Type: Monument - Building
Province: Punjab
District: Gujranwala
Period: Historic
Relative Chronology: 16th Century CE
Description: The Dak Chowki or mail station is located in Wazirabad, a town straddling the historic Grand Trunk Road as it makes its way north across the Chenab River. The station was established in the 1560s during the rule of Sher Shah Suri, the first short-lived ruler of the Suri dynasty which collapsed in mere eleven years after his death. According to a signpost on site, the mail station was likely established not just to convey mail, but also to gather intelligence on activities within the district. Mail stations were generally incorporated within caravanserais, given their association with travel, but this particular station is a standalone structure, as there is no evidence of a caravanserai on site. In its heydays, the building likely would have contained stables and at least several well-rested horses to serve as points on a relay conveying mail from one station to another up and down the Grand Trunk Road. In his book Gujranwala: The Glory that Was, Salman Rashid notes that in the past, a groove of trees about 200 meters from the building once housed the remains of the horse stables, which are now completely effaced. At first glance, the profile of the building is highly reminiscent of typical tombs of the period, as building typologies of the period could easily be employed for a variety of purposes. In plan, it is laid out as a four-cornered structure with arched openings facing the four cardinal directions. A dome once towered overhead but collapsed at some indeterminate point in the past. The remains of three ornamental brick turrets remain on the east and north sides of the structure, along with the heavily degraded traces of some of the original stucco coating. At present, the site is a stone`s throw away from the Wazirabad railway junction, indicating that the pathway laid out for the Grand Trunk Road in Sher Shahs Suri time remains of great relevance today.
Latitude: 32.442951000
Longitude: 74.110970000
Ownership: Federal Government
Legal Status: Protected by The Punjab Special Premises (Preservation), Ordinance, 1985
Title of Publication: Asian Historical Architecture
Published In: https://www.orientalarchitecture.com/sid/1477/pakistan/gujranwala/dak-chowki-mail-station
Year of Publication: 2021 (Retrieved)
Bibliography/Reference: Anonymous
