hindi script.

One plaque reads, “Raizada Bhola Ram Bani built this in the memory of his wife, who died on June 19, 1926”.

Another lists members of the ashram and their contributions, which range from Rs40 to Rs100. The text verifies the existence of a Kaniya Ashram. The other two plaques are faded and smudged, leaving them largely unintelligible.

One thing, however, is for certain – there is no mention of Moti Lal on any of them.

However, Haider stressed that, “Moti Lal isn’t a fictional character. The bazaar celebrated its birth centenary a decade ago, and back then there were still people alive who had seen Moti Lal.”

During peak business periods – wedding seasons and near Eid, Moti Bazaar quickly assumes its position as the premium shopping centre for women.

Signboards around the entrance of the market prohibiting men from entering the premises (unless accompanied by women) are a common sight. But this trend is not without its own complications.

As President of the Moti Bazaar Traders’ Union, Chaudhry Iqbal Ahmed, explained, “We have incidents involving women pick-pockets on a daily basis.”

“There are no women police officers stationed here, which creates problems for the business owners as well. There should be a police check point in the market to monitor pick-pockets,” he added.

One of the leading business owners in Moti Bazaar, Naveed Kunwal, said wedding shopping was incomplete without a visit to Moti Bazaar.

Shoppers from Azad Kashmir and Jhelum to the United Kingdom and Europe visit Moti Bazaar to shop for their wedding trousseau. One such customer is Nusrat Sheikh, who traveled from Manchester to Rawalpindi to shop for her son’s upcoming wedding.

Kunwal said the market had 1,400 shops, and 12 sub-markets – including Lower Moti Bazaar, Anarkali Bazaar, Meena Bazaar, Galli No. 1 and 2, Paris Bazaar, New Bara Bazaar and Rehmat Shopping Centre.

Mohammad Azad Qureshi is one of the oldest shopkeepers in Moti Bazaar at 65, and specialises in tracing designs.

Having learnt the art from his father, Qureshi uses wooden blocks in his work.

He said he possesses almost 4,000 tracing designs – the most commonly used ones among them are ‘Balochi’, ‘Kashmiri’, ‘Sindhi Moti’, ‘Char-sooti’, ‘Shadow work’, and ‘Swati tanka’.

Exploring Moti Bazaar, one also comes across a few Sikh business owners. Gurneet Singh is one such businessman who migrated to Rawalpindi from the troubled city of Peshawar. “Business here is good and there are no threats to worry about,” Singh said.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2014