Dai Anga Mosque was built in Lahore in 1635 during the Mughal era by Dai Anga the wet nurse of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan. Zaib un Nisa popularly known as Dai Anga and her family were faithful servants of the Mughals who in return held them in high esteem.
The mosque was visited by the faithful’s during the Mughal period but later on when Punjab came under the Sikhs, the mosque along with other historic buildings was used for military purposes. Later during the colonial period it served as a residence and then as a railway office due to its proximity to the railway station. It was then handed back to the Muslims.
The mosque had a magnificent exterior and an equally grand interior though it is said to be “simple” as compared to the other mosques of the Mughal era. The structure is octagonal in shape with minarets at each corner of the mosque. There is a 19 foot dome in the centre of the mosque with two smaller 16 foot domes on each side.
At the front, there is an 84-foot wide courtyard. The building is divided into three sections. The exterior of the mosque has been decorated with fine tile work. The mosque is listed on the Protected Heritage Monuments of Archaeology Department of Punjab.
Multicolored mosaics, the signature decoration of the Shah Jehani period adorn the mosque. Beautifully decorative panels in various designs, shapes and sizes embellish the exterior of the mosque.
Enameled pottery and Quranic inscriptions are found inside the mosques. The rough treatment of the mosque at the hands of the Sikhs and the British and the apathy of the governments has turned this once magnificent structure into ruins; though restoration work has been done to some extent.
