SAHNIAN da MOHALLAH (plus Mian da Mohallah): Pictures by Zahid Mumtaz (mumtaz.zahid@yahoo.com)  SahniaN da Mohalla was once Bhera's largest neighborhood, having hundreds of houses and mansions (Maarris)many of which are now reduced with time as poor remains of their grand originals (khandar bataa rehai hain. imarat azim thi)! It is an old mohalla whose residents of the pre-partition period were mostly owners of agricultural lands, but many of them were also known for their achievements in politics, sciences, arts, and business. Dewan Chaman Lal Sahni served as a member (along with other illustrious sons of Bhera, Sheikh Fazal Elahi Piracha and Sheikh Fazal ul Haq Piracha) of Central Legislative Assembly of India in Delhi. Among the other luminaries from this mohalla were Justice Ram Lal Sahni of the undivided Punjab's High Court in Lahore; Professor Birbal Sahni, a renowned Palaeobotanist (Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany in Lucknow - a national laboratory is named in recognition of his pioneer work), and the parents of the well-known actor, Balraj Sahni, and his brother Professor Bhisham Sahni, a renowned Hindi writer who also used to write short stories in Urdu until about 1950. Kirpa Ram (Sahni) Brothers ran successful General Stores in Rawalpindi and Murree before the partition. They were also the founders of Bhera's Kirpa Ram Anglo-Sanskrit High School for Boys ((popularly known as Arya High School.) |
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