The Walled City Exodus

The drawing room is lavish if not tasteful. “Be careful walking through here, it's a little slippery,” says our host pointing towards the glistening black and silver tiles beneath our feet. “They told us it’s Italian marble, it's the best in the world, but honestly I’ve never quite felt safe walking on it.” Middle-aged, genial, and fussy Mrs Shah* leads us to a drawing room the size of which elicits a cartoonish double-take. 

What it lacks in taste it makes up for in lavishness. 

{The name of the interviewee has been changed on request to maintain anonymity.} 

In the background, the slight buzz of the central air-conditioning confirms why the room is so crisply cool in April. “Sorry about the noise, the air conditioning has been bothering us this year. Of course, back in the old house we never really needed air-conditioning. I still remember spending summers there as a kid and all us cousins would put our charpais in the courtyard and sleep all day. That’s what you’re here to talk about, right? The Mochi Gate house?”

That is indeed. A few years ago, Mrs Shah was the last hold out on selling a 1-kanal property in the middle of Lahore’s Walled City deep inside the Mochi Gate. For context, a kanal inside the walled city is a massive place — a grand old haveli really.