Haveli Nau Nihal Singh — Attraction in Lahore City Tehsil

Prince Nau Nehal Singh was the Sikh ruler of Punjab. He was the son of Maharaja Kharak Singh (the eldest son and heir of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh) and Maharani Chand Kaur. After the demise of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, Kharak Singh became the king but was unable to keep control of the various factions within the kingdom due to the conspiracies and intrigues by Raja Dhiyan Singh. Being convinced by the intriguers Prince Nau Nehal took control of the state himself during the life of his father. The Haveli of Kharak Singh is still seen inside Lahore Fort, which is being used as an archive room by the Archaeology department of Punjab whereas the haveli of Prince Nau Nehal also exists till now and let us move to it now! The Prince built a mansion (Haveli) inside Bhati Gate as the location was close to the Royal Fort. The Haveli was known as Haveli Nau Nehal Singh and still stands as a mark of majesty and splendor of the bygone days. If you ever happen to go inside this haveli you would be welcome by the ringing bells, a colorful vista of fresco work, students in uniform running around, sitting on stairs and reading out loud their lessons, charts on the walls along with black boards chalked with lessons…you must be thinking how all this got into the haveli! Well, at present the haveli of Prince Nau Nehal Singh is serving as Victoria School for Girls. This extravagant Haveli was the private home of the Prince Nau Nehal Singh. The structure is well intact maybe because it remained in use over the passage of time and went through minor repairs. It is far better in condition than the rest of the Havelis in Old Lahore; especially many have been converted into commercial use. You must be thinking how it turned into a school, well, the Haveli was taken over by the British Government when Punjab was annexed in 1849 and converted into the first public school for girls, The Victoria School. Since then the haveli houses this school and the local children study there. The building is so fascinating that it has been used in many films and dramas. Let me take you to the location of this Haveli. It is on the junction of Bhatti and Mori Gates and can be accessed through both gates. A zigzag of narrow streets take you to Bhaiyon ka Medaan (an open square) and there you can see the massive mansion with a stunning façade but slightly damaged with the boards and ugly hanging wires. It is also said that the Bhaiyon ka Medaan was once a garden of this Haveli and the buildings encircling the place were a part of the huge mansion. With the passage of time, division of land and reconstructions only half of the Haveli is left behind today. The buildings we see opposite to the haveli were once a part of this haveli which is full of glamour and decorative patterns. If you are looking for noteworthy and splendid examples of Sikh architecture in Lahore, you would definitely not ignore this Haveli of Nau Nehal Singh. The haveli has more than forty rooms including halls and chambers with most elements of its original ornamentation preserved on the two main elevations and the interior courtyard facades. The haveli like many other havelis of the same era has a basement which is considered haunted and closed for everyone. Rectangular in plan, the Haveli is a fairly large building. Its entrance is on the west side and the façade has been divided into two clear sections, one housing the entrance gate and the other is simple. There might have been some decoration on other area but historians claim that it has been destroyed by the havoc of those times. The entrance façade is decorated with colorful floral designs in fresco along with carved jharokas which have animal and human figures on the pedestal of each. The pedestal of two side jharokas are brilliantly decorated with flower petal deigns. These pedestals are a unique feature of this Haveli and add to the beauty of...

Haveli Nau Nihal Singh of Lahore

The mansion which deprived the Sikh royal family of its entire true lineage

(Written by Awais Hameed)

Haveli Nau Nihal Singh is the most significant royal building of Sikh era in Lahore. It is situated inside old Lahore almost in the middle of Bhati and Mori gates. Maharaja Ranjit Singh built this mansion when his eldest son Kharak Singh, who succeeded Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was blessed with a son in 1821. The baby boy was given the name of Nau Nihal Singh and the mansion was befittingly named after him as it was built to commemorate his birth. It is a rectengular shaped 4 storey building with one basement. There is an open yard in the middle and 40 rooms surround it on different floors. With its westwards face, the structures' entrance is a master piece of Kangra style. The large ‘jharoka balcony’, with magnificent brickwork served as a ‘darshan jharoka’. Images of exotic animals and reptiles on its ceiling and walls reflect the multicultural influences at play in the 1820s. The building which came into being at a moment of happiness proved to be the place of their sad end. Prominent journalist of Lahore's history Majid Shiekh concluded that this mansion deprived the Sikh royal family of its entire true lineage. Following 4 of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's decedents died of unnatural causes inside this establishment:

Kharak Singh He was the eldest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and became Maharaja of the Sikh kingdom after Ranjit Singh's death. He was confided to Haveli Nau Nihal Singh for the treatment of deadly ailment. Kharak Singh passed away on 5th November 1840 at the age of 39. Dr. Martin Honingberger, one of the family doctors of the Sikh royals, wrote later on that 'he was constantly drugged and fed poisoned food.'

Nau Nihal Singh Nau Nihal Singh was only 19 years old when his father, Kharak Singh, died. He was the natural heir to the throne following the protocol of 'eldest son's eldest son.' When he was passing through Roshnai Gate, after his father's funeral, it fell on him. Raja Dhian immediately shifted him to the fort and locked it. He was found dead when his mother, Maharani Chand Kaur, was allowed to see him. Dr. Martin revealed that his head was delibrately smashed later on.

Great-grand Son of Ranjit Singh After losing husband and son on successive days, Maharani Chand Kaur took reign of the empire. She did so by declaring herself custodian of Nau Nihal Singh's soon to be born child. Kharak Singh's step brother tried to claim the throne and started a bloody battle which took life of about 5000 Khalsa army. Soon, Nau Nihal Singh's wife, Maharani Sahib Kaur, gave birth to a dead boy. Maharani Chand Kaur withdrew her claim to throne. It is said that the boy was murdered in the womb by the wet nurse.

Maharani Chand Kaur She was locked inside Haveli Nau Nihal Singh. On June 11, 1842, she was murdered by her servants in a balcony of the same haveli.

Prime Minister Raja Dhian Singh Dogra is believed to had been involved in all these deaths. He was murdered by Sandhawalia brothers, who had also killed Maharaja Sher Singh. The gifting of Kashmir valley to Dhian Singh Dogra's family by the British confirms Dogra's treacherous role in bringing about the end to Sikh rule in Punjab. British snatched Punjab from Sikh rulers in 1849 after the second Anglo-Sikh war at Gujrat. They turned Haveli Nau Nihal Singh into first public school for girls and named it after queen Victoria. It ia running as Government Victoria Girls Higher Secondary...

The Haveli of Nau Nihal Singh is a haveli mansion located in Lahore, Pakistan. Dating from the Sikh era of the mid-19th century, the haveli is considered to be one of the finest examples of Sikh architecture in Lahore  and is the only Sikh-era haveli that preserves its original ornamentation and architecture. The haveli is located within the Walled City of Lahore, and is located near the Mori Gate in the southern half of the walled city. The haveli is also near the Bhatti Gate and Lohari Gate. The haveli was built around 1830 or 1840 for Nau Nihal Singh,[3] by his grandfather and founder of the Sikh Empire, Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The mansion was intended to be a personal residence for Nau Nihal Singh. The haveli has been used, since the British colonial era, to house the Victoria Girls' High School. The base of the haveli is rectangular in shape, with its entrance on the western side. The façade is divided into two sections, with the portion housing the haveli's entryway profusely decorated with frescoes painted in the vivid Kangra style, and the other pierced with numerous windows.

A large jharoka balcony with sculpted brickwork and a small bulbous half dome is above the haveli's entry,  which acted as a Jharoka-e-Darshan from which the Maharaja could view his subjects gathered below.  The jharoka features 5 small arches, and is embellished imagery of winged humans, parrots, and frontally-viewed fish that are carved in a style which displays East Asian influences.  The winged humans resemble both Islamic descriptions of angels, but also reflect influences of the mythical Hindu garuda. The base of the dome is decorated with a serpent-like figure which echoes the Hindu snake god Naga. The Jharoka-e-Darshan is flanked by two smaller jharokas. Each of the haveli's jharokas is decorated with a floral pedestal.

The building has four stories, and a basement level. The fourth level is made of a small room known as Rang Mahal ("Colour palace"), or alternatively as Sheesh Mahal ("Mirror palace"),[6] with large screens that form a space in which to catch breezes.  The remaining floors were built with high ceilings, to exaggerate the height of the structure in order to give the appearance of a citadel, rather than a private residence. The ceilings of the haveli are made of decorated wood inlaid with glass and mirror, as well as sun-motifs in the central portion of the roof. Walls within the haveli are decorated with false arches that each contain a small 18 inch by 18 inch painting, with blues, golds, reds, and oranges dominating the haveli's colour palette. The interior is also decorated with carved wood, brickwork, and floral frescoes.

The haveli features a large 2 storied inner courtyard which was also profusely decorated - the bottom level of which has since been whitewashed. In front of the haveli is a small plaza known as Maydan ka Bhaiyan that was once used as the...