1. AKAL BUNGA

AKAL BUNGA, lit. the abode of the Timeless One, is the building that houses the Akal Takht in the precincts of the Darbar Sahib at Amritsar. The term is also used sometimes synonymously with Akal Takht. Strictly speaking, while Akal Takht is the institution possessing and exercising the highest religious authority for Sikhs, Akal Bunga is the historical Gurdwara where Akal Takht is located. See AKAL TAKHT and AMRITSAR

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2. ANARKALI

ANARKALI, the oldest Mughal tomb in Lahore, was built between 1605 and 1615 by Emperor Jahangir for his former favourite dancing girl Anarkali. The tomb was surrounded by extensive gardens enclosed within a high protective wall, and several buildings and palaces were erected in the gardens by Mughal princes and nobles. In 1799, Maharaja Ranjit Singh put up his headquarters there while besieging Lahore. Subsequently, he offered Anarkali to his eldest son, the heir apparent Kharak Singh.

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3. BAOLI

BAOLI or bavali is a masonry well with steps leading down to water level. This is perhaps the oldest type of well introduced when man had discovered the existence of subsoil water and also the means to reach it, but had not yet invented mechanical devices to draw water out of it. Before masonry art was developed, baolis must have been only shallow pits with a sloping path down to the water, vertical walls and dented steps confined only to rocky regions.

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4. BUNGAS

BUNGAS The word bunga is derived from the Persian bungah meaning a hospice, or a dwelling place. In the Sikh tradition, the word specifically refers to the dwelling places and mansions which grew up around the Harimandar at Amritsar and at other centres of Sikh pilgrimage. These were primarily the houses built by the conquering sardars and chiefs in Sikh times or by Sikh school men and sectaries. Amritsar housed the largest complex of such buildings.

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5. CASTLE HILL

CASTLE HILL, an 182acre estate in Mussoorie, a hill city in the Himalayas, which was the summer residence for a short period of Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last Sikh sovereign of the Punjab who after the annexation of his dominions was exiled by the British to Fatehgarh, in present day Uttar Pradesh. The entrance to the estate, in Landour Bazaar, is a fortress like construction, with battlements for guards, an iron gateway and a reception room for visitors. The estate, originally known as Woodcraft and Greenmount, was the property of one` G.B. Taylor before it was purchased by the government in 1853 for Maharaja Duleep Singh.

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6. GHARIBDASIAS

GHARIBDAS IAS, followers of` Sant Gharibdas (1717-78), also known as Satsahibias for their peculiar form of greeting which is `Sat Sahib,` i.e. eternally existent (satya) is the Lord (sahib). The founder of the sect, Gharib Das was born in 1717 in the small village Chhudani, in Rohtak district. He got married, had six children four sons and two daughters, and lived a normal worldly life until he came under the influence of Dadupanthis. His sincere and persistent devotion won him many followers who sought initiation from him.

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7. GOBINDGARH

GOBINDGARH FORT, raised in the lime of Maharaja Ranjit Singh on the ruins of an old fortress built at Amritsar by Guj[jar Singh (d. 1788) of the Bharigi clan, was named in honour of Guru Gobind Singh. The Fort took four years, 1805-09, to build. According to Lepel Griffin, Shamir Singh Thethar (d. 1824), one of the army commanders, was entrusted by Maharaja Ranjit Singh with the task of building the Fort. He was also appointed its first qiladar (commandant).The Fort, an imposing structure with a gilded dome, was surrounded by a high wall. It had eight towers.

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8. HARIMANDAR

HARIMANDAR (lit. the House of God; hari = Visnu, or God; mandar = temple, house), Golden Temple to the English speaking world, is the Sikhs` most famous sacred shrine. Also called Sri Darbar Sahib (the Exalted Holy Court), it lies in the heart of the city of Amritsar in the Punjab. The city in fact grew around what initially stood as the temple portal. The present structure could well be described as a golden beauty amid a glittering pool of water.

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9. MUKHLISGARH FORT

MUKHLISGARH FORT on the lower slopes of the Sivalak foothills in Sadhaura parganah of Sirhind sarkar was, established by Mukhlis Khan, a minor chief during the reign of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1628-58). Banda Smgh Bahadur (1670-1716), after the conquest of Sadhaura and Sirhind in 1710 which made him the virtual master of the territories between the Yamuna and the Sutlej as also of the sub mountainous tract up to Gurdaspur and Pathankot made Mukhlisgarh his headquarters renaming the fort Lohgarh (lit. Steel Fort).

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10. QILA GUJJAR SINGH

QILA GUJJAR SINGH, a residential area within the limits of Lahore, was designated a "fort" when in April 1765 the city was parcelled out among the three Bharigi Sardars, Gujjar Singh, Lahina Singh and Sobha Singh. The area outside the walled city of Lahore, about five square miles, towards the Shalamar side, fell to the share of Sardar Gujjar Singh.

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