The drive down Mall Road in Lahore, Pakistan, is like one long, live-action postcard. The trees, the Mughal architecture left over from the British Raj, the disorderly motorists, the frazzled traffic wardens: all give the area a buzzing, yet antiquated feel. It’s almost as if Lahore decided to conserve this best part of herself as an ode to life before partition. But I have not come for ambiance. I have come for ice
cream.
Past shops selling glittering party decorations, silver and gold tiaras, cricket bats, plastic toys for children, netted pouches filled with sea-green, azure and multi-colored marbles, local Pakistani sweets, dried fruit, spicy pickles and fresh kebabs, the narrow, claustrophobic streets inside Mochi Gate, one of thirteen historical gates constructed by the Mughals, in Lahore, is dark, dank and alive on a sunny Saturday morning.
On a cloudy weekday this month, sisters, Afshan Ejaz and Noshi Ejaz are putting together a modern-looking clay pot at Shehrezade Alam’s workshop in Lahore. Alam, Pakistan’s acclaimed female potter is not in at the moment, but Afshan (the older of the two) chirpily tells me that she’ll be joining us shortly. The sisters, both trained artists, work together, methodically, precisely, gently. One kneads the clay; the other carves a design on a wet slab.
Through the waiting area, past the main desk, and up the stairs, the SEFAM office (on Waris Road, in Lahore, Pakistan) is in full swing. It’s a huge floor with endless rows of desks. Amidst rolls of fabric in various patterns and hues, young designers are hard at work on their computers. The atmosphere at Pakistan’s leading design house is jovial; there’s loud pop music on and the air is frequently punctuated with bursts of laughter and lots of noisy banter.
LAHORE — It takes us (my photographer and I) a good 20 minutes or so to find his office. The tiny lanes are claustrophobic and busy as we drive past tea-sellers, donkey carts, badly parked cars and motorbikes, printing shops and offices that seem to spill over in a mesh of weekday chaos. We are in Royal Park, in Lahore.
