Written by: Ayesha Amir
Posted on: November 29, 2023 | 
| 中文
A book stall between Anarkali and Mall Road (Picture credits to Humna Jabbar)
The Anarkali Sunday Book Bazaar for book lovers, has been a six-decade long love story. Imagine a winter misty morning with warm sun rays bouncing off tree leaves, amongst those rays are the sounds of casual chatter, cycle bells and fragrant tea and chanay are all around. Middle aged to old men wearing ascot caps engage in greetings with each other and the book vendors, sifting through books to look for their desired newspaper, magazine or poetry book. These are the scenes one comes across in Anarkali Book Bazaar laid out (quite literally) every Sunday for almost sixty years now. With a clear view of the famous Pak Tea House, the Book Bazaar faces a side of The Mall Road, and serves as the perfect haven for book lovers.
Anarkali Bazaar
Encompassing a long street, the book bazaar is spread every Sunday where stalls are set up on either side of the street, with books often placed in a pattern on the floor or lined on handmade wooden shelves. These books are set up by book vendors who inherited the safekeeping of books from their family, hence it is the different generations of the same families who first started out with book stalls at this bazaar in the early 1960s. They know the history of the bazaar, of the process of placing books, and the demographic of the people who come to visit the bazaar. The demand for certain books continues no matter who the buyers are. It is easy to talk to these vendors and realize that they tend to engage in very insightful conversations about the literary tradition of Pakistan, particularly of Lahore. They shed light on the love for books and literature that people have had over a period of time, that sadly now, according to them, is waning. The group of intellectuals who have always graced the Pak Tea House area with their presence, adds to the Bazaar’s literary backdrop.
Pak Tea House, Lahore
The most interesting facet of the bazaar, however, is that one can find the most unusual of books here. If it is your lucky day, you might find a 19th century published version of a Shakespeare play that belonged to an English family. There is a vast variety of collections here, and you will be able to find very old books and magazines, banned books, pirated books, original books, new books, just name it! Preparing for a CSS exam or just wanting to know what was popular in Pakistan in the 1970s, you can find it in the magazines of the Sunday Book Bazaar.
A book stall on the road side
The most fascinating aspect of this place is finding very old books in the Anarkali Bazaar, because of its nostalgia. One is transported to a period when one wasn’t even born. Anyone who is interested in history or even microhistory will be most fascinated by sifting through the books to find a handwritten note, a book dedication penned with affection, perhaps an old issue date from a school library, a bored doodle by someone, a fallen-out test paper solved by a stranger who once was a student, and crusty pages marked by the passing of time. All of these things tell a story of a time long gone.
What’s even more fascinating is that one can spend a perfect Sunday strolling through Anarkali and its vicinity because of the famous food spots located there, tracing an excellent itinerary for your Sunday cultural adventures in Lahore. Adjacent to the Book Bazaar, Hall Road hosts the famous Waqas Biryani that everyone should try at least once during their stay in Lahore. Waqas Biryani is authentic biryani (although there is a heated debate between Lahoris and Karachiites as to which city is home to more authentic biryani), because Waqas Biryani is a unique blend of spices with rice and roasted chicken added separately, it is what gives Waqas Biryani its edge. It has become a fan-favourite, and what better way to explore the area than walking through the lively narrow streets lined with shops to get a piping hot plate of Biryani.
Outside the famous Waqas Biryani
A perfect way to end the hearty Waqas Biryani lunch would be to grab a dessert in the shape of a cup of Chaman Ice cream, also in the same vicinity. Chaman Ice Cream happens to be Lahore’s favourite ice cream, almost as old as the Sunday Book Bazaar itself (because it began in the 1960s), and has some of the most unique choices for flavor, ranging from peach to pineapple to kulfa. With hefty and generous chunks of fruits, nuts and chocolate chips, two standard scoops of Chaman Ice Cream are a cherry on top for a perfect book-shopping day out in Anarkali.
Chaman Ice Cream at Anarkali Bazar
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