10.Visit to a Historical Place

 10.Visit to a Historical Place

        Visit to a historical place is always very useful and valuable for us. It is a great source of reminding us of our glorious past and giving us stimulus to follow in the footsteps of our great ancestors and do great deeds. It increases our knowledge and widens our vision as it is a great source of knowledge, information, instruction and education and moulding our characters. There are many historical places in Pakistan. These places give us a glimpse into the past and tell us of the different stages of evolution of our culture.

On a holiday in summer, our class decided to spend a day at some historical place. As, most of us had not visited the tomb of Jehangir, it was unanimously decided to visit that place. The very next morning,  we gathered at the railway station and started to Shahidra.  After the journey of an hour, we reached there at 10 am. So, now the tomb was not in the imagination but its magnificent boundary wall was visible to us from a distance. A big wooden gate with arches was open for visitors.

The sky was overcast but not heavily. It was an ideal day for visit. A gust of cool fresh air greeted us as we entered the main gate. A great number of people were also there. A large number of children were running about here and there shouting and laughing holding multi-colored balloons in their hands.

The tomb is situated near the bank of the River Ravi six Kilometers from Lahore. It has four beautiful minarets which are tall enough to be discerned from a distance. The Mausoleum is situated in the park and is surrounded by a high wall. The park is so beautiful that its grandeur cannot be expressed in words. The beautiful trees especially cypress and mango, the well-kept lawns, the typical Mughal fountains, the flower-beds and the grassy lawns so different from the modern ones, cast a spell over the visitors. Ali was tongue tied with delight and admiration as he had not seen anything like this in his life.

After visiting all this, we reached the tomb. It is built on an elevated terrace. But before entering the tomb, we climbed up a tall minaret and saw the city of Lahore lay as one mass of different colors of different shades and different heights. It seemed that the River Ravi was flowing right under our feet and the valley of the river in its broadness and bareness was picturesque indeed. We enjoyed a lot and came down the tower. Then we took off our shoes and walked into the Mausoleum itself. The most surprising and aw-inspiring thing was the freshness and grandeur of the tomb which had been built more than three hundred years before. Jehangir, the great Mughal emperor of India, is lying buried all alone in the central room. Its inner scene is very bewitching and captivating. It is built of coloured bricks and marble with coloured designs. A short life history of the great Mughal Emperor is carved on the walls. At a memorable place like this, fancy and imagination could not be checked to run riot. It proved more  a study tour than a visit for us. It added to our knowledge a great.

The serenity of the place affected us strangely. The idea of man's journey from lap to grave made us realize that worldly glory is transient and mortal; only deeds are remembered forever. At last, the thoughts of getting home to have mid-day meal forced us to leave the place and reach home.