Operation Lahore - Five people, One mission!
Five Lahoris with different educational backgrounds had one thing in common: their passion and love for Lahore. So, they set out the task to bring forward the forgotten cultural and architectural heritage of the city they grew up in.
Omar Shahid, Saloom Aslam, Nasir Ali Khan, Aniqa Haider and Noor-ul-Ain Syed started off Lahore Lahore Hai Tours with the reason that “despite living their entire lives in Lahore, people are mostly aware of the commercially known places of the city; however there are fifteen to twenty other places that are still unexplored and are way more beautiful.”
Jahangir’s Tomb, Kamran Baradari, Akbari Sehrai, Nur Jahan’s Tomb, Shahi Hamam, Wazir Khan Mosque, you name it, and they will take you there. “There is a need for people who are already passionate about history and art and would like other people to see what’s out there,” says Omar Shahid, who manages planning and marketing of the tour agency.
Lahore Lahore Hay Tours promises a complete time-turning experience for people of every age and background.
“Our passion is our unique selling point. We never ever look into what our competitors are doing. We don’t even know who our competitors are because we never bothered about it. Our aim was to do what we do in a fun way and make that very engaging and memorable for people."
They did however try to register their company but there was already a similar program initiated by the government with the name of Lahore Lahore Hai. As usual, they were not allowed to register it, despite the fact that the government project itself was not registered.
Once you get the opportunity to explore something deeply, your perspective about it takes a U-turn. The tag of a terrorist country stamped on Pakistan is being changed one step at a time by companies like Lahore Lahore Hay Tours.
Their audience ranges from kids who are five to six years old, grandparents who haven’t been out in years and this is their opportunity to see Lahore, foreign professors, and families who want to spend their weekend doing something different.
“Foreigners come with a preconceived notion that Pakistan or Lahore is not safe to travel. Their perspective completely changes with the tour because they can’t even imagine how grand Lahore is. They are pleasantly surprised and are always excited to come back again. And they do. Every season we get phone calls from foreigners who have visited before, so a tour with them is a must.”
A lot of hard work still needs to be done as far as locals are concerned."It’s just sad that our people here are not used to the idea of travelling for leisure. What we don’t understand is that it plays a very healthy role in our lives."
One of the most striking qualities that I came across while reviewing people’s comments on the agency’s page, was the appreciation regarding the guidance and knowledge about Lahore.
My personal experience of a tour guide in Lahore Fort has not been very fruitful, because every time I opted for them, I was always dictated what I remember reading in my school textbooks.
“Individually, all of us were fond of art, architecture and history. When we decided to form the company, we did our own theoretical and field research for several months. We combined our primary and secondary research that helped us come up with new information that we could deliver to the people.”
The only negative they come across is the low maintenance of the historical sites. “The glorious architectural designs are worn out and broken and the best that the authorities are dutifully doing is collecting tickets from visitors.”
The government needs to do a lot in this regard because the tour companies, who are taking initiatives on a personal level to bring out the best of Lahore, deserve well-maintained sites to be shown to the visitors.
It’s time that we get to know our city, the history that it holds, and visit the roots that hold us strong.
“The need for us to take our time off from social network and go out there in the world and explore, even if it’s your own city, is very much needed for our own mental well-being. We would really encourage people to think about it at least and take a step towards that.”
I wish them all the luck for their future endeavors!
Do check out their Facebook page for tour details!