Whenever we scan the pages of history, we come across many such stories in which we see stories of kings and emperors falling in love and then crossing all limits for their love. One such story is that of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who was so deeply in love with a courtesan that he even got coins and scales made in her name.
The Maharaja who fell in love with a courtesan was arrested
The story starts with the decline of the royal palaces with the Mughals, this was the same period when Maharaja Ranjit Singh started establishing his dominance in the beginning of the 19th century. Only after that the plight of prostitutes started improving. The Maharaja had restarted the practice of Mujra in the court. At that time, there was a lot of discussion about a Muslim prostitute, Moran Bai. People used to praise her beauty a lot. One day this news even reached Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Moran Bai used to live in a hut in Lahore. One day Maharaja Ranjit Singh reached the same hut to see her. That was the first meeting but it was enough for Moran Bai to win Ranjit Singh’s heart. Ranjit Singh fell in love with Mohan Bai that very day.
Coins were issued for Moran Bai
Ranjit Singh was so deeply in love with Moran Bai that he never married her, but her status was no less than that of a queen. Ranjit Singh had issued coins in the name of Moran during his reign. Besides, the scales also used to be in the name of Moran Bai.
However, later there was a huge reversal after the death of Ranjit Singh and the Sikh General Hira Singh Dogra, realizing the centrality of the area, built a grain market here, which came to be called ‘Hira Singh the Mandi’ after him. Later it changed to Heera Mandi and then its name became Heera Mandi. At that time courtesans were compared to diamonds.
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