Pak Tea House
Encyclopedia
Pak Tea House was an intellectual cafe in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

, Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...

, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 that has traditionally been frequented by the city's artistic, cultural and literary personalities. Some of the most well-known regulars were Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Faiz Ahmad Faiz was a Pakistani intellectual, poet, and one of the most famous poets of the Urdu language. He was a member of the Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind and an avowed Marxist. In 1962, he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union...

, Ibn-e-Insha
Ibn-e-Insha
Ibn-e-Insha was a Pakistani Leftist Urdu poet, humorist, travelogue writer and columnist. Along with his poetry, he was regarded one of the best humorists of Urdu...

, Ahmed Faraz
Ahmed Faraz
Ahmad Faraz born Syed Ahmad Shah on January 14, 1931, in Kohat, was a Pakistani Urdu poet. He was considered one of the greatest modern Urdu poets of the last century. Faraz is his pseudonym 'takhalus'...

, Saadat Hasan Manto
Saadat Hasan Manto
Saadat Hassan Manto was a short story writer of the Urdu language. He is best known for his short stories, 'Bu' , 'Khol Do' , 'Thanda Gosht' , and his magnum opus, 'Toba Tek Singh'....

, Muneer Niazi, Mira Ji, Kamal Rizvi, Nasir Kazmi
Nasir Kazmi
Syed Nasir Raza Kazmi, was a renowned Urdu poet of Pakistan. He was one of the greatest poets of this era, especially in the use of "ista'aaray" and "chhotee beher". Kazmi was born on December 8, 1925 at Ambala in British India.-Education and Career:Kazmi was educated at Ambala, Simla and Lahore...

, Professor Sayyid Sajjad Rizavi, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan
Amanat Ali Khan
Ustad Amanat Ali Khan was a Pakistani classical/ghazal singer, from the Patiala gharana. He was honoured with the 'Pride of Performance' award by the government of Pakistan...

, Dr. Muhammad Baqir, Intezar Hussain and Syed Qasim Mahmood
Syed Qasim Mahmood
Syed Qasim Mahmood Pakistani intellectual and Urdu short story writer, novelist, editor, publisher, translator and for most encyclopedist of Pakistan...

.

Due to the active involvement of the Progressive Writer's Association, it had a
left-wing inclination.

Along with the writers who frequent it, it was also a favourite haunt of that section of the youths of Lahore with non-mainstream points of view. It acted as a forum for people of diverse backgrounds to voice their opinions in a non-judgmental atmosphere and had maintained this reputation over the years.

A few years back, it was being shut down by its owner due to less business. This decision was being criticized by the intellectual community of the city.
Pak Tea House was located on the Mall Road Lahore, near Anarkali Bazaar
Anarkali bazaar
Anarkali bazaar is a famous bazār in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is one of the oldest surviving markets in South Asia, dating back at least 200 years...

 and Neela Gumbad.

Internet culture

A popular Pakistani blog by the name of Pak Tea House, named after the intellectual cafe, is run by a group of bloggers led by Raza Ahmad, who is a writer based in Lahore. The group at Pak Tea House have described their blog as the following: "Pak Tea House is a little corner in the blogosphere that will endeavour to revive the culture of debate, pluralism and tolerance. It has no pretensions nor illusions but the motivation of a few people who want to see Pakistan a better place - where ideas need to counter the forces of commercialism, adverse effects of globalisation and extremism. And, ideas must translate into action that leads us to an equitable, just and healthy society."

External links

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