Pul Kanjari

SIGHTSEEING, AMRITSAR Updated : Feb 15, 2016, 08.47 PM IST

Swati Jain

Swati Jain has been travelling the world since she was a kid and has explored parts of Europe, US, UK and India. Since she quit her cubicle job in 2013, Swati has been backpacking in and around India covering 145 cities across 20 states. Her expertise lies in writing the travel, hotel and food guides. She blogs at www.buoyantfeet.com

Photo courtesy: Pul Kanjari
Pul Kanjari, also known as Pul Morgan, testifies the stay of Maharaja Ranjit Singh during his visits to Amritsar. Pul Kanjari is situated at a distance of 5 km from Wagah Border in village Dhanoa Kalan village. Historically, it is said that Maharaja Ranjit Singh ordered the construction of a bridge over a small canal when Moran, a dancer who used to perform in the Royal Court of the Maharaja, lost her pair of Silver sandals while crossing this canal. This small canal, which was linked to river Ravi was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in order to irrigate Shalimar Gardens of Lahore. It is said that Moran was disappointed with the loss of her pair, which was gifted to her by the Maharaja himself that she refused to perform in the courtyard. To avoid such occurrences in the future, Maharaja Ranjit Singh ordered to build a bridge over the canal. Since the dancers during those days were addressed as Kanjari, hence the bridge was named as ‘Pul Kanjari’. It was taken over by the Pakistani troops during the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971 due to its close proximity to Pakistan. It was later captured by the Indian army and a memorial stands as a testimony for the supreme sacrifices of our soldiers.
Liked this article? Let your friends know about it