BHAI-CHARA (BROTHERHOOD

Haji Rafique is a native of Mochi Gate and the owner of the area’s well known traditional mithai (sweet) food chain. Senior inhabitants, like Haji Rafique, hold the Walled City’s unique culture and bhai-chara (brotherhood) in high esteem. Despite being a successful businessman and having a house in Lahore’s Jauhar Town locality, Haji Rafique chooses to spend much of his time at his ancestral home in Mochi Gate (Ezdi 2007).

Residents like Haji Rafique, who could afford to move out of the congested Walled City to more peaceful and developed parts of Lahore, continue to return to the streets they grew up in – to sit along with their friends, chattering, and downing tea endlessly.