Lahore, its people, climate and food

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(The picture above, is of Lahore Fort, built by Mughal Emperors. This fort was built on a very vast area. Some secret pavements and corridors still need to be reached. This fort keeps many secrets inside, but due to its gigantic area, and secrecy kept during its construction many of its secret chambers and paths remain undisclosed. )

Hello everyone, my name is Ahsan and I live in Lahore, Pakistan since my birth. Lahore is almost in the vertical centre of Pakistan and is considered to be the heart of Pakistan. It shares an International border with India. Lahore is a city with a high variation in almost every aspect of life. Whatever we talk about whether its climate, cost of living, lifestyle, health conditions, safety & security situations or anything, the variation does exist. For example; you can hire a 2-room flat from 110 EUROS to 3000 EUROS. You can get checked up by any doctor who charges 1 euro to 80 euros. You can live in an area where there is no or very less chances of a street crime i. e. pickpocketing etc., or you can live in an area which is very bad reputed for such activities. You can buy a burger for 0. 5 euros and you can buy it for up-to 3 euros from some big stores. You can get yourself a sunstroke or heatstroke by the dreary, humid air and severe heat of sun in the months of May to August, whereas you can enjoy the chilly and freezing winds from November to February. All these variations make Lahore a nice place to visit, especially in the winter season (November to February).

In this competition I will try my best to share my knowledge, facts and realities about my city Lahore without any exaggeration so that the visitors or the students may take advantage of this knowledge. I will cover the following topics in all the upcoming posts which include:

1. People

2. Climate

3. Healthcare Facilities

4. Safety & Security

5. Transportation

6. Parks

7. Communication

8. Lifestyle

9. Night life & Partying

10. Cuisine

11. Shopping Malls

12. Education

13. Dresses and Shoes

14. Fashion

15. Jobs

16. Price List

17. Reference of Pictures

18. Places to Visit

19. Accommodation

As I am a food lover, my special emphasis would be on Foods and Recipes. I will share some awesome and delicious but easy and simple recipes famous in Lahore which you will like a lot if you try them. But the point is that you should have the ingredients available.

People

The population of Lahore is above 10 million. The people of Lahore are very loving, friendly and vivacious. They are very welcoming to the foreigners. By the term “people of Lahore”, I mean the locals. In Lahore, a very few foreigners do live as a permanent stay. Most of them are from China; however visitors from almost every country usually visit this city. The food loved by the locals is the one which contains a lot of calories in it i. e. Halwa poori, pathooray, siri paye, qatlamma, Andrassy, khadd, Lassi etc. However almost all kind of food is available in restaurants i. e. Italian, Chinese, Spanish or Malaysian. Either you are a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian, you have a very vast menu to select your meals from, all over the city.

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The people of Lahore specially respect the ladies and foreigners. You will never see a foreigner or a lady waiting in a cue. In public transports, in hospitals or in any other public place you cannot find a lady standing while a man sitting nearby. The man will immediately leave his seat for the lady. They will never disrespect a foreigner, rather try their best to facilitate him and help him out in any possible manner.

Bad guys are everywhere in the world and we know that where there are pros there must be cons. I have noticed a couple of local guys hooting at the Chinese people “Ching pong”. They don’t even know the meaning, but most probably they need to sound like Chinese language. I myself have often discouraged such guys and educated them about the respect of all the people and specially the foreigners, as they will consider it as the image of the whole country. As a reply, those guys said that they just wanted to make the Chinese laugh on this stupidity. The locals are not at all racist. No racism can be observed by the behavior of the locals.

Climate

Lahore has a variation in its weather. We enjoy all the four seasons: winter, spring, summer and fall (autumn).

Winter:

The best season here, in my opinion, is winter, which remains from November to February (that’s why I started from winter): almost all the trees shed their leaves except the all-season ones. The sunset time on 22nd December is around 5:00 p. m. and sunrise time is at 7:00 a. m. Nights become too long and days become too short (14+10=24). The winter consists of freezing winds and chilled rains. Besides these the fog spreads in the air in the winters when the temperature decreases below 5 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature that can be observed in December and January is less than -4º C in Lahore. The fog is so dense that at some times it minimizes the visibility range to 0 meter. Sometimes the whole day remains foggy with no signs of sun.

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In winter you will find street vendors here and there, selling dry fruits. The most commonly sold dry fruits in Lahore are peanuts, almonds, walnuts, cashew nuts, pistachios, figs, date plums, raisins (dried grapes) and chilghoza. Most of the vendors use a special pot made of mud and put pre-heated coals inside that pot and cover it with the mud made lid and then put this pot into the heap of peanuts. This process gives a beautiful smell mixed of mud, coals and peanut covers. This process also keeps the peanuts crispy and warm. Some other vendors roast the uncovered peanuts and corn in salt and then shake it in a strainer and then serve in a paper made cone. For just 0. 2 Euros you can eat a stomach-full of peanuts and corn. The second major item of winter is the oranges. Those who love oranges and other citrus fruits must take a visit to Lahore in winter. We have more than 30 kinds of citrus fruits to offer but the most common and available of them are, kinno, fruiter, musambi, maalta, sangtra, grape fruit and many more. Each of them has a unique taste and qualities. Some of them might be pulp or some of them might be sour. One of them might be sweet and one might be very juicy. It all depends which breed of the citrus fruit are you buying. People use heaters in rooms and hot waters to take bath in the winters. Blankets are used while sleeping. But keep in mind. Although the winters are cold and freezing, it never snows in Lahore. It really never happened. One day of winter in 2011 was an exceptional case, when it snowed in a specific area for a few minutes.

Spring

The spring season in Lahore begins in March and ends in mid-May. The trees become green again. Weather in spring is not too bad. The maximum temperature reaches 25ºC till the end of this season. The major speciality of this season is strawberries, mulberries and faalsa. Faalsa is a sweet and sour fruit which tastes very refreshing. Its harvesting season starts in end of April and lasts till June. It is rich in vitamin C. Faalsa Juice is very famous in Lahore.

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Faalsa Juice one of best juices in the world

Juice corners can be found in almost every corner of the city and there are special offers available on fresh faalsa juice varying from 0. 3 euros to 1 euro, depending on the location and the status of the Juice corner (the quality might not be too different). Recipe: the faalsa Juice prepared in Soda (Sprite) is the best and I am sure it can be ranked somewhere in the top 10 list of beverages/fresh juices list of the world. The recipe is easy, it consists of 1 cup of faalsa, 1. 5 cup of Soda (Sprite) and 3/4 cup of sugar syrup. a pinch of salt, lemon juice 1 teaspoon, 6 to 8 mint leaves. Put them all in a blender and blend them well. Serve them when it is full chilled or add ice for chilling the Juice. I guess that Faalsa is not available in Europe and USA, that’s why I could not find its English name, however I found the scientific name that is Grewia asiatica. I have posted the pictures of Faalsa too for the convenience. Sometimes we get a hailstorm here in Lahore in the spring season but it is not snow. It’s just a hail storm which continues for a few minutes, 30 minutes as maximum.

Summer

Summer season is terrible in Lahore, honestly speaking. It starts from May and ends in late September.

In the initial months of Summer i. e May and June the sun shines at its worst. In these 60 days maximum, you only see the rain or the clouds in 2 or 3 days. The maximum temperature can reach up to 50ºC. The sun intends to roast anything facing it. The roads, roofs of houses, grounds, grass everything starts getting damaged. Due to the uprising use of electricity, the National Power faces a shortfall, resulting in Load shedding (Power shutdown) of electricity. The recent government has taken advanced measures to increase the production of electricity, therefore now the people of Lahore face a comparatively low load shedding like 2 hours a day, whereas before the recent government it was 14 hours a day. In high status areas however, some housing societies have their own electricity generation mechanism and some hotels and student hostels have their electricity generators, which they use during the load shedding (power turn-off hours). The specialities (fruits) of summer season (May and June) are lychee, watermelons, apricots, plum, melon, husk melon, guavas, apples, bananas, chikoo and papaya and yes!, the roasted corn maize. Another thing popular in Summer season is, Sugarcane juice. There are Sugar cane juice makers almost in the whole city, who have their machines installed on the road-banks and they offer you a fresh full glass of sugarcane juice with ginger, mint and lemon added into it, crushed ice makes it full chilled and black salt sprinkled gives it more taste. This juice instantly refreshes you and you just pay 0. 2 Euros. Leechee is one of the best tropical fruits one can enjoy in Lahore. It needs a lot of water to grow and it is available for a really short period in the market. Reason thereby; its fruit withers right after one or two days and it gets ripen. Leechee is a very juicy fruit and smells awesome and its taste is so delicious you cannot stop your hand before finishing at least a whole kilogram.

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Leechee is grown on the banks of the river Ravi which flows near Lahore. Watermelons are also grown locally, in the surroundings of Lahore urban area. The watermelons of Lahore are sweet and juicy. Guavas grown in Lahore are very delicious and sweet. There are two more common ways in which corn maizes are sold by the vendors. One of them is by removing the green leaves (cover) and roasting it in salt.

In this process, the maize gets crunchy and hard. Some people like it. But I personally like the second one.

The other process of preparing or eating the corn maize is, that the corn maize, along with its green leaves (cover) is buried in pre heated heap of coals for almost 4 to 6 hours. It becomes soft, juicy and delicious. Then the vendor sprinkles a combination of spices on it (red chilli, salt, black pepper) and then sprinkles lemon juice over it.

In the second half of the summer season, the hotness of the atmosphere is replaced by severe dreary and humid air. In July, the monsoon season starts and brings a couple of rains. During the rain, it is alright but right after the rain ends, the air becomes so humid. The already hot atmosphere with the humid air brings a terrible feeling which is called dreary “Habas” as we locally name it. It is the most terrific weather one can observe. This situation remains from July to September and I would recommend any traveller, visiting Lahore in these days must not stay out of the air-conditioned room or vehicle for much time. Almost no wind blows in this season. You start sweating like hell as soon as you remain out for long. Most of the schools, colleges and universities are closed in this season and the students enjoy the summer vacation. In summer, the people of Lahore use to visit the northern areas of Pakistan (the hill stations, namely Murree, Ayubia, Nathia Gali, Naraan. Saiful Malook, Shoograan, Kallam, maalam Jabba, Fairy meadows, Chitraal etc) which have a cool weather ranging between 20ºC to 4ºC even in summer. I will recommend the tourists who visit Pakistan to visit those areas which are not less than any other country for their beauty and cold weather.

I have personally visited almost all of the northern areas and can provide the complete travel guide about those areas without any cost. You can feel free to ask anything about Pakistan, any single information, I mean it. And I will be glad to help anyone out in this regard. Moreover I intend to write a few blogs about those areas too. You can enjoy beautiful semi-frozen lakes and glaciers even in the summer in the northern areas of Pakistan.

(Naraan, Pakistan. Picture taken by myself, july 2015)

(Lake Saiful Malook, Pakistan. July 2015)

Back to Lahore, in this dreary season the humid air and hot atmosphere gives the perfect climate to the fruit which is famous in almost the whole world. The king of fruits (as it is famous), the English name is Mango and in the local language it is called “Aam” or “Amb”. You can buy the finest quality of mangoes for 1 euro per Kilogram from a local vendor whereas in a super store or supermarket you will have to pay a lot more than 3 or 4 euros per kilogram. I will recommend everyone to always buy any fruit from the local vendors, as it is fresh and you can select from a lot of breeds and types. The supermarkets and superstores also buy from the vendors and sell the fruit on their own prices. And even though it is not that much fresh as compared to the local vendors. There are more than 60 breeds of mangoes, cultivated in Pakistan of which more than 30 I have enjoyed myself since my birth. Every breed tastes different from the other. Without any exaggeration, it is true. The smell, the size, the colour the taste everything totally differs. The most delicious breeds are Anwar Lator, Saharni, Dosehri, Sindhri and black chonsa. More breeds of mangoes include white chonsa, summer bahisht, langra, ambi, Kerry, Fajri, Dakkni, Neelam, Gulab, Almaas and many more. Some of them might taste a bit sour and some of them are the sweetest thing in the world.

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People of Lahore enjoy mango parties at home and out with friends. You can enjoy mango cakes, mango ice-creams, mango milkshakes and desserts in almost everywhere in Lahore. Almost every home has his fridge filled with mangoes in summer season. A lot of dishes are prepared by the local women, but only those who have interest in cooking (not all). Pickles, squash, mango ketchups, murabba and raw mango puree (Chatni in local language) are the most famous.

My mother usually prepares a special dish called Murabba. It is one of the most delicious dish made of mangoes. It has mango chopped pieces sizing about 1 square inch each. This recipe requires half ripped mangoes. These chopped mangoes are then cooked in sugar syrup for a specific time and then chopped almonds, cashew nuts, uncovered watermelon seeds, a pinch of salt and pinch of red pepper. It tastes awesome. It can be used as a side dish, it can be eaten with spoons or it can be used as a spread on bread. I personally eat it by rolling it into Paratha, a local bread (chapati fried in butter oil). Another recipe is the chatni made by raw mangoes which are fully sour in taste. Those raw mangoes are peeled and then crushed in a crusher made of stone or wood. Then ginger, mint leaves, a little garlic, green pepper salt and black salt are mixed and again grounded until they form a paste like substance. This chatni is served as a side dish with rice and considered to be a very good natural remedy for bad digestive system. It tastes so refreshing.

AUTUMN:

Autumn in Lahore, starts in October and remains until the beginning of Winter. Weather becomes pleasant with a couple of rains. Just like all the countries which undergo a fall season, the same weather is enjoyed by the people of Lahore. The heat of sun decreases. The days become shorter or equal to the nights. This season brings grapes and Husk melons.

Healthcare Facilities in Lahore

Hospitals in Lahore:

There are more than fifteen Public Hospitals provided in Lahore for the people. Although these hospitals are not sufficient for the rapidly increasing population, however the government is trying its best to maximize the strength of currently available hospitals and to make new hospitals. These public sector hospitals are almost free of cost and charge 2 Rupees for the checkup and every kind of examination or tests. (1 Euro = 123 Rupees). All the medical facilities including diagnosis, treatments, tests and surgeries are offered in a very low budget (almost free) but these public sector hospitals are too much over crowded. Unlike European countries, there is no need to fix an appointment before visiting a hospital or a doctor. Whole families including relatives, elders and children use to visit the hospital with the patient in most of the cases. Therefore the hospitals become so overcrowded.

Names of Public Hospitals in Lahore

1. Mayo Hospital
2. Sir Ghangram Hospital
3. Jinaah Hospital
4. Services Hospital
5. Gulaab Devi Hospital
6. Mian Munshi Hospital
7. Nawaz Sharif Hospital
8. Shahbaz Sharif Hospital
9. Janki Devi Hospital
10. Sheikh Zaid Hospital
11. CMH Hospital
12. Fouji Foundation Hospital
13. Punjab Institute of Cardiology
14. Lady aitchison Hospital
15. Lady Wellingdon Hospital
16. Children’s Hospital
17. General Hospital
18. Punjab Social Security Hospital
19. Wapda Hospital

Besides these Hospitals, there is a big number of Government owned dispensaries which provide basic health facilities to the locals.

There is a big range of Private Clinics and Hospitals in Lahore, some of which provide state of the art facilities and best environment. Their prices are a bit high but the environment, care and facilities they provide are worth appreciation. Some of the famous private Hospitals are given below.

Names of some big Private Hospitals in Lahore

1. Shalimar Hospital
2. Doctors Hospital
3. Fatima Memorial Hospital
4. National Hospital DHA
5. Lahore medical Dental Hospital
6. Umar Hospital
7. Ghurki Hospital and teaching Trust
8. SurgiMed Hospital
9. Ittefaq Hospital
10. Hameed Latif Hospital
11. Ammar Medical Complex
12. Shokat Khanam Cancer Hospital

Safety & Security

When discussing the safety and security situation in Lahore, Pakistan, we can easily conclude that the security related to institutes/departments working in Lahore have been contributing a lot in maintaining Lahore as a peaceful city. Police department, Criminal investigation agency CIA, Federal Investigating Agency FIA, Special Branch, Intelligence Beauru Punjab IB, Dolphin Force, Counter terrorism department, Rangers, PRU and many other departments are working efficiently for the safety & security of the citizens of Lahore. These departments with mutual coordination have overcome the evil of terrorism which raised in the past decade, however a very few incidents of terrorism have occurred in last few years, targeting mainly the Police and Law enforcement Agencies. People have never been a target of any terrorism activity since the beginning.

Talking about heinous crimes, like murder, extortion, rape and attempt of murder. Lahore is not a hotspot for such activities. Although not totally exempt of these kind of crimes, however the common people do not suffer such incidents. Most of these crimes occur because of family enemities which keep going for decades and even centuries. If anyone of you intend to visit Lahore, you can chose to live in some safer location like in a housing society that has its own security system: all the societies of Askari: Askari 1, Askari 2... (up to Askari 10), Paragon Society, Air avenue, Park view, Eden evenue, Valancia, EME etc.

In street crimes and small crimes, Lahore can be considered a safer city than any of the big cities of Pakistan and all the credit goes to Lahore Police which has given many sacrifices in enforcing the state law into the jurisdiction of Lahore.

Roads & Transportation

Lahore has the best roads and transportation system amongst all cities of Pakistan. It has a ring road (on the pattern of motorway) which goes around the whole city. You can enjoy a rush free travel and signal free travel using this ring road leading you to the nearest exit of your desired destination. Many roads have been widened by the present government. Many roads have been made signal free so in this way rush and crowd has been decreased on the roads. Metro Bus links two corners of the city. Another orange line train is under construction which will link different areas of the city. Public transport is available too and from all the areas of the city. Besides, these privates cabs are widely available. Two major cab companies Uber and Careem have grown very fast since the last two years. They are offering very cheap taxi service all over Lahore.

Lahore is considered to be a main junction for the whole country. The following highways and roads begin from Lahore.

Lahore – Multan - Karachi road

Lahore - Islamabad G-T Road

Lahore - Islamabad Motorway

Lahore - Sheikhupura Road

Lahore - Faisalabad Road

Lahore - Kasuur Road

All the above mentioned roads are highways which link different cities. The Lahore Islamabad motorway can compete with the motorways of almost any developed country.