In the Sufi Islamic tradition, shrines are a physical point for commemorating awliya’. Generally constructed around the tombs where these holy persons’ bodies lie buried, they are considered sacred and powerful because they are believed to be animated by saintly presence and offer access to their blessings (Ortis 2017). These shrines are a ubiquitous presence in the metropolitan landscape of Pakistan's second-largest city, Lahore. While their exact numbers are unknown, thousands of such shrines dot the city's mohallas, streets, markets, and graveyards. Some of them serve as iconic monuments of the city, featuring grand complexes that draw millions of visitors and pilgrims from across the globe and attract the patronage of governments and elites. On the other end of the spectrum, small, marked-off corners in residential lanes that are only known to a few are also revered as shrines.

While some of these shrines are recognized as historical relics dating as far back as the early years of Islam in India, their numbers are continuously bolstered by the establishment of new ones. The old and dense localities of Lahore, where their concentration is already greatest, are especially fertile grounds for their proliferation. During a conversation with a pirand one of his disciples in Ichra, which is one such locality, I asked them to estimate the number of shrines within a 2-kilometer radius of where we were seated. After consulting for around 10 minutes, both threw up their hands in exasperation. Though they came up with an estimated number of two hundred, they seemed frustrated by the futility of this exercise. It was virtually impossible to know all the places where a saint had chosen to distribute their blessings, as some of them could be hidden or even be inside people's homes. In relating this exchange, my purpose is essentially not only to demonstrate the pervasiveness of Sufi shrines in Lahore but also hint at the challenges involved in mapping them to the satisfaction of all concerned.