Mera dil Lahore rehta hai

A love letter to my Pakistani roots

This piece was first published in Redbrick Newspaper via the Travel section in June 2024. There have been slight alterations in this version but you can view the original version of the article here.

For an enhanced reading experience, I suggest you listen to this:

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Dear Lahore,

Your country as a whole is breathtakingly beautiful. From bustling cities to stunning mountains, it is hard not to fall in love with what you have to offer. As a British Pakistani myself, although I have never been, I truly feel a part of my heart has been left with you. Through my dissertation and Creative Writing thesis, I was very grateful to be given the opportunity to research your city , and culture, and find out what inner beauty your city holds including its people as well as its cultural and gastronomic delights.

My ethnicity originates from your province Punjab, specifically from the capital of your country: Lahore. The second largest city of Pakistan and the capital of Punjab. With an array of old architecture, most famously the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort, as well as modern elements such as commercial and industrial areas. Your population currently stands at 14 million but I hope to be one of those people one day.

Your city holds numerous gastronomic treats for its tourists and citizens alike. It is most famously known for its rich food as the city offers an array of choices, from nihari to haleem. For my former thesis, it was really fascinating and exciting to explore the different dishes your city has to offer and write these up in my historical romance novel ‘Ishq E Taqseem’.

One favourite of mine, which I wrote during the first meeting between my main characters Husna and Daniyal, was Gol Gappe. The street food snack consists of a deep fried potato shell which is filled with a savoury mix of finely diced potatoes, onions and chickpeas and often spiced with tamarind sauce, chilli powder and chaat masala. I’m hoping to try it authentically just like they did one day.

Another example of your famous dishes is Halwa Puri, a famous breakfast dish which consists of savoury chickpeas, potato curry, deep fried puris (bread) and halwa (semolina). This dish brings together the elements of the city with its adversity and finishes off with some sweetness. I’ve tried Halwa Puri many times in my birth city Birmingham, when there have been special occasions like Eid or family weddings, but I know it will hit different for sure in Lahore. The street food and curries of Lahore really bring the city together. When I think about my future travels to your city, one thing which I definitely look forward to is the gastronomic treats which will be available to me.

Your city also boasts an array of markets and bazaars where numerous beautiful jewellery pieces and garments are on offer for tourists. This is another thing I loved writing about in my novel: the descriptions of the stunning cultural clothes which are mainly worn around the city. Women usually wear kurtas casually: long, collarless tops or tunics usually paired with shalwars (loose trousers) or churidars (tight pants). Another thing which I heavily wrote about in my thesis was lehengas, defined as a three piece ensemble with the long skirt (the lehenga), a blouse top (the choli) and a scarf draped along with the two (the dupatta).

Another thing I admire is your authentic dramas. If it wasn’t for my curiosity in them, I would’ve never fallen in love with you. It’s been amazing watching an array of actors & actresses in these dramas as their representation is amazing, the issues they touch upon are immensely profound and interesting and their OSTs (original soundtracks) are stunning in ways that I can’t describe. I’m so glad my spark of curiosity brightened when I was a late teenager and these dramas were just the beginning of my love towards my roots.

What Lahore has to offer tourists and citizens alike is wonderful and stunning. Researching the city for my novel was nothing but rewarding.

I cannot wait to visit Lahore itself very soon and to experience all of these things for myself. I just know whatever the city has to offer is everything and more. I’m hoping to try the food authentically just like my characters Husna and Daniyal did one day. I cannot wait to experience and feel your roots soon.

Mera dil Lahore rehta hai (My heart lives in Lahore).

Lots of love,

Halima x

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Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. A little late night post from myself hehe but here’s a little love letter written to my Lahori roots. It’s crazy to think I’ve never visited my motherland since I was a baby (eeeekkk can you believe it!!) but I do truly hope to go one day inshallah and do every single thing that I’ve written in this letter. Anyway, enough yapping! Let me know what you think of this below.

Kisses and hugs,

Halima <3