This 17th centuary beautiful Sarai (protected monument) situated at Doraha
Village to the south of Ludhiana -Khanna road, built by the Mughal ruler
Jahangir. This huge rectangular Sarai has octagonal bastions at each corner
with168m. Square area of battlemented walls and also has rooms and verandahs
on all sides .It have a huge two double-storied gateways in the centre
on northern and southern sides, connected with a kachha pathway. The northern
gate was painted with floral designs and the southern gate has flora and
fauna paintings. One of the gates is beautifully decorated with blue and
yellow glazed tiles and the other gate is diverse with its frontage separated
into panels and built with carved brickwork. The framework of the
arch of each entrance gateway is made with glazed tiles created in the
model of multi-cornered stars and swastikas.
Sarai has 20 rooms on northern and southern sides and 30 rooms
eastern and western sides each with a suite of three rooms in the centre
. The walls and ceilings of these rooms were richly painted with bright
colours. The octagonal opening in the ceilings is for light and ventilation
and a distinctive "hammam system" for boiling water are the
most notable ones. As it is in a dilapidated condition but its ancient
magnificence can still be viewed from the two gateways, which still stands
unbroken. There is also a richly painted mosque with a dome , now in ruins
and a well in the courtyard. Now the big compound of sarai is being maintained
as lawns by the department of archaeology and is protected under the Punjab
Ancient and Historical Monuments archaeological sites and remains Act,
1964.
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