Gurmani Center
The Gurmani Center for Languages and Literature (GCLL) was established in 2010 with the generous support of the Gurmani Foundation to promote the study and research of Pakistani languages, including Arabic and Persian. Since its inception, the Center has grown into a leading hub for academic and cultural activities. It has hosted international conferences, published groundbreaking scholarship in the field of vernacular humanities, and offered a diverse range of courses in Pakistani languages.
One of the Center's flagship initiatives is the annual publication of Bunyad, a research journal recognized by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) as one of the top-ranked journals in Urdu studies. Beyond publishing, the GCLL regularly invites artists, poets, calligraphers, and fiction writers to showcase their work and conduct workshops on creative writing, research methodologies, and related themes.
Due to its extensive contributions, the Gurmani Center has become a cornerstone of the vibrant intellectual and artistic life not only on the LUMS campus but also in the broader cultural landscape of Lahore.
Explore Lahore
The Gurmani Centre for Languages and Literature invites you to the launch of the book Explore Lahore: لاہور کی کھوج by Syed Faizan Abbas Naqvi — a remarkable documentation of Lahore’s disappearing historical monuments.
Explore Lahore is not just another history book — it is a journey into the living soul of a city that is less a place and more a layered memory of centuries. Lahore is often described as shehr-e-zauq, a city of aesthetic sensibilities, where every brick, alley, and courtyard holds an echo of art, culture, and civilizational continuity. Naqvi’s work takes the reader beyond the obvious monuments into the forgotten textures of Lahore’s neighborhoods — spaces that are silently disappearing before our eyes. This book is an attempt to archive those vanishing fragments, to preserve the sensory history of Lahore before time erases its traces. It is a tribute to a city that has always been more than geography — Lahore as experience, as imagination, as tehzeeb.
The conversation will be led by Kamran Lashari as Chair and moderated by Ghazi Taimoor, with the author, Syed Faizan Abbas Naqvi, contributing as the discussant.
Date: Friday, October 31, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Venue: Auditorium A-11, Academic Block, LUMS
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/p5BJsDLun9X7yno1A
About the Speakers:
Syed Faizan Abbas Naqvi is a renowned historian and researcher from Lahore, recognized for his deep engagement with the city’s religious and cultural heritage. He specializes in uncovering forgotten and neglected historical sites, relics, and traces across Lahore and Punjab. He is associated with the program Idara Lahore Shanasi and has served for the past three years in various capacities with the Walled City of Lahore Authority and the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), actively contributing to heritage preservation and civic documentation. Naqvi has contributed as a researcher to numerous internationally authored books and currently serves as the editor of Lahore Sanashi and the monthly Nawa-e-Manzil Lahore.
Ghazi Taimoor is a dynamic educator and thought leader dedicated to advancing cultural and intellectual discourse in Pakistan. He is the CEO of Lahore ka Ravi and The Learning Group, and serves as Adjunct Faculty at LUMS, where he teaches courses on education, entrepreneurship, and the cultural landscape of Lahore. A Harvard graduate in Education Policy and a Chartered Accountant (UK), he is widely followed for his digital storytelling on culture, identity, and inclusion.
Kamran Lashari is a distinguished retired civil servant of the Pakistan Administrative Service (BPS-22). He has held major national leadership positions, including Petroleum Secretary of Pakistan and Chief Secretary of Sindh, and is best known for his impactful tenure as Chairman of the Capital Development Authority (CDA). After retirement, he continued to serve Pakistan’s cultural institutions as President of Lahore Gymkhana and Director General of the Walled City of Lahore Authority.