Situated between the intersection of Purani [Old] Anarkali Food Street and the famous Mall Road of Lahore, and just across Tourist Street from Old Tollinton Market is a gazebo-like structure that houses Hafiz Fruit and Juice Corner (HFJC). At first look, there’s nothing seemingly extraordinary about HFJC, until you realise that the iconic landmark dates back over six decades and has been the favourite haunt of almost three generations!

For me, going to HFJC is also a pilgramage of sorts, a journey back in time to honour and remember a dear old friend who introduced me to it. It was late evening and we had just left his house in Mughalpura and were aimlessly driving around, taking in the sights and sounds of Lahore, when he pulled up at HFJC.

An old man with a weather-beaten face had immediately approached us and recognised my friend, welcoming him back after a long time, as if he were a long-lost friend or family member. The old man continued to ask my friend about a mutual friend and customer, who had sadly passed away.

A visit to the famous Hafiz Fruit and Juice Corner in Lahore is more than just about freshly squeezed nectars…

To cut a long story short, we ordered freshly squeezed seasonal fruit juices, with my friend reminding the old man not to forget the ‘bachcha’, a code word of sorts among the loyal customers for a smaller glass containing some ‘extra’ leftover nectar for the same price!

Upon a recent trip a few weeks back, we found HFJC had moved to a nearby shop, albeit temporarily, until maintanance work was being carried out at the gazebo-like stall. Needless to say, the quality of their juices was still the same. From pineapple to manadarins, apples to ABC (apple, beetroot, carrot), they have it all.

Adding to it is the old-world charm of the nearby ground-zero for desi nashta [breakfast] that is the Purani Anarkali Food Street, pedalling everything from anda paratha [egg with shallow-fried flatbread] to payee [spicy gravy made from cow/goat trotters], murgh chana [chicken and chickpea gravy], omelette, karak doodh-patti chai [extra-strong milk tea], sweet and savoury lassi [churned buttermilk], kulchay [freshly made milk-infused thick flatbread] and more, with the colonial structure of Old Tollinton Market just across the road.

Nestled in between these iconic landmarks, HFJC holds cherished and valuable fond memories for me — as it must for others who have been coming here for a long time — of days and friends gone by, but never a distant, forgotten memory. Soon the day will dawn when we will also be a memory, but HFJC will still be there, keeping our memory alive, as a wayward wanderer out for a drive pulls up and recollects the times when a friend would regularly visit the place to juice up and remember old friends who had since come to pass.

The writer is a member of staff. He can be contacted at quraishi.faisal@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, January 5th, 2025