''MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH''

ON JUNE 27, 1839 Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the last great ruler of Punjab died.

The following day, his body was accompanied by four of his wives and seven slave girls to a funeral pyre where they to the accompaniment of prayers read by Sikh, Hindu and Muslim priests immolated themselves with the deceased king.

About two weeks later, his successor Kharak Singh ordered that a monument be made to commemorate his father at the site of cremation in front of the Lahore Fort.

The ensuing bloodshed for succession meant that monument would also be used for to commemorate Kharak Singh and his son Nau Nihal Singh.

The monument was still partly unfinished in 1849 when Punjab was annexed by the British. Surprisingly, the new rulers sought to complete the building motivated by an effort to assuage the local population.

Today, the funerary monument or samadhi of Ranjit Singh survives and although overshadowed by the Lahore Fort and the Badshahi Mosque, it has remained a prominent feature in this landscape for over 150 years.

Despite this and the enduring popularity of Ranjit Singh within the Sikh diaspora, samadhi has largely been dismissed as unworthy of any serious attention.

In 2004, writer Nadhra Shahbaz Khan as a PhD student visited the Lahore Fort, looking for an inspiration for a research paper.

It was only due to the approach of an old tour guide that she learnt of the existence of Ranjit Singh's  marhi or samadhi.

In one respect, this is hardly surprising as the building remains out of bounds for the majority of local visitors.

On that winter morning, she stepped through the threshold and rather like Howard Carter entering the tomb of Tutankhamun, for the first time, made discoveries that now enrich our world.

Over a decade later, the result is a meticulously researched book of great significance.

It is at once an in depth tour guide, a commentary on Sikh architecture and an analysis of the art and religious outlook of the Lahore Darbar.

The author's style is detailed to say the least. No source or event related to the Samadhi is left out. The book begins by describing the events immediately after the cremation.

The Maharaja's remains together with the ashes of his wives and slave girls were taken to the Ganges by city of Haridwar to be immersed in water.

At one point during this two month journey the British provided an escort for the procession partly put of respect but perhaps a diplomatic necessity too.

The World Students Society thanks Kanwal Madra, a trustee of the United Kingdom Punjab Heritage Organisation which is a charity dedicated to promoting awareness and learning in the field of  Punjab heritage.