It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity...in short, the period was so far like the present period...

Despite having come a terribly long way from the French Revolution; serious truncating of Dickens` opening sentence of the classic, allows for its relevance in our context. Currently, the city of Lahore faces signincant physical and demographic challenges, which are leading to deep divisions. The bipolarity is reflected physically, through the city shifting from a centric orientation of the inner-city to a peripheral-suburban dimension.

With the city rapidly making its way towards Kasur, Raiwind and along the Multan Road, thesignificance of its heart is diminishing. Both in terms of infrastructure and access, greater concentration is on the periphery. The Ring Road project underway, allows for more and more residential societies, providing security among other amenities. Barring specialised markets, there is little economic activity. Most entrepreneurs, being the breed that they are, have understood the shifting dynamics and have become the middle-men to the large city markets. It is getting rarer that one needs to travel to the city, apart from a few specialised bridal shops for clothes and jewelry. Still if one decides to go, the sorry state of trafhc and near unavailability of parking space makes it a daunting task.

A parallel polarisation is also taking place along societallines driven by income disparity. The inner city, apart from an influx of migrants, significantly Pakhtuns and those f rom adjoining area in Punjab, nowmostly consists of sales-persons and labourers. Those with the appropriate means have chosento shift to more conducive climes of the suburbs.

Buildings,integralto our heritage and requiring preservation, are gradually but surely beingruined.Old buildings are steadily being converted to plazas. The unbridled land grabbing is not conhned to old buildings. Historical landmarks, including the famed gates of the walled city, are slowly disappearing from view.

Parks and open spaces are being gobbled-up by commercial interests. A particularly galling nuisance is due to the unchecked growth of `truck stands`.

In a parallel development the retail landscape is also changing. Massive new malls are now the new fad.

Due to the expensive realestate component and proxim-ity to lucrative markets, most of these new developments are taking place in the suburban areas. In these climatically controlled climes, luxury goods are on displayfor all to see, butfor a few to purchase. The stark inequity is nowhere more evident in these altars of consumerism, where a significant part of the city`s population gapes in awe, as to how the other side lives. This only serves to further highlight the two parallels, yet contrasting strains in our society: `... it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us...

After the `war of independence` or as affectionately referred to by the British as `themutiny`, it was Lahore which gave sanctuary to the displaced people of Dehli and became a repository of Urdu and all the culture that went with it. The city not only allowed it to thrive but added great value to it: creating a unique hub of poetry, literature and education. The blending and gradual absorption of the two, a synthesis of a unique Lahori culture, today stands at the brink of an abyss. The overshadowing of the economic motive over all other considerations has led to a point where, the old adage `Lahore, Lahore aye` now might more aptly hold true conceptually rather than in actuality: an echo of an earlier city.

Sidelight: After much wait finally some rain; allowing Lahoris to let out a collective sigh of relief! AM Lahori (AmLahori@gmail.com)