Mystifying Museum -- Cucoo’s Den

 It will not be erroneous if I deem the entire walled city of Lahore as a Living Museum. Is it obligatory to impound the museums in four walls with dim lights on the Artifacts? Let’s suppose something new today! A city that has old buildings of epochs, traditions, amalgamation of tangible and intangible culture, where every nook and corner, each house, every brick and balcony describes and illustrates you the chronicles of the past and has artifacts inside the houses, on the façades of the buildings or on the street, will it not be a museum? Yes surely it will be, and that is why the walled city is a living heritage a living museum, it’s just a matter of how we visualize our surroundings.

 Same is the case with the place I am writing about today, the Cucoo’s Den Museum located on the Fort Road Food Street. You might have gone there to taste the expensive food but did you ever wonder at the artifacts and the museum inside the building? I am sure you did not.

A decade earlier this place was dark and considered a taboo especially for females.  It was really hard for me to get permission from my parents for writing pieces on it. There was just one Cucoo’s Den on the Fort Road near Heera Mandi and no other restaurant existed. Uncle Iqbal was always kind enough to offer me tea during my work there and so were his sons; in short hospitality of the family was at its peak. Gradually the food street established and Cucoo’s den became a part of many other restaurants but the only thing that made it stand out was the museum inside it. Yes, there is a museum inside the Cucoo’s Den.

As you enter the tiny Iron Gate, you will come across a huge wooden door that leads you right inside the museum, it is no doubt mesmerizing and spellbinding. You will see a hall decorated with ancient tiles of Mughal and British era, especially the pieces from Shah Jahan’s reign. The family said that those were collected by their ancestors at that time. The starving Buddha in marble is another marvel. You come across another wooden door which is almost two hundred years old. A balcony that is almost five hundred years ago, and the family is now looking for some craftsman for its conservation and preservation. At one corner you will see the Hanuman (Hindu God) in its original shape and very well preserved. It was once part of some temple, but during the 1947 wars, this was brought at Cucoo’s. There is also a huge collection of bells and locks inside the museum. The most interesting thing I saw was the Mother Mary’s statue. These were two in the entire world, one in Italy and the other in Cucoo’s den. She is the Mary of Blessings. This masterpiece is also carved in pure white marble stone.

Inscriptions from the time of Jahangir, the Mughal Emperor and Shah Jahan’s period are also seen inside the den. Along with all these artifacts you will also see a paintings gallery. These are the paintings by Iqbal Hussain, the owner of Cucoo’s Den. In addition to being the owner of this establishment, the owner is also a renowned artist, who focused on painting courtesans of that area. Those paintings portray the life of those courtesans; however the most haunting thing in those pictures was the sadness in the eyes of all girls. His works convey all of these emotions and bring to life extraordinary characters that are often neglected or repulsed by the deceitful culture of our society. Being termed a controversial painter in Pakistan, Iqbal’s subjects sometimes tend to shock other painters, but Iqbal followed his own visions and continued to paint his unconventional and considerably innovative paintings. He enjoys a great reputation as an artist in the international art world. His paintings have been requested by Jordanian Princess Wijdan Ali for the Jordanian Gallery of Fine Arts. His were the only ones selected for Unesco Headquarters Prize in 1995, Paris. In 1998, one of his paintings was auctioned at the Sotheby’s Auction House in London.

Cucoo's Den was an old Haveli converted into a restaurant. The owner was born in this Haveli, some floors are still used as residential area, and the ground-floor and the rooftop have been converted into a seating area. Once you are done with admiring the art, climb up and up and emerge onto the roof top on a moonlit night - and gaze upon the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort. I can tell you, that I was breathless for a few minutes and same you will experience! Each step has an antique with it; each wall is decorated with an antique item. I suggest the museum is a must see and there is no ticket!

(The writer is a media professional and can be reached at taniaq29@gmail.com)