CENTER FOR ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Sarai Dakhni is a well-preserved Mughal-period caravansarai or rest house located amid fields west of the Nakodar–Kapurthala Road near Mahlian Kalan in Jalandhar district of Punjab. Built during the reign of Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658) by Muqarrab Khan Deccani, also known as Rustam Khan Bahadur Firuz Jung, the sarai follows a square plan with imposing east and west gateways, corner octagonal bastions topped by domed pavilions, and a courtyard surrounded by rows of cells. Constructed of lakhori bricks with red sandstone, glazed tiles, and lime mortar, the complex includes a mosque in the southern enclosure, noted for its floral wall paintings, and evidence of a former hammam nearby. Declared a protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India (Chandigarh Circle) in 1919, the sarai survives in good condition, though it shows surface weathering and loss of some glazed decoration.

Sarai Doraha complex, Doraha (GT Road)

Sarai Doraha is a large 17th century caravan-sarai (rest-house) located to the south of the National Highway 1/Grand Trunk Road ((GT Road) at Doraha in Punjab. After the partition, some refugee families appropriated the sarai for their permanent residence. However, the State government got the sarai vacated in early 1970s and it was declared a protected monument.

Sarai Lashkar Khan is a late Mughal caravansarai or rest house located near Kot Panaich in Ludhiana district of Punjab, approximately 300 metres southwest of the Grand Trunk Road. An inscription on the eastern gateway records its construction in 1080 AH (1669–70 CE) by Lashkar Khan, a Mughal military general under Emperor Aurangzeb. Built of lakhori bricks with red sandstone and lime mortar, the sarai is planned as a square enclosure with double-storied gateways, octagonal bastions, rows of cells, a mosque in the southern half of the courtyard, and two wells. The monument is protected by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Archaeology and Museums, Punjab and survives in generally good condition, set within an open rural landscape, with minor surface weathering and vegetation growth visible.

Sarai Lashkar Khan is situated 12 km to the west of Khanna, on the National Highway 1/Grand Trunk Road in the district of Ludhiana. According to the inscription on its eastern gateway the sarai was erected by Lashkar Khan, a Mughal Military General, during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb, in 1669-70 AD. This sarai is also made of bricks. The sarai maintains an aesthetic restraint unlike the other ones in this route perhaps characteristic of the religious views of Aurangzeb. Another distinct feature of this sarai is the absence of bastions in the middle of the northern and the southern walls and the arrangement of rooms in the interior, corresponding to this portion. The central arched portal, which is of stone, is flanked by two storeys of triple openings. At the top of each gateway runs an inscription engraved on white marble slabs. The courtyard of the sarai has 30 rooms on each side i.e. 15 on either side of the gateways and an equal number on each side of the central higher compartments in the northern and the southern walls. The mosque is located in the southern part of the courtyard. Its domes are damaged. There are two wells in the sarai which is being used for irrigation of the entire land which has been converted as a farm for past many years. A kos minar is also located nearby. The sarai is currently in a dilapidated condition. The inner courtyard around which the rooms are located serve as farmland.

Sarai Nurmahal is a Mughal-period rest house located to the south of Nurmahal town in Jalandhar district of Punjab. An inscription records its construction between 1028–1030 AH (1618–21 CE) under the patronage of Nur Jahan Begum, through her governor, Nawab Zakariya Khan. Planned as a square enclosure with octagonal corner bastions, the sarai features a monumental western gateway richly carved with figural, floral, and geometric motifs, as well as a mosque and a hammam within the courtyard. Today, the monument is under the Archaeological Survey of India (Chandigarh Circle) with portions adapted for public use.