Shehnaz Gul

Lahore Se
June 23, 2016 ·
BAZAAR-E-HUSN

‘Come evening and they would be out in their balconies in the finest of silks and jewels. Their eyes would be lined with kohl and their lips red with dandasa, bark of the walnut tree and the most fragrant of eastern perfumes or itars would fill the air. They were known as diamonds and such was their glitter that the whole street would seem studded with stars. These were the courtesans of Heera Mandi of Lahore in the years before Partition in 1947.’

Contrary to the common perception the word Heera in Heera mandi is not attributed to the dancing girls but Heera Singh, the prime minister of the kingdom of Punjab after Ranjit Singh’s death. When the British took over Punjab they sought to impose their catholic values and ban the courtesan culture. The courtesans were banished to one corner of the city, Ghalla mandi Heera Singh. From there began a culture, that was to have a profound effect in the realm of performing arts of the sub-continent.
There was a time when haunting this bazaar-e-husn was considered a status symbol among the elite of the city and beyond. Being a patron of the most sought after tawaif was an even bigger medal to sport. But the bazaar was not known for sex trade as it is today. Though sex trade was an inevitable by product, it wasn’t the predominant feature and the bazaar was a paradise for the performing arts connoisseur. A kotha was considered an abode of learning and culture while a tawaif was a living embodiment of the same. They were women of learning, culture and dignity. Many of them were trained in music by the best ustads of the time. They were queens of etiquette or ‘saleeka’ as we call it. Presence of these women at weddings was considered a statement of class and sophistication and not everyone could enter the bazaar and it was reserved solely for those with social and financial standing.
With the advent of Britishers a new class of elite came to the fore who continued to patronize the bazaar for their pleasure. With this patronage the bazaar reached a peak never seen before. Come evening and the bazaar would come alive in all its glitter, pomp and splendor to provide relief and recreation to those who had a taste for finer things and could afford it. The tangas would gather outside taverns and bars all over the city ready to transport the eager to their destination at Taxali gate. The illumination rising from the bazaar could be seen from afar. The moment you entered the street, smell of jasmine flowers and ittar overpowered the sense of smell and you could hear the distant sounds of tabla emanating from the kothas lined up on the either side of the street. The balconies on either side would sport a curtain behind which the performers charmed their customers. Every kotha had its own front desk of sorts where every customer had to buy and wear a ‘gajra’ (jasmine flower bracelet) around the wrist and fix an ‘itar’ soaked cotton ball behind their ears before entering. On the other side of the curtain awaited a night of merriment full of music, poetry and dancing that continued till the break of dawn. If a customer passed out after having one drink too many while listening to ghazals, they would put him in a guest room and the lady of the house would keep his purse with her, lest the servants took away some money and it would be returned to him the next day.

The families of the bazaar were a special breed and had a culture and life of their own. A very special occasion in the life of the denizens of the bazaar was ‘nath khulai’ of a dancing girl. Nath (nose ring) khulai meant initiation of dancing girl into the world of performing arts. Those who had yet to undergo nath khulai were called ‘nathal’ and were considered to be virgins. Girls born in the kothas were pampered, cared for and showered with the best life could offer till the time they reached the age 16. That’s when their nath khulai was performed. The nath was installed by the lady of the house. The richest and the most influential were invited to participate in an auction like event and the most deserving had the privilege to take off the nath. For the families this occasion was a reason to celebrate. It was a like a modern day wedding spanning days and various functions were held to celebrate the initiation. Influential people from all walks of life were invited and special foods were cooked. Excessive charity was given and poor were fed in large numbers. The older women passed on the tricks of the trade to new entrants and thus continued the cycle where older generation passed on the mantle to younger ones. And just like this, the performing arts culture remained in monopoly of Heera mandi families for decades.
The advent of the 20th century witnessed a boom in broadcasting culture and many performers found a voice through radio. A famous singer of 30’s Umrah Zia became an overnight hit due to her song ‘Mera salam le Jaa’. The rise of theater and cinema opened a new avenue for the performers and provided them an opportunity to venture out of the bazaar and showcase their talent to those not empowered enough to visit the bazaar. An advertisement for the special film shows which would include live song and dance performances by cinema houses would read thus: “Adhay aaney mein teen mazey”. The performers would be from the lower rungs because the high class “tawaifs” never played to the gallery. Their performances were only for the royalty, nobility and rich business class. The advent of cinema elevated the status of Heera mandi as well for it became a recruiting ground for filmmakers and most of the artists from pre-partition Lahore came from the Heera mandi. Heera Mandi in Lahore has nurtured some outstanding performing artistes, including the famous Noorejahan, Khurshid begum, Shamshad Begum, Mumtaz Shanti and many others.
But the talents of Heera mandi were not reserved for female performers alone. The bazaar was home to the greatest music ustaads of yesteryears. The kotha tradition of Lahore has made the most significant contribution to contemporary Hindustani music and dance. There were patrons of great musicians therein- For example Munnijan Bai of Heera mandi, Lahore, financed and supported Ustad Amir Khan in his early career. Ustad Amir Khan is known as the famous exponent of the Kirana Gharana of Indore. The thriving music culture of the bazaar that consisted of ‘baithak’ ‘dangal’ ‘mehfil’ and ‘shagirdi’ as its cornerstone are now on the brink of extinction if not outright extinct.
Baithaks were musical gatherings hosted by musicians. These were prestigious institutions where musicians, musicologists and scholars contributed to the annals of our musical heritage. The baithaks were held regularly, almost on a daily basis, and used for riyaaz (practice), taalim (teaching) and performance. Ustad Sardar Khan Dilli Wale ki baithak, held near Taxali Gate, was one of the most respected baithaks. Ustad Barkat Ali Khan’s baithak, held in Heera Mandi chowk, was known for thumri and ghazal singing while baithak of Ustaad Chotey Ashiq Ali Khan was a great exponent of khayal singing.
Then there were Dangals that were duels organized by music lovers that afforded musicians a public forum to compete with each other. Musicians – especially those from Lahore – have always been a competitive lot and relished participating in such events. These events were highly celebrated and conducted with much fanfare. They were announced several months in advance to allow time for competing musicians to prepare, for audiences to make travel plans and for organizers to promote the events. Not all dangals ended amicably though; in fact, the results were often contentious. The famous dangal between Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Ustad Umeed Ali Khan, held in Heera Mandi, produced no winner but fueled a rivalry that is still discussed today. Now dangals are held mostly between tabla players in Heera Mandi and are no longer the grand events they used to be.
Then there is this small abandoned room next to a few unassembled tangas and buggies, belying its rich intellectual legacy. This room was known for its literary activities and public discourse. This is the famous Punjabi poet Ustad Daaman ki baithak and regulars to this baithak included the likes of Faiz and Jalib. Earlier this baithak was known as Hujra-e Shah Hussain for it served as retreat for the great sufi poet. Much of his poetry was fashioned here.
It is no wonder that the biggest names of Indian film industry of that time, from actors to singers to music directors and poets, came from Lahore. And if Lahore was the cultural center of north Indian circuit, Heera mandi was the cultural center of Lahore.
The same Heera Mandi still exists in Lahore but the glory of the old world is gone. The splendor and glitter of the bazaar that never slept is only to be found in history books. The sounds of beats that resonated across the Indian sub-continent are silenced forever. The lights and brightness of the curved bazaar are forever dim. The diamonds that were traded here were not forever and remain alive only in legends. From a cultural center that nurtured many an artist, Heera Mandi has changed into a ghetto that thwarts the spirit of women. Today Heera mandi is a dreaded name a woman wouldn’t be caught dead even walking through. You no more see the entire street lit up with the faces of beautiful and fashionable girls. Girls who were much more than traders of the flesh. In a society where majority of women stayed indoors, these women were far ahead of their times. In times when most women were illiterate, these women were poets and authors. If they had professional aspirations, especially in artistic field, they had virtual monopoly. They were far more empowered than most. And with their mastery over literature, mannerisms and social graces, they were often a prized catch for marriage for the wealthiest.
In the times gone by, in the literary circles, famously narrated was a tale about two men wandering about in Lahore who managed to stray into Heera Mandi. Looking at the beautifully turned out belles, one could not help himself but instinctively say to the other: “Je Rab dhiyan deve tay aithey deve. Kinj raanian ban bethiyan ne” (if God is to bless one with daughters it should be here. See how they sit like queens).
This haunting tale was always profound in an unfortunate way for such is the paradox of society. No one would wish their daughters to reach Heera Mandi and be reduced to an object of desire, yet the lives of daughters of respectable homes were not so enviable either. It was a restrained and controlled existence. In an unfortunate way the women on the street were more liberated for they could dress well, live as they wanted and reach their potential.

Heera mandi; a culture deeply buried under the debris of time, apathy and moral bigotry.

Tibbi may chal kay jalwa-e-parwardigaar dekh; Arey yeh dekhnay ki cheez hai issey baar baar dekh

By: Dr Abdul Rahim RidzuanPart 1 : Identifying the issues
1. Know your field. Which area to focus. You must have interest with it!
2. Survey all the recent journals published by index journal. See what are the most popular topic that most author have covered.
3. See recent news. What are the common issues addressed in media. And most importantly, are these news related to the recent topics highlighted in the journal?.
4. Now, it is time to relate both scope of study. Find more issues related to that scope of studies. Save/quote all supportive materials for that issue that happen to the country that you wish to investigate.
5. Go back to the journals. Check all the econometric models that have been used. Learn the theory behind it. Check any important variables that have been left out in the model (not tested together in single framework). And perhaps, you could also introduce new variable. Also, you could use existing variables that are seemed to be connected and have potential to be the solutions for the above problem.
6. At this stage, you should already trigger out what topics that u want to do for your thesis draft. By writing and connecting all the dots above, and support it with recent publication..you can discuss this with your potential SV! Good luck~Preparing Proposal
Part 2: Writing the first chapter and second chapter
1. Continued from the first part, assuming that your potential SV kind of agree with your topic, now you can start write your first chapter.
2. Some universities only allow one chapter for introduction. Some allow student to have two chapter for introduction (while the second one focus on background of studies).
3. For introduction, begin your explanation with broad topic..slowly narrowed it down based on the subtopics that you like to have. Each subtopic is usually related to issue that you wish to investigate and probably will be represented in your list of research objectives and research questions.
4. You can have few diagrams that showing trend to support your info. However, most data that you put in the form of table need to be placed in second chapter. There will be more brief discussion about your data in second chapter.
5. Problem statement should be sharp and precise. In my university, it should not exceed 2 pages (1 and half pages is common). You cannot have any references and table of data in this part! Problem statement will change each time you change the issue that you wish to investigate
6. For proposal, introduction and background of studies need to be in the same chapter. Its should be around 5 pages max. However, for full draft, the suggested pages for chapter 1 should not more than 40 pages..around 30-35 pages (depends). you can have higher number of pages for chapter 2..as long as the difference is not too much as compared to chapter 1.Part 3 : Literature Review
1. LR is the most difficult part in thesis. The process of writing for this chapter will never end until your sv allow you to submit for viva!
2. There are two parts in this chapter. First is theoretical, the second one is empirical.
3. For theoretical, you have to write a brief introduction of the theory. Who introduce it? At what particular year or era? Why it is existed etc.
4. Assuming there are so many school of thought, you need to cluster it accordingly. Who support the theory…who against it.
5. Relate the theory with your issues. Is it the best theory to solve the problems? Any strength any weakness?
6. Now, the second part of LR is empirical study. In this chapter, you have to investigates all past studies that have been done to address your issue.
7. Critically, you need to address the weakness of the model that previous studies adopt. Dont forget to report all the important findings!
8. Usually, there will be a summary of table for empirical studies.
9. Last part of this chapter could be the gap of the previous studies. In this part, u need to be able to creatively write up how the theory and model that you choose able to solve your thesis problem with extra twist. In order words, what kind of possible variables that is so important, but have been left out the the previous model. address the gap carefully. Part 4: Methodology (especially for economics/finance/accounting thesis)1. This is really interesting chapter to write. The main component will be your theoretical and conceptual framework.
2. For economics thesis, in this chapter, we have to begin with the explanation of theoretical framework. Its important to have one big research framework that can address all your research objective and the proposed model and how its link to your main issue.
3. Next part will be formulation of the econometric model. How from original model that you want to used is expanding over time..and how you expand it with your suggested variables. Yes, there will be calculus or a lot of mathematical proving in this section.
4. For me, each research objectives will have specific econometric model to tested out. Bear in mind, some research objective will have more than one proposed econometric model. so the above arrangement must follow your research objective.
5. The second half part of this chapter is to list all the techniques and estimation used in the study. At this stage you should already know which types of analysis you want to conduct: time series or panel data estimation (you can obtain this knowledge from journals) And of course, the technique must relate to your introduction and background of studies…either you one to focus on individual country or group. My sv advise me not being too ambitious. Focus only one types of analysis is better than having both!
6. The last part for this chapter is sources of data. Here my advice. Before u want to select any econometric model, please check the data availability first for all proposed variables. This should be done even before part 2!
7. Perhaps, another advice, if you have the knowledge to run the estimation for your suggested model, do run the model first to check the results. Its will provide u more information in term of the suitability of the data, or either your variable support the hypothesis or not.
8. By completing this chapter, you are ready for your proposal draft! Congrats~
*In my case, i have completing all the data analysis before i defense my proposal. So yes…it gives me a better picture regards to the per-outcomes of the thesis studies. its really help me to stay calm and answer all the panel questions very well. Best wishes to all of you.

Considering the information in last post, the following provides examples of flawed research questions as well as questions that are wells designed:

Too narrow: What is the childhood obesity rate in Phoenix, AZ?
This is too narrow because it can be answered with a simple statistic. Questions that can be answered with a “yes” or a “no” should also typically be avoided.

Less narrow: How does the education level of the parents impact childhood obesity rates in Phoenix, AZ?
This question demonstrates the correct amount of specificity and the results would provide the opportunity for an argument to be formed.

Unfocused and too broad: What are the effects of childhood obesity in the world?
This question is so broad that research methodology would be very difficult and the question is too broad to be discussed in a typical research paper.

More focused: How does childhood obesity correlate with academic performance in elementary school children?
This question has a very clear focus for which data can be collected, analyzed, and discussed.

Too objective: How much time do young children spend doing physical activity per day?
This question may allow the researcher to collect data but does not lend itself to collecting data that can be used to create a valid argument because the data is just factual information.

More Subjective: What is the relationship between physical activity levels and childhood obesity?
This is a more subjective question that may lead to the formation of an argument based on the results and analysis of the data.

Too simple: How are school systems addressing childhood obesity?
This information can be obtained without the need to collect unique data. The question could be answered with a simple online search and does not provide an opportunity for analysis.

More Complex: What are the effects of intervention programs in the elementary schools on the rate of childhood obesity among 3^rd – 6^th grade students?
This question is more complex and requires both investigation and evaluation which will lead the research to form an argument that may be discussed.

Question

The following will discuss the basics of how to develop a good research questions and will provide examples of well-designed questions.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the process for writing meaningful research questions.
• Evaluate research questions.

Developing a good research question is one of the first critical steps in the research process. The research question, when appropriately written, will guide the research project and assist in the construction of a logical argument. The research question should be a clear, focused question that summarizes the issue that the researcher will investigate.

How to Develop a Good Research Question:

• Researchers should begin by identifying a broader subject of interest that lends itself to investigation. For example, a researcher may be interested in childhood obesity.
• The next step is to do preliminary research on the general topic to find out what research has already been done and what literature already exists. How much research has been done on childhood obesity? What types of studies? Is there a unique area that yet to be investigated or is there a particular question that may be worth replicating? The following video may be helpful in learning how to choose appropriate keywords and search online databases: https://youtu.be/233DzkmimV4?t=4s
• Then begin to narrow the topic by asking open-ended “how” and “why” questions. For example, a researcher may want to consider the factors that are contributing to childhood obesity or the success rate of intervention programs. Create a list of potential questions for consideration and choose one that interests you and provides an opportunity for exploration.
• Finally, evaluate the question by using the following list of guidelines:
  • Is the research question one that is of interest to the researcher and potentially to others? Is it a new issue or problem that needs to be solved or is it attempting to shed light on previously researched topic.
  • Is the research question researchable? Consider the available time frame and the required resources. Is the methodology to conduct the research feasible?
  • Is the research question measurable and will the process produce data that can be supported or contradicted?
  • Is the research question too broad or too narrow?