A chronicler of culture: Syed Kumail Hassan in Lahore’s Old City.
Shahbaz Naqvi
Karachi-born Laraib Asdaf was an undergrad student at the University of Toronto in 2019 when inspiration struck. Enrolled in a History and Political Science degree (with a minor in South Asian studies), it was only fitting that she decided to launch Purana Pakistan on Instagram – a page dedicated to highlighting the country’s layered past. From honouring overlooked national heroes, to highlighting the sights and sounds of a bygone era, Purana Pakistan today stands as one of the largest public archive pages on the social media platform.
“There was a lot that I was learning on a daily basis that made me realize how little I knew about our history,” she earnestly states, “Alongside this, I also found it unfair how often I would hear people criticize Pakistan rather than exploring its positives or even just trying to understand how to better society. I felt like a large reason for this problem was our ignorance and that we don’t tend to take inspiration from our own people. I started reading up about individuals such as Muhammed Ashiq, a former Olympian who passed away as a rickshaw driver in March of 2018. He competed in the Rome and Tokyo Olympics of 1960 and 1964 and never got much recognition for it. There are so many other such individuals who passed away without having their story heard, so I thought that a platform that celebrates such people should exist, and so Purana Pakistan eventually took shape.”
Laraib Asdaf at the Makli Necropolis in Sindh, one of the biggest funerary sites in the world.
Schanze Asdaf
Asdaf, like many others, stand as the new-gen of trailblazing cultural chroniclers who don’t just nurture a deep-seated desire to re-discovering their roots, but are also inspired to hold the Pakistani identity up against the light, examine it for what it was, how it has evolved and how it’s taking shape in present times.
“I come from a family that is quite spread out globally, [but] my father was very particular about maintaining his ethnic roots, which is why my sisters and I are incredibly connected to Pakistan. We never had an identity crisis, and since we grew up with a mainly diasporic family, we knew what a lack of a sense of an ethnic identity can ensue. We were very proud of the fact that we were brought up in Pakistan,” Asdaf states, who currently operates Purana Pakistan from Toronto, where she’s currently based.
A media professional based in Lahore, Syed Kumail Hassan launched his Instagram page in 2017. At the time, Hassan laughingly reveals that he’d bribe his friends to accompany him to the Old City so that he could capture Lahore’s historical monuments and sites.
Perhaps one of his most popular videos is The Real Heera Mandi of Lahore (which received 556,000 hits on Instagram and 18,000 views on YouTube), which captures the essence of a neighbourhood in Lahore’s Walled City which was once known for its musicians, dancers and performers during the Mughal era. Much later however, during the British occupation, Heera Mandi was known as the city’s ‘red light district.’
Hassan’s video came as a response to the distorted depiction of the neighbourhood in the 2024 Netflix series, Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar by the Indian filmmaker, Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
While Hassan works a 9-5 day job for a local news channel’s digital platform, his heart lies in film and photography.
“Lahore is very magical for me,” he states, “There’s a lot of exceptional work being done here by people with a passion for culture and history. The best part is that everyone can relate to our content in different ways. My videos are mainly focused on visuals and not commentary, but I do believe they resonate with my followers, especially those across the border who often message me to tell me that they’d love to visit Pakistan. I’ve noticed there’s a lot of genuine interest from India.”
Umair Hashmi, the founder of Lahorenamah.
Muzamil Saleem
Like his peers, Umair Hashmi, felt compelled to begin documenting Lahore after he returned to the city – after spending a decade in the United Kingdom – in 2020.
Launching his Instagram page, Lahorenamah, precisely one year after his arrival back to his homeland, Hashmi’s page has evolved into serious and mindful storytelling which will go a long way in preserving the stories of individuals and communities that encompass Pakistani society.
Currently running the platform with his wife and a small team of creatives, Hashmi reveals that he was first exposed to a pre-partition structure during his childhood: an 1885-built family haveli (located in Gujranwala, Punjab).
“I still remember family events at the haveli and its Sikh architecture like it was yesterday. I had a very strong association with it since I was very young,” he states.
However, the haveli has since (almost) fallen to ruin. As Hashmi speaks, one can hear a hint of melancholic nostalgia in his voice. “It became a deep part of my conscience – I wanted to save it…the haveli was like a family heirloom.”
Hence, through Lahorenamah, Hashmi is doing his bit to ‘save’ and salvage Lahore’s stories and heritage in whatever capacity he can. “The city has so much to tell us, really there’s so much to dig – still!”
Ghazi Taimoor with a group of attendees during a Lahore Ka Ravi city walk.
Lahore Ka Ravi Team
Ghazi Taimoor, the founder of Lahore Ka Ravi – a platform which conducts heritage walks in Lahore – echoes Hashmi’s sentiments. While working as a financial analyst in London, something felt amiss for Taimoor.
After completing a graduate degree in Education Policy from the United States, he finally moved back to his birth city in 2021. It was around that time that Taimoor began assimilating back into life in Lahore.
“When I moved back, I’d sit on a bike with two of my close friends, Fawad and Hashir, and roam around Lahore, exploring the city and talking to people. The amount of stories we heard…that’s the thing about people here, you ask them for one story and they’ll tell you ten!”
That’s when the idea for Lahore Ka Ravi began to take shape. Currently spearheading a series of “identity walks,” Taimoor is able to marry his love for Lahore with education, enabling attendees to “engage with Lahore in a more authentic way.”
Ghazi Taimoor
Fawad Kazmi
“During our walks we often mention that when you explore and engage with the city, you’ll realize that you’re not just looking outward, but inward. By exploring Lahore, you find yourself – that’s one of the key takeaways that we share.”
Until recently, Pakistani content creators primarily focused on using visuals to share unique facets of the country. However, there has been a growing trend of combining earnest and heartfelt storytelling with an educational bent. Other noteworthy creators such as Saad Zahid of Vlogumentary100, and Huzaifa Nazim of History by Huzaifa, are changing the game of content creation and cultural chronicling in Pakistan.
At the end of the day, there’s a lot of fascinating work out there, nudging audiences to get out of their comfort zones, lace up their sneakers and re-discover – and hopefully fall in love – with their cities all over again.
