India, May 19 -- The first introduction one had with the Heera Mandi of Lahore was through a famous story written by the grande dame of Punjabi literature, Amrita Pritam. It was titled "Shah di Kanjari" or "The Shah's Harlot." Counted as one of the classics of short fiction in Punjabi, it is set in Lahore and is a complex psychological story of the rivalry of two women, the wife and the courtesan. The latter was once Neelam of the sonorous voice who blossomed into youth in a courtesan tenement in Heera Mandi and a sardar from a princely state performed the ritual of removing her nose ring to deflower her for a prized amount of five thousand rupees. Later she moved to the famous Faletti's Hotel in Lahore of yore as mistress of a rich Sikh ...