Sci.Int.

(Lahore),27(5),4905-4915,2015 ISSN 1013-5316; CODEN: SINTE 8 4905

KHEM BEDI SINGH HAVELI AT KALLAR SAYEDAN PAKISTAN ART,

ARCHITECTURE, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
BUILDING
Samina Saleem
Government Post Graduate College for Women Satellite Town Rawalpindi
(Sub Campus of University of Gujrat)
Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad
[email protected]
ABSTRACT: This research paper is a kind of a case study of a residential building almost 200 years old, which has not been
documented. This haveli is significant because it has served as a symbol of Inter faith harmony and love and tolerance for
other religions. These kinds of buildings were actually residential complexes that were not only used for residential purpose,
but they had some kind of religious or social significance in Subcontinent. These are commonly known as Havelies, a Sanskrit
word for a Residential palace like structure for the Elite of the area. It has been discussed in detail that these kinds of buildings
(Havelies) commonly had other structures attached to the residence in the same boundary, like stables, guard rooms, worship
areas and sometimes graveyards. This specific Haveli or Mansion is so rich and fascinating in its architectural style and art of
Mural painting that it not only tells us about the religious stories from Hindu Epics, but also tells us stories of Sikh Gurus and
stories from the life of the Maharajas (kings) of India. The woodwork in the building is also very intricate especially doors and
windows are carved with floral and geometrical designs. The architectural style used in this Havelies is a combination of
Hindu and Mughal building style. The technique used in Murals is Fresco. The general condition is deteriorating. The main
objective to document this Haveli is to take the attention of the authorities for the restoration and preservation of such
buildings, which are dying or vanishing with the passage of time. This building is commonly known as Bedi Mehal (Bedi
Palace), which has been a place of social and religious gathering and was used as a center for the Sikh people of the area of
Kaller Sayedan at the time of partition.

Keywords: Undocumented building, history of Bedi family, syncretism in religions, art and architecture

1. INTRODUCTION: Before partition of the subcontinent, along with the Hindus,

This research is a case study of Khem Bedi Singh Haveli at Muslims, Jains, Buddhists, another religious and political
Kallar Sayedan. It is important to mention here that the area community that established in this area is Sikh Community.
of Rawalpindi is overwhelmingly filled with Hindu Sikh Before the division of Subcontinent there was a lot of
Havelies and buildings. But the dissertation is mainly focused syncretism in different religions of this area. The reason for
on the documentation of architecture of Khem Bedi Singh this syncretism was the Culture. The Cultural amalgamation
haveli (commonly known as Bedi Mehal, Bedi palace). with religion has been a source of influence for each religion
During this research it was revealed that this place has always {1}.
been having some religious and social significance. Haveli This dissertation will open a window to the past, that how the
was owned by Bedi family, which is a Sikh family of owners of this haveli not only respected their own beliefs, but
religious importance and they also had prominent positions in beliefs of other religions. May be that is the main reason that
the Government organization. They used this building for none of the Sikhs have been reported killed in the area of
residential as well as a religious and social purpose. During Kallar Sayedan, but all the residents were transferred to
partition of India and Pakistan, Khem Bedi Singh Haveli has Indian side safely. Since partition of India and Pakistan is
been used as a safe place for the Sikhs of Kaller Sayedan. considered one of the greatest uprooting in the history. It was
After Independence of Pakistan in 1947, this Haveli was not monitored by any authority. This is not less than a miracle
handed over to Government High School for boys Kaller that all the residents undamaged reached their destination.
Sayedan. It is very regretful that this important building has 2. INTRODUCTION TO THE BUILDING:
not been documented in detail, and never caught the eye of The Haveli of Khem Bedi Singh at Kallar Sayedan is a great
the authorities like Archaeology department or ministry of contribution of the Bedi family. Their religious affiliation
Culture, so that they could work for the restoration and said to be the 5th or 7thdecendents of Guru Nanak the religious
preservation of this important building. The result is that the leader of Sikhs. Master Karamat Husain, who is an author of
Haveli has never been documented (except for a survey many books about Kaller Sayedan named as Tarikh-i-Kallar
report published in TIAC journal 2010.) Now the building is Sayedan (History of Kaller Sayedan) in five Volumes.
at the verge of destruction and this research and He has been kind enough to provide us with five of his books
documentation might catch the attention of the authorities for and of course no match to the oral information that he had
the restoration of the remaining parts of the architecture and about this region. It is said that during the partition of India
Art of this building. It can be noticed by visiting this building and Pakistan when Sikhs were moving from the area of
frequently in weeks or days the mural paintings are chipping Kallar Sayedan all the Sikhs of this area took refuge in this
of the walls of the Haveli. This documentation will not only Haveli {2}. Apart from Architectural details this mansion has
tell us about the condition of the Haveli but it will also guide great treasures of aesthetic significance, especially Mural
us about the beliefs and motivation behind construction of paintings.
this building.
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According to Professor Ahmad Hassan Dani, if excavation 3.1. Arrival of Sikhs in Pakistan:
was carried on along these two rivers theremight not be any Within half a century of their tenth Gurus death, Sikhs
land without the signs of any old civilization. He believed became a major political force and established a state of their
that this whole area is veryrich archaeologically. own. In 1799 Ranjit Singh, the 19 year old leader of Khalsa
The construction of Capital started in 1962 and it was band seized powerfully in the city of Lahore and was
completely shifted in 1968. proclaimed Maharaja two years later. Golden Temple is
regarded as the holiest shrines by the Sikhs and also the most
important Pilgrimage center {7}.
4. BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF KALLAR SAYEDAN:
Kaller Sayeda became seventh Tahsil of Rawalpindi in 2004,
before that it was a part of Kahuta Tahsil. Nearby cities are
Gujar Khan and Kahuta. Its population is 1 Million 90
thousand people. Literacy rate in Kaller Sayedan is 62%.
Kaller Sayedan is 45 kilo meters from Rawalpindi. A road
leads to Kaller Sayedan from Rawat, which is 20 KM from
Rawalpindi.

Fig.1. courtyard with murals

So these two cities became twin cities, Islamabad with its
Natural beauty and Rawalpindi with its walled beauty. The
ancient city of Taxila Taksha Shila is only 35 kilo meters
from Rawalpindi. The excavation was conducted by Sir John
Marshal from 1913-34 {3}.
Gakkhars ruled the area for a long time. Even Jahangir
mentioned in his Tuzk-i- Jahangiri that Gakkhars had animal
instinct to fight with each other. Jahangir tried to stop them
but failed. Finally Sikhs, Malakha Singh tried hard to
develop this city and succeeded by, silently handed over to
British {4}
3. INTRODUCTION TO SIKH RELIGION:
Sikhism is the religion which started in Subcontinent, Punjab
in 1500s. It is considered the fifth largest religion of the
world. The term Sikh is from Sisya meaning disciple or Fig.2. Google map of Kallar Sayedan
learner. Guru Nanak is the founder of this religion. Guru
Before moving on to the main Case study, It will be
Nanaks family was upper caste Hindus, but he was against
appropriate to discuss the relevance of this name
Hindu rituals from the very beginning. Guru Nanak believed
The name Kaller Sayedan was given to this place because
in Compassion, contentment and truth. The stories of the life
the Sayed families settled here, almost twelve hundred years
of their Guru are important for the Sikhs as stories of the
ago. The first Sayed family settled here was the family of
Holy Prophet PBUH are important for Muslims {5}. (Guru
Sayed Ghulam Shah, his ancestor Mir Bader Ali Shah and his
Nanak the religious leader or apostle of Sikhs was born in
family. In 2005 it was their 12th generation who was settled
Nankana Sahaib in the center of West Pakistan. Like all other
here. Those days Sikhs were working on most influential
religions that arose in Subcontinent, Sikhism was also a
positions, e.g. Guru Baksh Sigh Bedi was an honorary
product of the reaction against the dominant Brahmanism and
Magistrate. Sadaat family, who belonged to the Shia sect, (of
its rigid cast system. People, who supported Sikh religion and
Islam) was also respected in Kaller. The eminent Sayed
worked for its growth, their minds were influenced by the
personality in Kaller was Sayed Shah, who was the brother of
impact of Islam in subcontinent. The work of Muslim Sufi
Sayed Ghulam Jaffer Shah. Sayeds were educated people
Saints is worth mentioning here because it became a major
and they became the rulers of this area in 1151 by Mughal
source of inclusion of the non- Muslims in their group. So to
emperor Alamgir.
some extent we can say that Sikhism was more influenced by
Another belief about the name is that Kaller was a waste land
the Muslim theology of equality of mankind {6}.
and all the wells of the land had Khaara Pani (a term used for
Guru Nanaks family was Hindus of the Bedi cast. He was
rough waters). The name Kaller became from the term
born on 15th April 1469 in Punjab and died in 1539. He got
Kharaa. The wells of Kaller Sayedan still have rough water.
married at the age of 12. The sacred scripture, the Adi
There is a well in Kaller Sayedan that is thousand years old
Garanth or Guru Garanth was compiled in 1604. In 1699 the
(Oral information by the local Mr Sallahuddin).
10th Guru Gobind Singh turned a large section of his
Baba Khem Singh Bedi one of the founders of the Singh
followers into a casteless community called KHALSA or
Sabha movement, was born on 21 February 1832 at Kallar
Pure. Sikhs had ten Gurus and the last Guru abolished the
Syedan, District Rawalpindi. He was a direct descendant, in
Guru system and asked the disciples to follow the sacred
the thirteenth place, of Guru Nanak.
book of Guru Garanth Sahaib.

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richest in the area and religiously sound, they were respected
amongst Sikhs, like Sayeds are respected in Muslims
This Haveli played a great role in the protection of non-
Muslim population of Kaller Sayedan during the riots started
in 1947 from the night of 8th and 9thMarch 1947.
4.1. Original Architecture of Khem Bedi Singh Haveli:
After 1947, some of these rooms of the haveli were occupied
by revenue and education department. One of these rooms
was used as the office of the Head Master. These lined rooms
are at the verge of destruction due to the negligence of the
management but are still used by the school teachers.

Fig.3. Portrait of Khem Bedi Singh

On the annexation of the Punjab to the British dominions in
1849, 14 of these villages were resumed by the new
government. During the uprising of 1857, Baba Khem Singh Fig.4. court rooms
assisted the British in quelling a local revolt in Gugera
district. He personally took part in a number of skirmishes, Adjacent to these rooms is a famous well of the Haveli which
proving himself an excellent marksman with gun and rifle. was the only source of providing water.
While accompanying extra Assistant Commissioner Berkeley Opposite to this Court yard at the extreme Western side was a
on a drive to reopen communications with Multan, Khem big stable, which is not existed now. According to Mr.
Singh distinguished himself in a cavalry charge on 21 Karamat Husain a senior school teacher who is retired now
September 1857. The following day he barely escaped death and running his own private school. He told I was studying
in an ambush in which Berkeley was killed. The Government in class nine at that time has witnessed this stable which was
of India bestowed on him a khill'at or robe of honour of the Well equipped with all kind of horses, dogs of expensive
value of 1,000 rupees and a double barreled rifle. His jagirs breeds and all
were enhanced from time to time and, towards the end of his of animals were kept there. It is also told by him that Khem
life, his possessions in land in Montgomery district alone Bedi Singh was very fond of animals. Mostly Muslims were
amounted to 28,272 acres. He was appointed a magistrate in employed to take care of the stable animals, and they were
1877 and an honorary munsif in 1878. He was made handsomely paid. There is an iron pillar in the middle of the
Companion of the Indian Empire (C.I.E.) in 1879, was old Haveli building and the new school building near the
nominated to the Viceroy's Legislative Council in 1893, and grave of Hotay Shah. This Pillar is said to be 250 years old.
when the Indian council Act was extended to the Punjab in The grave of Hotay Shah is known as Hotay Shah kaa takyaa
1897, he was among the first non-official members (Final living place of the dead).
nominated to the Punjab legislature. He was knighted in 1898 4.2 Grave of Hotay Shah:
{8}. In the middle of the old Haveli building and the new school
According to Professor Karamat Hussain, he was born in building is a bed shaped platform which is controversial now.
1838, whereas according to some Inter Net sources his date Master Kramat Husain reported that he has been hearing from
of birth is 1832. The construction of the haveli started in his ancestors that this is the grave of a Sufi Saint Hotay Shah.
1840. Most of the construction work was completed by Khem It is also said that this Sufi Saint was generally forgotten by
Bedi Singh, but since this was a large project, it was Muslims, but Bedi family took care of him. The prevailing
continued by Guru Baksh Singh Bedi. Khem Singh Bedi died tradition of syncretism in religion before partition through
in 1904. In the record of revenue Department there is title of these Saints in Subcontinent, Hotay Shah was buried by Sikhs
Court of Wards, Sir Raja Guru Baksh Singh. This title was by all religious fervor of Muslims. It is also a strong belief of
awarded to him from the British government in 1914 in the locals that it was because of the blessings of this Saint
reward to his services in First World War. Bedi family was an that no one from the non- Muslim population was killed at
influential family of India so British used them as man the time of partition in 1947. All the Sikhs of Kaller Sayedan
Power, and was known to be one of the religious families of were safely transferred to the Sikh majority population area
India. Being loyal to the British they were rewarded a lot {9}. on Indian side without any killing which is nothing less than
This strengthened their financial position in Kaller Sayedan, a miracle.
and they owned a big land in the area. Because of being the

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wood extensively for the doors windows and balconies but
also have painted pictures on the wall of most of the rooms.
These Fresco paintings depict two kinds of subjects religious
and secular, and at many places they are mixed with each
other. These kind of paintings are very common in the
buildings of 18th and 19th century specially palaces and
Havelies. That is why the same kind of decoration can be
seen in some other important Sikh buildings in Punjab e.g.
Haveli of Hari Singh Hawli in Gujranwala, Saman Burj in
Wazirabad, the residence of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, Haveli
of Nounehal Singh at Lahore and many other Sikh buildings.
5. MATERIAL, CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
AND GROUND FLOOR PLAN OF THE HAVELI
KHEM BEDI SINGH:
The original complex of Khem Bedi Singh haveli had many
other structures included in the area inside the boundary wall.
But now only the residential place exists in its original
condition and is deteriorating with the passage of time. The
main purpose of research is to study and document the art and
Fig. 5. Iron pillar architecture of the building, which is demolishing due to very
little or no work of restoration.
A resident of Kallar took a copy of that script while to
5.1. Material and construction techniques:
England and got it translated by a Gurumukhi expert.
It is said by the locals that in construction of this building the
According to him this Gurumukhi script Means that Bhai
best massons from Attack and Rawalpindi participated.
Singh of Bhatiyan Kalan made Palang Sahaib (Mister) walk
Master Karamat Husain (renowned person of Kaller Sayedan)
(tehalkarai) this means in Gurumukhi to decorate something.
actually had a chance of meeting a few people who
Another Sufi
participated in the construction of the building. They told that
the workers were so many that some of them only had a
chance to pick up just one stone for the whole day. One
Masson sometimes just had a chance to fix only a few stones
in the wall. This not only tells about the financial well- being
of the owner but also tells about the care that was taken in the
construction of the building.
Stone is the prime material used for the construction of haveli
acquired from the local areas. The building is constructed in
Ashlar masonry, in which stones are cut into shape of bricks.
The structure of this building resembles a lot to the Muslim
and Hindu buildings. If we look at the plaster on the walls it
Fig.6. grave of Hotay Shah looks like that building is really around 200 years old,
however there is a controversy about the actual date of
Saint has also been mentioned by the locals of the construction. Major material used in the building is Stone
area lived almost a 100 meters away from Bedi Mehal she which was acquired from the local quarries. The walls are
was a lady known as Mai Faqirni. This also proves that the plastered with lime and Jute fiber, which is a very strong
area of subcontinent is famous of these Sufi Saints, who had binding material for the stone. That is the reason for the
Murids or devotees from all kinds of religious and social survival of this building without any restoration work till
background, same is true for this lady Sufia (lady saint), who about 200 years. Stone was the chief material of construction,
had many devotees from Sikh and Muslim community. After which was cut with great mastery in shape of bricks (Ashlar
her death the body was brought to Bedi Mehal, respectful Masonry). The plaster or binding material was prepared by
burial of this Lady Saint. People from all walks of life who Jute Fibers and Lime powder.
were devotees of this Sofia (lady saint) could come for the This material is much stronger then Cement but it
Didar (Visual experience) of their piir. took a lot of effort in preparing this binder and plaster for
In this respect we can say that Bedi Mehal was also used for stone bricks. The size of stone brick is 4x 12x 3, but the size
social activities of the time. All the buildings including Stable of bricks varies at different places. The over- all construction
and gardens have not even a single mark of their existence in work of the haveli started by the father of Khem Bedi Singh
the compound of the Khem Bedi Singh Haveli now. This and was carried on by Khem Bedi himself. It almost
reveals the great heritage and historical loss. continued for about 50 to 60 years with minor additions to the
The ruins of this Haveli tell us that this must have been a building.
beautiful building, generally a mixture of Hindu and Muslim
style of architecture. This residential cum religious building
is heavily decorated from inside. They have not only used the
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The width of the Gate is 5. 5 feet and the height is 7. 5 feet
made of wood. The wood used in haveli is Shisham. The
wooden door is intricately carved and inlaid by star shaped
nail like metal knobs to join the carved parts with the door
6. INNER AREA DESCRIPTION OF FIRST
COURTYARD AND ROOMS:
After entering from the gate one enters in a guard room. This
small room is 8 feet wide 12 feet long and its height is 10
feet. It has a less decorated simple arched window and a
rectangular door on the left, which takes us to the court Yard.
Entering from the simple door on the right. There is an arched
Fig. 7. Stone bricked wall stair case going up turning to the right is another guard room,
on top of the lower guard Room. The size of this room is 8.5
5.2. Plan of the existing Haveli:
feet and length is 23.6 feet. There are four arched windows,
This building is rectangular in plan and divided into two
portions entered by two different doors. First
portion has rooms on three sides and the fourth or Eastern
side has a wooden gate to enter the building. The first portion
must have been used for social and religious activities
because it has an enormous assembly hall on northern side
and there is line of 3 rooms on southern side might have been
used to accommodate the guests who were there to participate
in the event. The second portion appears to be used for
residential purpose and also social and religious activities in
which women also participated either from the upper galleries
or from the balconies and windows. This building has five
stories including basements (will be discussed at the end) and
the upper most gallery. There are stairs going up wards to
each story at all the four corners. At the turn of each story
there is a bath room.
All the outer wall or boundary walls of haveli are 3 feet wide,
but inner walls are 18 inches wide. The first rectangular
portion of the ground floor serves as citadel also, because the
2nd entrance to the inner square in plan building is also
enormous. This entrance is very high because of the inner
construction that it separates the inner building from the
rectangular outer building.

Fig. 9. First entrance door

two on the longer side and one each on smaller sides, may be
used for the guards. There is a locker or safe like cupboard on
the fourth wall.
6.1. Assebmly or event hall:
Across the courtyard is a big rectangular Hall that has been
used as an assembly or meeting hall at the time of Baba
Khem Bedi Singh. According to the locals this Hall used to
be a piece of artistic decoration. Assemby hall was
ornamented with abig shandlier in the middle, even after
1947, when the family of Khem Bedi Singh vacated this
building, it was auctioned later. While looking at the hall
Fig.8. ground floor plan
from the court yard we can see that there is a bigwooden
There are over all 15 rooms in the first rectangular portion of Jharoka with a half dome at the top ornamented with lotus
the ground floor. Small room under the stair case is also petals.
included in this.

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semi- circular Arch. The rectangular part is 36 feet wide
whereas the partition of the hall is 7 feet wide. This hall is
divided from the width by three big arches, which had a
basement that has all fallen down.
In the first court yard after the guard room on the left wall or
the Western side opposite to the 2nd entrance gate with the
portrait of Khem Singh Bedi, there are five multi foiled
Niches. These niches may be used for oil lamps. Niches have
been a tradition of Subcontinent in all religious buildings in
particular and residential buildings in general had small or
big niches.

fig. 10. Jharoka of the event hall

The
Jharoka is 25 feet high and almost 6 to 7 feet wide . Jharoka
is in quite destroyed condition. with the passage of time, but
wood work must have been a master piece of carving.The
half dome has five patelled floral motive all around it. The
rectangular Jali in the arches is filled with star shaped
geomatric paterns. This Jharoka is a master piece in itself. Fig. 12. Second entrance gate
There are two arched doors on both sides with metalic arched
covering to save it from rain water. On the Eastern side of the first court yard there is another
Sikh architecture has a combination of Muslim and Hindu carved door with a big multi foiled arch that takes us to the
architectrul styles. The same kind of influence can be noticed gallery or the next part of the building. The windows are also
in the decoration style. These Islamic patterns on the top of a piece of masterly carved wood work, small arched
Jharoka arches prove that the Sikhs were interested in windows.
adapting any good element There is a ventilator on top of These windows are with thin attached columns in between. In
this Jharoka. On the right side is the entrence door leading to the middle of this multi foiled arched entrance gate there is a
the 2nd courtyard, which is also a masterpiece of carving. sculptured and painted portrait. It is said to be the portrait of
from others that can make their buildings more atractive. Baba Khem Singh Bedi himself painted like a sun god.

Fig.11. detail of jharoka

In earlier times this big hall was very well decorated with a Fig. 13. Portrait of Khem Bedi Singh
chandelier in the center, which was sold to a rich person of Entering to the inner portion, we enter to a veranda going all
that time in only 500 hundred rupees in an auction. 500 around to the court yard with murals, and rooms around the
rupees meant a lot in 1948. The big rectangular hall is divided veranda. There are all together 20 rooms in the 2 nd courtyard.
both length and width wise in to two separate rooms by a big Coming in the veranda, if we turn left is the small room with

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the stair case up and a small entrance with the stairs going
down wards to the basement.
Coming back again to the entrance to this veranda going right
there are two rooms one of them must be a basement which is
totally destroyed,

Fig.14. Aisle view Fig. 16. Hexagonal jali

The fig 14 showing aisle reveals the deteriorating condition
This Veranda is 60 feet long on all sides of the arched court of the building. The bad condition of the roof and seepage is
yard in the middle with murals. The right and Standing in damaging the wood work of the haveli, and we can also see
front of the entrance if we look up there are two balconies on the Fresco paintings are also demolishing with the passage of
both right and left side on the 1st Floor. These are very finely time.
carved wooden balconies, still in good condition.

Fig. 17. Fresco of the courtyard

Fig. 15.balcony

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Fig. 20. Room with wooden partition

This room is divided with a wooden arched partition, which

has intricate carving of floral and geometrical motives. This
Fig. 18. Fresco of courtyard
is the last room on eastern wall. To go to the rooms on the
7. DESCRIPTION OF 1ST FLOOR, PLAN, ART AND Northern side one has to get down the stairs and then rise
ARCHITECTURE: another stair case in the North eastern corner. This area or the
As discussed earlier, 1st floor building is constructed mostly rooms on the Northern side seem to be specially fixed for the
on a square plan. There are only few rooms built above the females only, because we find many paintings of females
first portion of the ground floor, which is rectangular in plan. may be from the families of the religious people or Bedi
7.1. Plan and description of first floor: family itself. The first room is a small room which is 11 x11
and height is 10 feet. The room is filled with frescos. But
other small connected rooms are filled with geometrical and
floral designs. This kind of wall painting can be seen in many
Sikh buildings and also in all rooms of this haveli and in the
courtyard murals. It seems that the owners of this haveli had
love for painted walls, because this kind of patterns has been
used in all the frescos of the haveli as back ground.

Fig.
19.first floor plan

The first floor consists of 20 rooms on three sides, connected

with each other with doors. Western side only has two small
rooms, because of the ground floor hall has double height.
These two small rooms have windows opening in the ground
floor hall. As it can be clearly seen in figure 7.1, the plan of
the 1st floor, that it is constructed only on structure of the 2nd
part of the ground floor, there for first floor is square in plan.
Only two guard rooms are constructed on 1st floor of the first
rectangular portion. The guard room on the left of main
entrance is 7.6 feet wide and 13.4 feet long. The other guard
room above the main entrance is 8 feet wide 12 feet long and
its height is 10 feet.
7.2. Right side from the stairs on 1st Floor:
When we turn to the right from the stairs there is a door
leading to a room. The length of this room is 24.8 feet, width Fig. 21. Women with children
is 11.3 feet and the height is 10 feet.

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The main room on the eastern side of the 2 nd floor is the one
with three steps. This room has a beautiful balcony at the
back, which is decorated with perforated Jali and with
beautiful geometric designs. But these Jalies, which are badly
destroyed now but their design can still be seen in the figure
8.4. The owner of this haveli might have been enjoying the
view of Kaller Sayeda from this balcony at the back of his
room. The door leading to this balcony is very delicately built
with attached pillars supporting the door, which can be seen
in the figure 24.

Fig. 22. Walls with designs

These two stories ground floor and first floor are very rich as
far as the mural paintings are concerned, but 2nd and 3rd floor
are simple. It seems that 2nd floor was used particularly for
residential purpose.
8. DESCRIPTION OF 2ND FLOOR, 3RD FLOOR
AND BASEMENT:
8.1. Description of 2nd floor:
There are four stair cases on all the four sides of the building
that take us to the 2nd floor. Rising 14 stairs from the southern Fig. 24. Balcony from first courtyard
side reached the 2nd floor of the haveli. Coming out from the The remains of the balcony and the frontal wall prove that it
stairs room, turning to the left on western side are 5 rooms, was carefully designed.
two small rooms on both sides and a bigger one in the The three rectangular areas in the balcony have different
middle. Almost each side ends up with a stair room and small designs of Jali. The middle one has diamond shape and
bath room that might be constructed in a small place under checkered, the right Jali has octagonal (eight sided) circular
the staircase. Jali, which is in original condition. But the left side Jali is all
There is only one room constructed on the 2 nd floor on the broken.
frontal side of the building that is on the main event hall of The pillars now in semi defaced condition have a beautiful
the first courtyard, which is a guard room. These kind of open decorated Corinthian capital, with inverted leaf motive. Shaft
to sky areas were used by the residents for sleeping in has grooves and projections. There are two pillars on both
summer. sides of each door and window of the balcony.

Fig. 23. Second floor plan

The protecting small wall for the central courtyard is made of
bricks. Apparently there are hardly any signs of mural
paintings on this floor. However it can be seen under the Fig. 25. Pillars of balcony
layer of white wash at some places that there might be some
paintings on these walls.

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Plan of the Third floor:

Fig. 26. Third floor plan

Third floor has four guard rooms or watch towers in four

corners of the building. The boundary wall of the third or top
floor has small turrets at different intervals. There is a narrow Fig. 28. View of guard room and parapet wall
stair case going up on the roof top from eastern side, which is The walls are almost 6 feet high. The parapet walls of this
2.5 feet wide. On the northern side there are stairs going up floor are simple and smooth with lime plaster. Parapet wall is
and stairs going down, with small interrupted by alcoves (niches Recessions in the walls). There
watch tower. The size of this room is 12 x 8.4 feet. is symmetry in the arrangement of alcove and turret. Three
On the south western side there is a guard room or watch alcoves and one turret are arranged in the parapet walls of the
tower and there is a small toilet and stairs. Every guard room 3rd floor. All the niches are not closed but some of the niches
has two doors and almost 6 windows. The walls of top roof are open on both outer and inner walls, may be for better
also have turrets. The whole floor is segmented in to four ventilation and watching purpose. The dome of the turret
sections with one guard room in every section. sometimes has a pointed metal vertical bar and some time it
has been covered with the same construction material of the
dome.
The tradition of implanting turrets in the parapet wall is still
carried on in Indo Pak, Subcontinent.

Fig. 27. Parapet wall

8.2
Parapet wall:

Fig.29. Turret

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Sci.Int.(Lahore),27(5),4905-4915,2015 ISSN 1013-5316; CODEN: SINTE 8 4915
Government organization. They used this building for
The turret in fig.29 is from the 3rd floor. The dome is raised residential as well as a religious and social purpose. The
on three small pillars, with four small arches on all sides. The purpose of this research is to bring to light this hidden
neck of the dome is like a projected fillet. The dome is with treasure of fresco paintings in this haveli at Kaller Sayedan
inverted leafs in the centre and at the top ending part of the and other havelies in Rawalpindi. This research also provides
dome. very significant information about the Sikhs and their
9. BASEMENTS OF THE HAVELI: religious beliefs. Sikhs stayed here for more than hundred
There are altogether eight rooms in the basement of the years with their adaptable nature. During their stay they
Haveli. The purpose of these basement rooms is not clear. adopted many ideas from Hindus and Muslims. So it is
These rooms are very small in size, with limited number of inevitable to ignore importance of Sikh period. I suggest that
doors and windows. No efforts have been made to beautify Sikh architecture is very important, because they added many
these basement only the designs on the small window. Gurdavaras and havelies before partition of India and
Only one basement is still surviving out of 8 basements of the Pakistan. These buildings are vanishing with the passage of
Haveli. But the staircases and their fallen roofs indicate that time and intolerant behavior of the residents of the area. I
they were of the same style and design in the whole building. suggest and conclude that Sikh period especially Sikh art and
The basement on eastern side in the 2nd courtyard with mural architecture should be added in the course of college and
paintings is in the best condition so far. The size of this Universities for the students of Archaeology, art, and
basement and all other basements on this compound are 12 x. architecture. In this way the restoration and conservation
11. 2 feet in size. It has one door one window in the stairs that process will be also monitored from time to time and
opens up in the basement and two ventilators. researchers will work on Sikh art and architecture in future.

REFERENCES
{1}Sky hawk, Hugh Van. South Asian Religions on
Display. New York: Edited by Knut A. Jacobsen.
London and New York: Rutledge Taylor and
Frances,(2008).
{2} Hussain, Karamat. Kaller Sayedan kii kahani Tarikh ki
Zubani .Wahid Alam building Bangali Gali Gumbat
Road Urdu bazar Lahore 9/3.(2007).
{3} Marshall, John. The Buddhist Art of Gandhara
Pakistan. Royal Book company BG- 5 Centre, Fatima
Jinnah road, G.P.O Box 7737, Karachi- 75530,
Pakistan, (2008).
Fig. 30 View of the basement
{4} Abidi, Ali Raza. Gernaili Sark. Sang-e Meel
After getting down 13 stairs from the eastern side of the Publications, Haji Hanif Sons printers Lahore Pakistan,
courtyard there is this basement that is in good condition can (2005).
be seen in figure. The window on the top is the one that opens {5} Gregor, W. L. M. The History of the Sikhs. Rupa.Co.
up in the basement. This window might have been used to 7/ 16, Ansari Road, Darya Gang New Delhi
communicate with the prisoner or to provide him with the 110002.(2007).
food. There are lines of niches on both sides of the wall. {6} Cole, W. O. & Sambhi Piar. Singh.The Sikhs, their
There are two ventilators on the southern side. Light can be religious beliefs and practices.Rouledge & Kegan Paul,
seen in the image above coming from those ventilators. (1978).
{7} Khan, Muhammad, Khan, Waliullah. Sikh shrines in
10. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS the West Pakistan.Department of Archaeology
Havelies are fortified structures that are actually a complex, Ministry of Education and Information Government of
of multiple buildings in its boundary. They are called havelies Pakistan, (1962).
either because of their enormous size or these buildings have {8}
some other social or religious significance. This research is http://www.chohakhalsa.com/folder_2/khem_singh_bed
mainly related to the Sikh Havelies in District Rawalpindi i.htm
with a case study of Khem Bedi Singh Haveli at Kaller {9} Qaiser, Iqbal. Historical Sikh Shrines in Rawalpindi,
Sayedan. The area of Rawalpindi is overwhelmingly filled Pakistan vich Sikhan diya Pavitr Thanwan.Punjab
with Hindu and Sikh Havelies and buildings. One part of History Board.130/ 3- B- 1, Township, Lahore-
research is focused on Sikh Havelies in Rawalpindi. The 54770,(1998).
second part of dissertation is mainly related to Art and
architecture of Khem Bedi Singh Haveli at Kaller Sayedan.
During this research about Bedi haveli it was revealed that
this place has always been having some religious and social
significance. Before creation of Pakistan Haveli was owned
by Bedi family, which is a Sikh family of religious
importance and they also had prominent positions in the
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