Those who have seen Lahore's industrial slum that is Badami Bagh today won't believe that in the nineteenth century, the entire area was magnificent orchard.
Badami Bagh-according to Syed Mohammad Latif, the noted historian of the city-was named after Princess Gul Badan, whose beautiful mausoleum once existed between Masti and Sheranwala Gates. According to other experts, however, history does not record any Mughal princess of this name, they think it more likely that the Badami Bagh might be associated with Ranjit Singh's consort Gul Begum or Gul Baha
r whose tomb exists in the Miani Sahib graveyard. The Bagh was ravaged during the period of anarchy that followed the fall of the Mughal Empire. It was however, restored later when thousands of fruit trees were planted there, most of them of almonds, so that the Bagh should live up to its name. Citrus trees of many varieties, plums, pomegranates, and guavas were also raised there. In 1842, Badami Bagh was divided into various sections with a beautiful rest house in the middle. Each section had five fountains. Ranjit Singh inaugurated the rest house with great fanfare. According to Khalsa Akhbar (Lahore, May 17,1918) so much scent was used on the inaugural ceremony that the Badami Bagh retained the gorgeous smell for five to six years. After the British annexation of the Punjab, the British families in Lahore used the garden. In 1860, it was renamed as Company Bagh and its first British administrator was Henry Cope, Editor of the Lahore Chronicle . Since the garden was a long way away from the exclusive residential quarters of the British, they sold it and put up the Lawrence Gardens with the proceeds. The coming of the railways led to the setting up of workshops here. The first train steamed off from Lahore for Amritsar in 1860. Around 1880, the Lahore Wazirabad rail link was completed and the Railway Station and the track gobbled much of Badami Bagh up. Until about 85 years ago, some almond trees survived across the railway line but they too disappeared slowly with the emergence of ugly residential and industrial districts. So, Lahore had to pay for the Lawrence Gardens (now Bagh-i-Jinnah) with Badami Bagh. Then there was the Ranjit Singh Bagh, which used to run south from the northern wall of the Badshahi Mosque. It was in this garden that Ranjit Singh was cremated. About 60 to 70 years ago, Mr. Nazim Husain Nazim Lucknawi used to hold an annual mushaira here. Now this garden exists in history books only. In 1813, Ranjit Singh ordered that a new garden be laid between the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort to celebrate the capture of the famous Kho-i-Noor diamond form Shah Shuja. The garden was laid under the supervision of Fakir Azizuddin. At the suggestion of Khushhal Singh, one of the Mahraja's favourite attendants, a marble pavilion was erected in this garden, which was named Hazuri Bagh. Marble for the pavilion was stolen from the mausoleums of Zebunnisa, Noor Jehan, Asaf Jah and Emperor Jehangir. The Maharajah often used this place for merry-making.
