Calling Karachi-ites
Saturday, 28 February 2009
Harbour city Karachi is famous as “land of opportunities” in Pakistan. During my period of initial orientation – tea used to be served for four annas per quarter cup then – and continuous visits later; I have found Karachi is constantly reinventing itself. It is a land of superlatives: Pakistan’s biggest and one of the most prosperous cosmopolitan cities, home to universities and colleges, historic, cultural, and commercial centre. It has been a land of plenty for centuries.A contemporary British account of the invasion reads, “Our occupation of Kurrachee (as it was called then) resulted from the military operations in connection with the Afghan War of 1838. During Lord Auckland’s Administration it was resolved to oppose Dost Muhammad, the Talpurs, who were then in power, showed themselves so extremely inimical to us and so incapable of maintaining an orderly government, that Sir John Keane, the Commander in Chief, received instructions to send a force into the country. His first step was to seize upon Kurrachee.”
Upon the annexation of Sindh in 1843, Napier shifted the capital from Hyderabad to Karachi. As a first step the British established the present cantonments at that time outside the town limits. Municipal limits were extended to 74 square miles to allow for expansion although the town was only 4 square miles. Napier had earlier started a water supply to the city from Malir and established a basic police and judicial level. The population of Karachi grew slowly, but steadily, throughout the nineteenth century. By the beginning of the twentieth century it had crossed one hundred thousand, of which 55 percent was Muslim and 41 percent was Hindu.
Endowed with a natural harbour, fair weather, and plenty of space, Karachi always had the potential to become a great metropolis. It has every thing for those take their chances to this place.
More than two thousand yeas ago, Alexander who stayed here for 27 days on his way back to Macedonia (he had come from the north) recognized the enormous potential in terms of commerce and trade of the immediate hinterland of Karachi and called this place “the bridge between east and west,” It still is. Since the days of Alexander, the port of Karachi continues to enjoy a strategic importance. It is through this way that Muslim general Muhammad bin Qasim entered what is now Pakistan and brought divine religion Islam here. Arab historians had also recounted the importance of Karachi. Once again the city began to assume prime importance towards the end of the eighteenth century. A new deep sea port Gawadar is being developed there near Karachi.
Except for the 15 years of “One Unit” from 1955 to 1971, Harbour City has been the capital of Sindh ever since 1937. It was also the first capital of Pakistan. As the port and commercial capital of the country, the role of Karachi in the country is more than that of a mere provincial capital. During the Second World War, Karachi assumed strategic importance as it became the air gateway to the Subcontinent. But it was still a quite town with an efficient Municipality. The population of the city was relatively stable until the coming of independence.
The face of the city changed after the Independence in 1947. No other city took the burnt of the migration as much as Karachi because every one wanted to be in capital and urban areas. After the emigration of the partition ceased, a second wave of exodus started from the rest of the country to Karachi: in search of better opportunities. It continues! And now Karachi has grown beyond proportions.
What a city of unique colonial architectural curiosities, wide sunny beaches, deep sea fishing, yachting needs is an introduction to what it can offer to travellers and siteseers.
Karachi-ites are invited to do so.
Labels: Travel
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/28/2009 11:43:00 AM,
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Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing has matured over time. I have been following the innovative and unprecedented growth of this marketing magic, participating where I could, to varying digress of success. This has become fifth ‘P’ of marketing mix and it is no more possible to ignore Social Media Marketing for any corporate entity.
IZEA – mother company of PayPerPost and Social Spark - have played a very important role in promoting this marketing technique. IZEA have offered so many different choices to marketers and advertisers as well as to army of bloggers out there. IZEA platforms offer opportunities to both advertisers and bloggers to work together and grow together. IZEA / Kmart Social Media Case Study. IZEA recently completed this campaign with Kmart that many of the bloggers participated in. This case study is enough proof of how Social Media Marketing can work and take your concern to the next level. Have a look at the slid show I have embed for you at the bottom of the post.
Seeing the result, which very impressive, to say the least, if you would like to speak to a sales representative about creating your own social media campaign, contact Randy Mountz, VP of Sales at 1.866.514.1680 ext 117 or randy[at]izea.com.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/28/2009 11:00:00 AM,
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Bhone Mosque
Friday, 27 February 2009
Traveling through Pakistan countryside away from the main highways, it is best to keep remember that petrol stations are few and far between on relatively deserted roads. Also the road, drive slowly and keep close to the edge of your road when encountering large trucks. Watch out for animals transport and animals on the road. Be sure your motor vehicle is roadworthy. You do not want to suffer a breakdown anywhere back o’ Bourke, ie, away from civilization. Or else be ready to what happened to us while going to see the mosque in Bhong.
After having famous ‘Doodh Mesu’ from a hotel in Sadiq Abad, we turned off the Road towards village Bhong. In the areas as the harvest approaches, the traveller, especially in the irrigated tracts, ride through endless expanses of waving crops of different shades of colour, out of which the villages seem to rise like islets in an ocean of green. After the harvest all is changed: the dull brown of the fields is relieved by the trees, solitary or in groves and avenues, and by the hamlets and village ponds. Or one sees the haystacks and threshers kicking off dust.
The modern demographic trends are changing the relations between rural and urban areas. Insufficient infrastructure, non-existing civic services and lack of opportunities in rural areas have increased rural-to-urban migration. There is a lack of human capacity in the Punjabi villages in general.
Bhong Mosque is famous the world over. Late Rais Ghazi Mohammad, the direct descendent of Abbasi family of Bahawalpur and landlord of a large estate, began the mosque project in 1932 in Bhong village, the most important of the scattered villages on his vast property. The mosque was to be the most glorious building in his palace compound which also included a smaller mosque, a madrasa and rooms for students.
The work of specialists gathered from all over Pakistan and India (master masons and craftsmen from Rajasthan, calligraphers and painters from Karachi), the compound was designed and constructed over a period of nearly 50 years. And it is. Broadly assorted in their use of sources, the builders have combine stylistic elements from Lahore, as well as Iran, Spain and Turkey, and combined them with almost all known elements of the time. Materials and crafts used range from the traditional (teak, ivory, marble, coloured glass, onyx, glazed tile work, fresco, mirror work, gilded tracery, ceramic, calligraphic work and inlay) to the modern and synthetic (marbleised industrial tile, artificial stone facing, terrazzo, coloured cement tile and wrought iron). Only traditional materials were used in the mosque interiors. Gold leaves have been used for the intricate decorative work in the mosque which has made it famous. It is a site worth visiting for its beauty and the stylish calligraphic work.
The Bhong Mosque stands on a majestic citadel like a pearl. It is a part of a complex that consists of a prayer hall, library, a madrasa, and residential dormitories for students and visitors. The complex is utilized by the local population. The madrasa is functional, although with less importance than in the past when students came to the school from as far as Turkey, Afghanistan, and Iran.
Bhong Mosque received the Aga Khan International Award for Architecture in 1986. In the words of the jury: “Bhong (Mosque) enshrines and epitomises the popular taste in Pakistan with all its vigour, pride, tension and sentiment. Its use, and misuse, of signs and symbols expresses appropriate growing pains of architecture in transition.” Earlier, the shrine of Shah Rukn-e-Alam was given the prestigious Aga Khan award. The Tughlaq built shrine marks the climax of Multani architecture and is surprisingly original.
Since conference of award, the Mosque has become a site of interest for architects from all over the world. “To many architects and intellectuals, the Bhong Mosque complex is a product that negates the very purpose of an architectural enterprise rooted in the deep understanding of the culture,” writes steering committee member and architect Ismail Serageldin. “To many others, it is a wonderful, exuberant structure that evokes an almost palpable joie de vivre, and that represents a bow to the prevailing taste of its users,” stated (along with the majority’s final thoughts and statements) by Hans Hollein and the Turkish architect Mehmet Doruk Pamir in their work. Much more have been written by the international architectural press about the mosque that is a thing of beauty.
The Aga Khan International Award for Architecture, established in 1977 by His Highness the Aga Khan, recognises examples of architectural excellence that encompass contemporary design, social housing, community improvement and development, restoration, re-use, and area conservation, as well as landscaping and environmental issues. Through its efforts, the Award seeks to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of societies in which Muslims have a significant presence. The award enhances the understanding and appreciation of Islamic culture as expressed through architecture. Through its efforts, the Award seeks to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of societies in which Muslims have a significant presence.
Beyond the architectural wonder and potential for development of pollution free, serene and quite sleepy place, the village is a dwelling where farmers live like rustic in the face of modern urban attractions and in the state of total neglect. Main bazaar is lined with modest shops selling meat, sweets, fresh vegetables and other commodity items. There are few hotels. Sturdy tonga is the vehicle of convenience here for going to and coming from place to place. But the moment some automobile passes through the bazaar, it kicks thick clouds of dust that keep hanging for some time before it settles on eatables on sale in the open.
Tractors, Suzuki pickups and small tucks are edging out animal drawn carts seen roaming on the dusty trails and tracks of rural Pakistan now. But animal power can not be written off in and around Bhong village. Bullocks, donkeys, horses and camels drawn carts still move large quantity of freight in rural areas (as well as cities). They go where trucks can not go; they are cheap; they are invaluable when speed is not important. They have not outlived their utility so they will be with us for at least another 50 years.
Similarly, agricultural implements like axes; hatches, shackles and ploughs produced by village lohar (blacksmith) are being replaced by modern farming machinery. The tradesmen like lohar, tarkhan (carpenter), nai (barber) and darzi (tailor) traditionally working in the villages since centuries - mostly paid in the form of grain at the end of each rabi and kharif seasons - are no more pursuing their vocations. They are putting their children in schools for education, instead, And, without the agricultural land holding, it is easier for these tradesmen to shift to the cities. But the Bhong Mosque will stay there for ever for people to come and see.
It is on our way back that only seven kilometers from the National Highway, engine of our vehicle (RKR Toyota Jeep) coughed and died down. Driver opened the bonnet, fiddled around some and gave a blank look. Every one else also tried to figure out what has happened but no results till Captain Jamal pointed out that we should also check the petrol level. That was it. The driver was sent to get the petrol with empty container hanging at the back of the vehicle on a local bus who came after one and half hour. And while waiting under a shady tree, we had a cribbing and bickering session.
Labels: Built Heritage, Travel
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/27/2009 12:23:00 PM,
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Governor's Rule in Punjab
There is so much going on for weak governments all over the country – war in Swat and Tribal areas, Taliban quagmire, economic recession, price hick and relations with India and Afghanistan.
Labels: Governance, Politics
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/27/2009 10:30:00 AM,
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Exploitation of Teachers
Thursday, 26 February 2009
In order to keep them on their toes, teachers are constantly demonised and exploited in different ways, be they economic, physical, emotional, social or psychological.
In private English-medium schools, teachers are little more than robots, which is akin to being in a factory assembly line. In most of these schools, the punch-card system is in place and teachers are interrogated, insulted and penalized for being late. A common practice is that if a teacher is late for two days, a day's salary is deducted. Their physical exploitation involves long working hours. In some cases a teacher is asked to teach five to seven classes a day. In most schools, teachers are not even given an appropriate place to work when not taking a class and often end up sitting in some vacant corner of the school.
There are school managements that have gone as far as removing teachers' chairs from classrooms to deprive them of the option of taking a seat during class. On the other hand, some private elite schools also make them work for extended periods of time on classroom decoration and presentations, noticeboard presentations and student activities. For some of these, they have to forego their holidays for which they are not compensated. Needless to say, their salary is not worth the work and humiliation that they are subjected to in a sometimes threatening environment.
A large majority of teachers in elite schools complain of emotional exploitation as the attitude of the management is one that seeks to control its workforce through intimidation. Teachers' individual creativity is nipped in the bud and they are forced to work within the tight shackles of school regulations. This emotional exploitation is closely linked to psychological mistreatment where tutors have to live with the threat of unannounced classroom visits by the management. This bureaucratic and hierarchical system suits the top management - they keep their teachers at a distance and use coordinators to exert control by checking their work and movements. In most cases, the management does not even trust teachers, and assumes that they are either shirkers or cheaters.
Also, private institutions do not provide health cover, transport facilities or retirement benefits. In short, there is no job security and a teacher in a private school ha s to live from moment to moment. This suppressive and disabling environment makes them helpless, and compliant implementers, acting as tiny screws in a big machine. It is, unsurprisingly, more taxing for female staffers who are supposed to fulfil expectations of work as well as family.
In a rigid bureaucratic environment, favouritism and flattery flourish; creative initiatives and innovative practices are discouraged. This culture of conformity and submission distorts personalities as staffers are treated like factory workers for enhanced productivity and efficiency. They, however, tend to forget that there is a major difference between the work done by factory workers and educators. A factory produces identical items on a mass scale in an assembly line and the worker is merely doing his or her bit in a predictable, mechanical manner.
A school is supposed to develop individuals with independent, critical thinking abilities; who can reflect and have the courage to challenge the taboos of society and who believe in emancipation, peace, coexistence and a wider notion of socio-economic development. How can teachers inculcate such qualities in their students if they end up becoming submissive, insecure automatons?
Labels: Education
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/26/2009 01:11:00 PM,
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Light Within Old Banner
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Labels: Light Within
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/24/2009 09:45:00 PM,
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How to Become a Maulana?
The media is full of “Maulana” Sufi Mohammed and “Maulana” Fazlullah.
All the television news channels are falling over themselves inserting the “Maulana” honorific not only to these two, but to everyone in their coterie.
Makes me wonder, how do you become a “Maulana“?
I mean this as serious question. Is there a process? A certification agency? An exam of some sort? A public process? The coming together of popular sentiment? What? And, how?
We as a society take honorifics seriously. As we should. Visiting Pakistan, I still get unnerved being called “Professor Sahib” and “Daktor Saab.” (Even more so since I suspect that people think that the later is somehow more important than the former!)
I understand that honorifics are an important cultural recognition. I also realize that sometimes they are simply terms of endearment bestowed by one’s fans or supporters. But they can also be publicity stunts for attaining false public credence. I had always assumed that there was a sense of intellectual contribution, maybe even piety, being attributed by the title of “Maulana.” I think many Pakistanis still assume so. Yet, it does not seem that many who have adorned with the title recently can make a claim to either.
My honest question merely wishes to figure out how these religious titles are being bestowed today. I assume that for such a title, there must be some criteria or process. Or is it self-proclaimed or based on looks alone? If so, is it now OK to call all the cabin crew on PIA whose facial hair is being targetted as “Maulana”?
I wonder if by throwing the title of “Maulana” on everyone, our media is actually diluting the value of the title? Demeaning the achievements of those who actually deserve it? Most importantly are they not giving “Islam a bad name” to the world at large by turning every gun-totting bearded guy like Fazlullah into a “Maulana”!
(Interestingly, till the writing of this, Wikipedia - which must never be fully trusted - calls Fazlullah a “Maulana” but Sufi Mohammad is not one in the headline, although he is in the text. Yet another reason not to take Wikipedia seriously)!
Labels: Culture, Satire, Society
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/24/2009 11:46:00 AM,
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Krakoram Express Has Gone Old Already
Six passengers have a compartment to themselves. No streams of persistent vendors. No one can have the pleasure of hanging from an open train door as they are locked stop to stop. Like Lahore-Islamabad motorway the train is for many a symbol of modernity and progress.
The complete train (except engine) has been made by Changchun Car Company in China as part of Pakistan Railways consignment worth rupees 7.77 billions to import 175 passenger coaches. The 14 completely built coaches have already been commissioned and rest are to be assembles in the Pakistan Railway Carriage Factory Islamabad. Two Chinese engineers (one electrical and one mechanical) travel with the train to observe its performance that plies on the track laid by the British over a century ago. I tried to but could not converse with them. They only knew Chinese. But I am sure they must be surprised on how Pakistan Railways is using some of the old infrastructure. At places one can see the equipment of old vintage (1906) in use. The main strategic and commercial artery of the country, the railway line passing through the length of the country, needs to be doubled on priority.
My train left Lahore right on time. Some one interrupted the recitation from Holly Qura’an that was going on and started making announcements and issuing instructions in Urdu as well as English on public address system installed in the train. No pun intended but the announcement was a first shocker. Not only the subject of instructions and the contents of announcement need to be changed but it should be made by some one who is qualified to do that. Or at least a pre-recorded audio tape can do the job. It seemed that some one is talking to himself and not to the passengers. Later, the system started broadcasting songs of Noor Jehan and Jawad Ahmad.
Hurtling through a countryside that had remained unchanged for most part, the train blasted imperiously through the smaller stations without stopping. It has only four stops in the way: Khanewal (20 minutes), Rohri (20 minutes), and Hyderabad (5 minutes). The old engine that has been repainted to go with the train colour and some of the administrative staff go straight from Lahore to Karachi and comes back next day. No changing in the way.
The train clattered on culverts, bridges, and mud-hut villages chiselled from the landscape. Over two hours of the day light that I had before dusk, I saw through the window the buffalos lounging in village ponds, tiny houses decorated with drying cowpats, the immense sky bruised black with the smoke rising from factories, Pattoki nurseries, deserted station Tabrooq and other very familiar cinematic scenery in the expanses of Punjab. In the irrigated tracts, I rode through endless stretch of waving crops of different shades of colour. Too frequently one sees long queues of road transport standing on either side of railway crossings waiting passionately for train to pass. The train track in most places is lined with extinguishing species of trees like Okkan and Salvadora (called Van). After the harvest all will change.
Dark outside, I moved up and down the train. The passengers, kaleidoscopic mix, seemed oblivious. Some were sleeping, some eating food they had brought from home. Only a few people ordered food from the accompanied Dinning Car though the staff presented mutilated menu cards to every one and purser came to ask if every one has had a complimentary evening tea. Some passengers pored over documents or books and some glanced hopefully at their mobile phones to see if there was a signal, which of course there was not. Mobile phone only covers a part of the journey mainly around main cities. So the high-tech train glided onward through a no-tech but beautiful and living landscape, silent except for a muffled symphony of snores and burps emanating from its curtained-off berths, and the soft beeps of passengers playing “Snake” on their otherwise useless phone sets. A group was busy playing “teen-patti.” I was invited to join in and at the end we exchanged contact cards. And some others were travelling with feet tapping to a catching beat of the songs.
Moving while sleeping, I have had some restless moments, spent some time gazing at stars. It was not always easy to find the least uncomfortable arrangement of my bones on upper berth of the train that was too high to climb and too near the roof of the compartment. The pillow and bed sheets provided by the train staff were not enough for me. Moreover, the train gave rough jolts whenever the brakes were applied. But wait a second. Could sleeping while moving — if I may exploit the metaphor — be the problem? My problem? Is not the whole point of the exercise to wake up? Wake up at Rohri where Shahid was waiting to tell me what is new there. Wake up to Hussain Abdul Rahman who had come at Hyderabad Railway Station to deliver hot breakfast and tell me what he had explored in Thar.
Lahore to Karachi is always an amazing trip: mind expanding, horizons broadening, wallet emptying — and you are home again. Nothing much has changed and somehow your friends are not as excited about your cool travel tales as they should be. Homecoming blues are a price I always pay. What can be done about them?
One of my cures when I am stuck at home is to keep up with letters and emails to people I met while travelling. As time goes on, you never know what those sorts of contacts will lead to — future travel. It is all too easy to let travel friendships slide, but then that just gives you one more thing to be depressed about. Developing these relationships allows you to think of your trip as the start of something rather than an ending.
Labels: Travel
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/24/2009 10:51:00 AM,
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In Support of John Solecki
Monday, 23 February 2009
Please free John Solecki, for his mother sake and for the sake of traditional hospitality that is famous around the area where he was kidnapped.
Labels: John Solecki
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/23/2009 02:20:00 PM,
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Look At This Ad!
Sunday, 22 February 2009
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/22/2009 02:41:00 PM,
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Test Cricket Returns to Pakistan
Saturday, 21 February 2009
As I am writing these lines, International Test Cricket has returned to Pakistan after a gap of 16 months. Today, Pakistan is playing against Sri Lanka at National Stadium, Karachi and as of now Sri Lanka has won the toss and is batting first. Latest score is Sri Lanka 120/2. I’ll continue to update the score in Comments section of this post but for now how about we take a look at some statistics of Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Test Matches.So far Pakistan and Sri Lanka have played 32 test matches. Pakistan has won 15 (46.88%) and Sri Lanka has won 7 (21.88%) matches. 10 (31.25%) matches have been drawn.
Overall Pakistan has played 335 test matches so far with 103 wins (30.75%), 89 losses (26.57) and 143 draws (42.68%).
Sri Lanka on the other hand has overall played 182 test matches with 56 wins (30.77%), 67 losses (36.81%) and 59 draws (32.42%)
In Pakistan v/s Sri Lanka matches, highest aggregate scorers against each other have been:
(1) Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak) - 1559 runs at 56.96,
(2) S. Jayasuria (SL) - 1490 runs at 51.37
(3) P.A. De Silva (SL) - 1475 runs at 42.14
Highest wicket takers against eachother have been:
(1) M Muralitharan (SL) - 79 wickets at 23.31
(2) Wasim Akram (Pak) - 63 wickets at 21.26
(3) Waqar Younis (Pak) - 56 wickets at 22.73
At present the standings in 10 year ICC Test Championship are as follows:
1. Australia (126)
2. South Africa (121)
3. India (118)
4. Sri Lanka (109)
5. England (103)
6. Pakistan (98)
7. West Indies (81)
8. New Zealand (81)
9. Bangladesh (0)
With Pakistan slumped at #6, there is nothing to lose but a lot to gain from this 2 test series. 2nd test match of current series will be played in Lahore from March 1, 2009.
In today’s match, Pakistan has given cap to two new players. One is 25 year old fast bowler Sohail Khan who is a local success story coming out of Rashid Latif Cricket Academy and other is 22 year old batsman Khurram Manzoor.
Younis Khan is Pakistan’s new captain today where as previous captain Shoaib Malik is playing as an all-rounder. It will be a natural thing to note their performances.
From Sri Lankan side, their most successful captain Mahela Jayawardane is playing his last series.
Sri Lanka has also brought back their seasoned bowler Chaminda Vaas who will be playing in his 109th test match. Vaas has taken 354 wickets in test cricket at 29.22.
And I got this statistic from Cricinfo that: “Sangakkara averages a staggering 82.66 with three hundreds and two half-centuries in five Tests against Pakistan”.
We hope that Pakistan wins the series - we have a strong bias here - but we also wish good luck to Sri Lankan team.
Photo Credits: Associated Press of Pakistan
Labels: Cricket, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/21/2009 03:36:00 PM,
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Reference to the Context
This has been written and quoted in different contexts but one can mirror this in any field of life.
Labels: Writing
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/21/2009 03:28:00 PM,
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Evening with Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist Lorraine Adams
Friday, 20 February 2009
Lahore Nama hosted a small discussion group Lorraine Adams on Feb 19, 2009. Miranda Husain, freelance journalist and a writer, also an active participant at the event reports.
We are happy to humbly term our discussion group with Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist Loraine Adams a resounding success, with most of those gathered proudly showcasing their verbal animation skills!
Ms Adams may now be known to many as a critically acclaimed novelist. However, her extensive career in political and investigative journalism means that behind the creativity lies a woman with a solid understanding of US foreign policy, especially within the global war on terror context. Significantly, she believes that despite the recent regime change in Washington, Pakistan remains immensely vulnerable in the face of the world’s largest military machine.
And this really sums up the reason behind Ms Adams’ visit.
Viewing fiction as the best means of engaging the reader’s imagination – while continuously reiterating a shared humanity – Ms Adams has deliberately chosen to set her next novel in modern day Lahore. Thus she aims to use the reader-character relationship as a vehicle to debunk the many false or distorted stereotypes about this country and its people. Such efforts must not only be welcomed, but be seen for what they are: Ms Adams’ personal contribution to the discourse on Pakistan and its position on the world stage at this critical political juncture.
Refreshingly, Ms Adams is not bashful when it comes to recognising that she, as an American and also as a Pulitzer Prize winner, is taken seriously when engaging in such dialogue. Equally refreshingly, this does not stop her from trying to seek out the entire octave range of the Pakistani voice. For she does not believe in speaking for people, but in listening to them.
This is why she asked those gathered to fill in any gaps in her research approach. Thus the discussion leapt from the real or imagined Western media bias against Pakistan to insistent requests that she visit Old Lahore. Also touched upon were issues of class divisions at the national and provincial levels based, among other things, on language. However, the recurring theme appeared to be the heterogeneous nature of Pakistan and its multiple identities, even though these were, admittedly, restricted to the Muslim realm, with no real mention of minority group identities.
Nevertheless, the discussion’s fundamental success was this: what began as a Western-Eastern exchange of perspectives transformed into an exchange of ideas on a human level. And such exchanges must never be underestimated.
Labels: Authors, People, Writing
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/20/2009 05:15:00 PM,
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Phuleli Canal Hyderabad
Thursday, 19 February 2009
I had never been overly optimistic about cleanliness of our drinking water sources, but following two photos hit too close to reality. Pakistan’s 6th largest and Sindh’s 2nd largest city, Hyderabad draws its drinking water from Phuleli Canal (official spellings - Fuleli). The photos in this post show protest by an NGO in Hyderabad against pollution in the Phuleli canal.According to a study the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous added to Phuleli canal from sewage water were calculated to be 316.2 tons/month and 85.3 tons/month respectively.
Hyderabad with 1151274 people (1998 census) has two water treatment plants on Phuleli Canal. Northern Water Treatment plant and Southern Water Treatment Plant. It is true that water from Phuleli canal goes to 2 these plants before it is supplied to city population, but I wonder how much and how efficient of flitration is done in the plant? Also not everyone along Phuleli Canal gets to drink filtered water. There are several towns downstream from Hyderabad e.g. Matli (41995 people), Tando Mohammad Khan (62087 people) and Badin (61302 people) which get their water untreated and directly from the canal.
A survey report from 2006 states that Highly toxic run-off from plastic factories, illegal cattle pens, slaughterhouses and sewage water is released into the Phuleli canal as it passes through Hyderabad and it has put in jeopardy lives of more than a million people. Following is an extract from Dawn news which talks about this 2006 survey of Phuleli water:
Various industries, cattle pens and slaughterhouses situated between RD-4 and RD-38 in Hyderabad, throw tonnes of solid and fluid waste into the canal. Two plastic factories located between RD-22 and 27 in Laloo Lashari and Khursheed Town drain out their garbage and run-off into the canal. At RD-27, some people clean solid waste from floor mills on encroached land on the canal, which is not only telling upon their health but is also polluting water.
A Historic Photo of Phuleli Canal:
Phuleli Canal has been supplying drinking water to Hyderabad from days of its construction. Photo to the left shows a Persian Wheel drawing drinking water from Phuleli canal in 1890s. This photograph is from an album of 91 prints apparently compiled by P. J. Corbett, a PWD engineer in canal construction in Sindh in the early 1900s.
So Why This Post?
Why am I writing this post? I was shocked to see photos of dead animals in the water supply of Hyderabad above. I also want to raise awareness about pollution in canals taken out from lower Indus i.e. Kotri Barrage. Many years ago river Indus used to flow much fuller here but with less and less water reaching Kotri barrage, effluents are not getting washed away from the river as well as canals like Old Phuleli (Pinyari Canal), New Phuleli (Fuli Canal), Kalri Baghar Feeder Upper, Akram Wah (Lined Channel), Wadhu Wah and Fasadi Wah which feed huge population with drinking water. Adding to the problem is local practise of dumping waste and effluents in the canals themselves.
References:
1) Population of Hyderabad according to 1998 census was 1,151,274. Source here
(2) Industries told to Stop Toxic Effluent Disposal in Indus
(3) Toxic water in Phuleli canal poses threat to people
(4) Historic Photo of Persian Wheel at Phuleli Canal: here
(5) Quantitative Assessment of Phosphorus and Nitrogen in Fuleli Canal Water
(6) Physico-Chemical Study and Budgeting of Wastewater From Hyderabad City Limits
(7) Map of Hyderabad
Photo Credits: Farhan Khan at Associated Press of Pakistan.
Labels: Environment
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/19/2009 12:47:00 PM,
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Save the Earth
Saving the planet Earth is a collective responsibility of all businesses and individuals. Best thing is that awareness is increasing and most people are doing their best to slow (if not possible to stop) the environmental degradation and saving the mother Earth. Even consumers supplementing corporate efforts by using and adopting green technologies’ products.
I came across iLinc Green Meter lately. This is a wonderful software that measures carbon emission. Based on the information business and individuals can resort to collaborative technologies to reduce physical travel. Result: it will reduce business travel and save environment. What is the iLinc Green Meter? It is an automatic calculator inside iLinc web conferencing software that tracks CO2, cost and travel reductions accrued by meeting online rather than traveling.
How does it help? Say you are based in London and need to travel to attend a conference in Beijing. The iLinc Green Meter makes calculations based on your travel from London to Beijing and the standard emission rates for cars and or planes to be used for the journey to and from. Not only can an individual see his or her travel’s immediate impact on the environment, a team can tally its total, as can an entire organization. In fact, iLinc claims that users have saved two billion pounds of carbon emissions from harming the environment so far.
In a case where every bit matters, every small tools can help. Remember small things make a big difference. What are you doing in your own capacity to slow carbon emission and resulting atmospheric degradation?
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/19/2009 09:27:00 AM,
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Unblock Internet Censorship
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
World-Secure-Channel.com offers a solution to all privacy concerns with any Internet connection. Their vpn service is a great tool to make your appearance on the Internet secure and keep your vital information private and also bypass local internet restrictions with a World Secure Channel VPN account, and much more!
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/18/2009 11:12:00 PM,
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For Hire!
I was an avid reader of the New York Hack - blog by female New York cabbie - before it died just after her book Hack off duty hit the book store. Now Hassan Abbas (of Watan Dost fame) points to book by Pakistani cabbie titled For Hire’: Cabbie knows how to move pen and he does it well by Asif Hussain Shah. Cabbies have interesting stuff to tell.Labels: Authors, Blogs, Books, Writing
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/18/2009 10:07:00 PM,
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Beauty
Interested in beauty, read how to have healthy hair.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/18/2009 10:03:00 PM,
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Evening with Lorraine Adams
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Lorraine Adams - a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist (Washington Post) turned novelist (author of two including Harbor by Knopf) is coming to Lahore. Presently she is working on a novel based in Pakistan.Friends are having a group discussion with her on on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19 at 6 PM at 49 Mozang Road, Lahore, located close to the British Council. Come and join. It will be a lovely evening; that is a promise.
Please SMS at 03335188663 or email {razarumi{at}gmail.com} if you plan to attend.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/17/2009 09:44:00 PM,
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Who you think are people most responsible for the recession?
Monday, 16 February 2009
Read "The 10 people most responsible for the recession" and mirror this in your own economy!
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/16/2009 03:40:00 PM,
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Wedding of Daughter of Arshad Javed Khokhar
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Labels: 55 PMA
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/15/2009 09:08:00 AM,
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Who is Your Valentine?
Saturday, 14 February 2009
Many across the world are celebrating Valintine's Day in a frenzy of crimson and pink, heart themed gifts, bouquets of flowers, chocolates and much more in very creative ways. Some are still looking for their Valintines and some are thinking if Valentine isn`t for them. Labels: Valentine, Valentine's Day, Valentines
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/14/2009 12:29:00 PM,
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Offshore outsourcing
Friday, 13 February 2009
One of the most important issues in developing countries rich in human resources, like Pakistan, is to understand IT outsourcing. Developed countries are doing it to lower costs and to free scarce resources back home for high value-added work, and work concentrating on core competencies. On our end of the equation, outsourcing is important in order to boost the economy, reduce unemployment, and develop the local IT services industry. Both sides can mutually benifit.
Untill September 11, high tech companies in the developing world, including Pakistan, were admired extensively for the quality of work they produced and for their technological edge. But the economic slow down and increasing layoffs after the heinous events of September 11 changed things in more than one way. Moreover, the workforce in USA and Europe is seeing offshore outsourcing differently: they complain that jobs meant for them are moved outside their countries, for cost savings, to the extent that they have started influencing policy makers to check this practice. Their worries were confirmed by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, which stated that in March 2003 alone 212,000 US computer and engineering professionals were unemployed.
Pakistan is one of the important destinations for outsourcing. The country has a good base of IT professionals, developed infrastructure, and friendly government policies and laws. The effect of "Pakistan's 60 fold rise in its budget for IT" has already started showing results. An employable workforce with good command of the English language is available at a very competitive cost. Pakistani universities and IT institutions in both public and private sectors have internationally standard curricula and are turning out many tens of thousands of IT graduates each year who are adept at turning their hands to anything from software development to running call centres.
The IT market has also matured, as local IT companies have been doing contract work for clients in developed countries for over a decade. But, sadly, the trend has not picked up as much as in neighbouring countries like India and China. Reasons are rather political and diplomatic than technological. Pakistan, relatively, is a smaller market. Pakistan has always been a frontline state to fight terrorism but ironically the image of the country in the world media is not very helpful either.
Clearly, Pakistan needs to catch and then hold the attention of big IT players. For that, we have to have a constant supply of skilled IT workers to meet the demand when it comes our way, now and in the future. Policymakers have to ensure sufficient planning is done to create the human/intellectual capital. This done, it will be difficult for anyone to ignore Pakistani talent that is untapped so far.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/13/2009 12:13:00 PM,
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Men vs Machines
Let me start this post with one old personal observation. I remember the time when newspapers were composed manually. An army of composers used to sit in lines and put the words together for us to read with morning cup of tea. That was old time. Now things have changed. Now when I go to newsroom, I see few people sitting on computers who quickly type and the print is off the stone in a jiffy. Technologies have taken over jobs done by human hands.
Have a look around and see how seamlessly technologies are taking over jobs from fighting (remember the drone attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan) to massaging and a whole lot in between. There was “one robot per 10 workers in Japan, Italy and Germany in 2004,” says a report. This ration has surely increased since then.
This automation is changing the way we work (and even live). What are the societal repercussions? One the on hand this is creating a major wide gap between developed and developing societies and on the other hand this will increase unemployment all over the world including developed and more connected world.
No one will suggest to stop automation or reverse the wheel of development. But what analysts are thinking is how to have an equilibrium. What you think is the possible balance point?
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/13/2009 12:01:00 PM,
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Concept of Justice
As per Plato every thing in the world should be given its appropriate place. Biologically human body can be divided in three distinct and incompatible parts. Wisdom comes from head; stomach is responsible for distribution of calories to the whole body through intakes; hands and feet work for the body and act as guards. Humans die when this appropriation is disturbed. Head cannot act in the place of stomach or hand and vice versa.
Like human body he classifies the state population. The philosophers work as head, businessmen, presents and technicians work as stomach and soldiers and administrators work as arms and legs. If one of them takes the place of another, it will be a gross imbalance. With that the state shall fall sick and ultimately die. If each is at its own place, the state will become ideal.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/13/2009 10:31:00 AM,
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Murree Maneuvers
Thursday, 12 February 2009
In the Himalayan foothills Murree -- known as Malika-e-Kohsar meaningthe queen of hills -- was founded as a hill station by the British in1851. Like other cities set up by the British, the town has the Mallfor promenading, parks, churches, schools, clubs and plenty of othercrumbling colonial charms. Remember, during British rule, access tothe Mall was restricted for locals. After independence Murree has onceagain become the summer retreat of the government and since Islamabadbecame the capital of Pakistan in 1962, has expanded rapidly. There isa governor house, other government houses and summer homes of affluentclass from all over the country. The residences are built on thesummit and sides of an irregular ridge, and command magnificent viewsover forest-clad hills and deep valleys, studded with villages andcultivated fields, with snow-covered peaks of Kashmir in background.
Murree town spreads along the top of a ridge for about fivekilometres. At the north-east end is Kashmir Point, with views acrossthe valley of the Jhelum River into Azad Kashmir. At the south-westend is Pindi Point, looking back towards Rawalpindi and Islamabad.Between the two runs the Mall, at the centre of which is the mainshopping area, where visitors flock. Most conspicuous rendezvous inthe town is General Post Office on the Mall.
Apart from odd looking ruins of Murree Brewery (shifted to Rawalpindilong ago), there is an Ecology Centre that was established in 1960 toexperiment with environment friendly agricultural processes such asgreenhouses to grow winter crops. Although fruit and vegetables areimportant crops at the Centre but this institute has playedsignificant role in the mainstream agriculture through its work oncereal rust. The site was specially selected after a thorough surveyby Canadian team of experts that visited Gilgit, Chitral, Swat, Kaghanand Azad Kashmir. The Centre has done some considerable work to extendthe carrying capacity of the land. Other than this, economy of thearea is predominantly agricultural though land holdings are small. Orlocals have some openings in tourism industry that is still in theinitial stages of development.
In addition to sunsets and cloud effects seen daily during the rainsand good weather, trekking or riding in the chair-lifts are Murree'smain amusements. But one can turn the soft jaunt into a dauntingexperience in the name of adventure. Who stops! Like for more daringtypes and those who want to beat the crowds and still enjoy the greenenvirons of Murree, the best is to explore the surrounding areas.There are many defined walking trails in adjoining country that iswell wooded and its scenery attractive: from Islamabad to Tret, fromTret to Ghora Gali (where "dak" horses used to change during Britishera), from Ghora Gali to Murree, from Murree to Barian and ChanglaGali with Swar Gali and Khaira Gali in between and from Changala Galito Nathia Gali through Ayubia and Dunga Gali. From Nathiagali a commontrekking route is to Thandiani with an overnight stay in the way.
Though sometime out of compulsion, I have been walking on Murree-Kakul (Abbottabad) route for sometime. During training in Military AcademyKakul, even fun trips to Murree customarily used to be converted in awalk with big packs (pack point zero eight) instead of trendy andlight backpacks on the back. Out of twenty six items, from needle toblanket to venom antidotes, one was supposed to keep in the packs onlymap and compasses were useful. Rest used to look like an added loadabout as useful wet matches during rain?
But what if sometime one wants to escape into open solitudes, intoaimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure hazard, inorder to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship, and to becompelled to work desperately for a moment at no matter what? Thatmight be the reason for my once deciding to go back from Murree toKakul cross-country.
Walking a series of hills along the ridge between Murree andAbbottabad is the way to see the green mountain glen, as it requiresto be seen. Murree is over 2,200 meters above sea level whereasAbbottabad lies at the height of 1200 meters therefore walking 70kilometres downhill from Murree to Abbottabad, even cross country,should be an easy option. But it is not. The contours, those thin,maroon lines on maps of the area are not easy to negotiate on ground.That is what I found during my zigzagging along the contours.
First it is a climb. I felt comfortable and warm but every now andthen I had to go a little down too and then "sweat became a fridge." Inever got warm again. It became soon clear that I could not walkstraight. So I decided to stay at Nathiagalli. Next day, I still hadcold feet but from there on it went down fast and did make it in theevening. Now I have forgotten the agony of carrying the weight of mypack zero eight but till today I have been able to preserve thefeeling stirred by encounter with natural beauty in the way. The wildflowers were big and grass green. It was all very silent. I felt thetrue essence of a place, for seeing without feeling can obviously beuncaring; while feeling without seeing can be blind.
Walking parallel to Khanpur, at the bottom of a visibly used track ina small bowl like gorge one finds a warning sign posted by some NGOconcerned with conservation of wildlife and nature. "Save theWildlife," it advises. Beneath the images of the different birds foundin the area, independent visitors had scrawled their names and someone had written his own impromptu comments that reads, "Wish you werehere with me." Very apt! In the way, you also see stacks of animalfodder to be used in winters, villagers coming down the hillsfollowing donkey loaded with dried wood or pruning of trees and an axehanging on side, or carrying the load on heads for use as fire wood,or a rabbit frolicking on the grass, maybe a rat. Or you come acrossred cheeked and friendly kids asking for pencils, their faces bathedin peace. The peace and serenity in the area has a marvellous effecton the nerves.
Most hard core travellers, particularly foreigners, come up with somedaisy character who came "offering them hashish, heroin, sledge, orsomething even more bizarre when they write about their travelexperiences in Pakistan, perhaps in an effort to make their tales richin adventure, absurdity and humour. Or they tell harrowing tales liketheir belongings stolen on gun point. Maybe they think this makestheir stories culturally more erudite. But in this very touristy area(and even during my other long hauls elsewhere), what I could comeacross are many kindnesses from any thing but ordinary people. I wasoverwhelmed by the consideration I was shown during my cross countrywalk by a humble and hospitable local Malik Nawab Khan, an ex serviceman, who offered me food. His home was in a deadbeat place, cluster ofa few houses on my way and away from any where. Exhausted, and wantingto rest my feet we settled for tea. That was one of the best and muchneeded hot cups of hot tea (with solid boiled eggs) that I took. Hehad told me to keep a lemon and suck on it while walking hard and longin hills. It gives strength and quenches thrust. He also said, "Tirethe mountain not yourself." I realize the folk wisdom in the advicesevery time I walk. And we still are in communication with each other.Malik Nawab remains another reason for me to visit the area morefrequently.
Hunger for nature becomes more intense as one sees pristine wildernessturning into a scarce commodity. Revisiting a place like Murree doesnot put me off. - I find a new and original angle every time! I love it every time.
Labels: Travel
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/12/2009 04:08:00 PM,
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Corporate Blogging
What I have learnt about corporate blogging is this: Online consumers in 2008 are not impressed simply by a professional looking website or a blog bash. A typical online shopper would do hours of research before making a purchase. Informed consumers want to read about what they are interested in, ask questions, get advice and more. None of this is possible on a simple website. A blog can do all of this.
A blog helps enormously in getting into the top search engine results. Why? Because blogs by their very nature are updated frequently, and search engines prefer fresh content. Search engines prefer sites which have a lot of incoming links. Blogs can get many more of these incoming links than regular websites because people are more likely to link to information (blogs) than commerce (website). Blogs as opposed to websites have a large and growing content. A clearly visible link from the blog to the main website is very effective form of advertising. Remember the best type of advertising is one that isn't perceived by the customer as advertising.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/12/2009 02:25:00 PM,
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Minar Mir Ma'soom Shah
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
The architecture of this tower is probably ungainly but there are few details that make it unique in Pakistan. The number 84 is significant with the architecture here as the tower is 84 ft (26 meters) high. One source claims the height of the minar as 31 meter. The number of steps to reach the top of the tower is 84. The circumference of the base of tower is also 84 feet.
The tower’s historical significance arises from the fact that it was built in 1605-1610 AD. In one of the references I read, the year of completion for the tower is given as 1607 A.D. Even with going with the conservative estimate of 1610 AD means the next year Tower of Masoom will complete 400 years of it existence.
It was built by Masoom Shah of Bukkur (an island on River Indus between Sukkur and Rohri). Masoom Shah was the Governer of the area in times of Mughal Emperor Akbar. The tower was built with the purpose of keeping a watch on the area.
On top of the tower is an observation balcony which is now covered with iron railing. At one time it became nototrious for suicidal people flinging themselves to death below. If you look carefully at the top of the tower in our title photo, you can see this iron railing on the viewing balcony. When was this iron cage built? I couldn’t research the date for sure but the last photo of this post below (circa 1896) shows this cage present, which means the iron cage was present atleast in the British era.
Next to the tower is a pavilion made of sandstone which has graves of Masoom Shah and his family. The sacrophagi are carved in the tradition of the Chaukundi tombs (near Thatta, Sindh). Photo to the left shows the view of these tombs from the top of the minar-e-Masoomi.
Cousens wrote in The Antiquities of Sind, "The most conspicuous feature in the landscape is the tall minar of Mir Ma’sum…Its dropsical proportions, and uncertain undulating outline suggest putty or dough as the material of its construction rather than brick and mortar. Its lantern top, surrounded with an iron cage, make it look more like an antiquated lighthouse perambulating through the country…It rises to a height of about a hundred feet, is eighty-four feet in circumference at the base, and is somewhat out of the perpendicular…Under the shadow of the minar rest the remains of Mir Muhammad Ma’sum Shah, his father, and other members of his family, the Ma’sumi Sayyids…Over the graves are open canopies supported on square, flat and octagonal stone pillars whose shafts are covered with Persian writing in relief and other ornamental tracery…Between Mir Ma’sum’s grave and the base of the minaret is a domed octagonal building, apparently intended as a rest-house, which was built in A.H. 1004 (Plate LXXVIII) [this image]. It has four arched entrances, those on the east and west having a cut-stone ornamental balconied window above each of them. It is built of brick and is decorated with coloured tiles.”
Reference:
1. Insight Guide, Pakistan 2001
2. Steeped in history by Salman Rasheed
3. British Library, Online Gallery
4. Satellite Image of Masoom Shah’s Minar
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/11/2009 10:24:00 PM,
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Changing Chitral
Saturday, 7 February 2009
This is Chitral valley. On the small airfield, the cold wind thrust you to shiver. The remoteness of the district has left it undeveloped in spite of grand natural beauty, hospitable people and ancient history. The town is a base camp for tourists, adventurers and researchers from across the world. And, people seem to be living there in peace.
Chitral, located at 1500 meters from sea level is a beautiful and historic town. It has lively bazaar -- a miniature Peshawar full of Mediterranean looking faces under Chitrali caps and foreigners. Geoffrey Moorhouse in his book "To the Frontier" describes the seen in Chitral town: men squatted in the shade of a tree beside a food stall or middle aged man seen stroking a dog." It is no truer. Now the modest bazaar is lined up with well-stocked provision shops, eating joints and souvenir shops selling many things from Chitrali caps to Lajvard (Armenian stone) and Zamurrad (Emerald) that find their way in the town, for the tourists mostly. However, American sleeping bags and rucksack, Bulgarian ankle boots and Korean Jackets that used to be on sale in bazaar during Soviet occupation in Afghanistan are no more sold there. Mehtars' fort on the banks of the Kunar River is a principal building that reminds of the bygone era. Go to visit the palace and the sleeping guard will ask for a permit from district management.
The Mehtars' palace-fortress, site of the 1895 siege, is still occupied by royal offspring so you can not go in without special arrangement. The entrance of the south end is to the residential quarters. The one facing Shahi Bazaar used to be for the royal guards. The most interesting side faces the river and is best viewed from the far end of bazaar or form across the river. The river passing through the town is called Chitral (or Kunar) River, and upstream is known as Mastuj River. Another ornate building up the road toward the police station was the royal courthouse. The spacious Shahi Mosque next door was built by Mehtar Shuja ul Mulk. New minarets and domes have been added during recent renovation, keeping the edifice in its original shape.
At the south end of town is one of Pakistan's best polo ground, where practice matches are held every few days from mid March to early November and full-blown matches on weekends. The town has weeklong tournament in September to October. With roaring crowds and drum and horn bands that play the signature tune of each player who scores a goal. Polo is still played in many up valley towns too, though it's a dying sport because horses are costly to own and no longer needed for transport. One of the biggest social events for Chitralis is days of super polo and merrymaking at Shandur Pass, which is held every few years since 1936.
The Chitral valley has a long history. It was subdued by Alexander from Macedonian, Chinese army and Timur in the past and was under king named Shah Rais (descendent of Balti rulers) in sixteenth century. Son of Sangin Ali -- advisor of Shah Rais and forefather of Adamzada clan -- threw out the king and took over the power. Kators (branch of Adamzada clan) ruled Chitral till 1960.
In 1856, the British who were apprehensive about Russians in Central Asia had sent an expedition to poke around Chitral and win some friends. In return for a subsidy, Aman ul Mulk -- the first Kator ruler called Mehtar to attract outside attention who had taken over in 1857 -- became a British friend. After capturing Kuhswaqt (another branch of Adamzada tribe) land in the 1880, his domain stretched from upper Gilgit into Afghanistan.
Aman ul Mulk died of a heart attack in 1892, one of the few Mehtars to die a natural death, since the usual way to decide succession for royal princes was to murder their father and one another until only one was left. This time 16 sons were caught unprepared. Result: bloody power tussle.
Aman's second son Afzal ul Mulk seized the family fort and began eliminating his brothers. Nizam ul Mulk fled to Gilgit. Then Umra Khan, the ruler of Dir, invaded from the south. Aman's long exiled brother Sher Afzal (the only one he had failed to eliminate) appeared from Afghanistan with a small army killed his nephew Afzal ul Mulk and pronounced himself Mehtar. Finally, prodded by the British, Nizam returned. Sher Afzal ran away and everybody recognized Nizam as Mehtar.
Two years later Nizam was overthrown by his half brother Amir ul Mulk. Umra Khan also edged up the valley, taking Drosh. In a show of force, the Gilgit Political Agent Major George Scott Robertson (writer of The Kafirs of the Hindukush) arrived at Chitral Town with 400 soldiers and moved into the fort -- the ancestral home. At this time, Sher Afzal appeared again, this time joined by people of Chitral. Badly beaten in an initial skirmish, the British found themselves besieged in the fort. Four hundred people with food and ammunition nearly gone were finally bailed out after 46 days by reinforcement from Gilgit who had hauled cannons over the Shandur pass in shoulder high snow. A bigger force fought its way over the Lowari Pass but arrived too late to help. Umra Khan fled to Afghanistan, Sher Afzal was captured, Amir arrested and his 14 years old brother Shuja ul Mulk was commissioned as Mehtar. In the aftermath, this episode somehow got recast as a heroic British campaign and Robertson was even knighted. A classic example of history chronicled from authors' point of view.
The British realigned Chitral from a western arm of Gilgit to a more secure northern extension of the NWFP. During the third Afghan War in 1919, Afghan forces invade southern Chitral at Arandu – famous crossing point during Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
Shuja ruled contentedly until 1936, his son Nasir ul Mulk until 1943 and Nasir's brother Muzaffar ul Mulk (who took Chitral into Pakistan at Partition) until 1948. Saif (son of Muzzafar) was killed in 1954 in a plane crash and his four year old son Saif ul Mulk Nasir became Mehtar, the last one, with uncle as regent. Chitral became an administrative distract in 1969.
Chitral is still not accessible in winters when Lowari closes and PIA Foker cannot cross over the mountains. The word is out that government is working on Lowari Tunnel Project and one day the district may join the mainland and not only serve as gateway to Kalash Valley but the area will open to development.
Labels: Travel
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/07/2009 04:35:00 PM,
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From Pakistan Military Academy
Friday, 6 February 2009
Located north of Islamabad, Abbottabad town is surrounded by lofty peaks and pine scented air. Among Pakistan's towns and cities, Abbottabad -- small, neat and clean in a spacious valley -- is a rarity. Apart from being famous for its educational institutions and Pakistan Military Academy, Abbottabad also serves as the gateway to some most stunning sites in Pakistan. While other hill stations are deserted during winter this place has visitors due to its bracing weather all year around. The town has beautiful gardens and tall, tree lined roads: splendid stretches of turf with plenty of room for polo, football, hockey and golf.At 1,250 meters above sea level, Abbottabad lies below the lush pines of the Murree Hills. The importance of the town has been diminished a little after the completion of Karakorum highways because, in the past, the only track available to reach Karakorum was through Babusar pass, which could only be approached through Abbottabad. In spite of this development, it continues to be a transit town for those who want to venture to northern areas of Pakistan. Abbottabad is the junction point from where one can go to places like Hunza, Gilgit, Skardu and Indus Kohistan of the Karakorum Range. One can also reach Swat, Dir and Chitral of the Hindukush Range or can approach to Naran, Lake Saif-ul-Muluk, Shogran and Babusar Pass of the Himalayan Range. Neelum, Lipa and Jhelum Valleys are also connected through Abbottabad. It is where the hills start.
Coins of the Greco-Bectrians kings discovered from the Hazara tract suggest that the area was inhabited in first century B.C. But the Abbottabad town was founded in 1853 by James Abbott (hence the name), who was the first Deputy Commissioner of Hazara - the district right up to its conversion into a division in 1976. In October 1976, Tehsil Mansehra was given the status of a full fledged district, which consisted of Mansehra and Batagram Tehsils. Subsequently in July 1991, Haripur Tehsil was separated from Abbottabad and made a district. Thus only the Tehsil Abbottabad remained, which was declared a district.
Abbott James was one of those upper crust Englishmen who helped manage Britain's vast domain. He studied the local conditions, customs, traditions, history and habits. After a lifetime spent travelling around the hills and valleys of Hazara, there seems nothing about the district that he did not get acquainted with. This is why he knew the district and its people deeply and thoroughly. Aside from being an efficient administrator, he was a keen observer and researcher, linguist, archaeologist, historian, botanist and town planner. Abbott's tour reports, still preserved in India Office Library London, are a valuable reservoir of knowledge for those interested to know about the area.
After independence in 1947, the town became a place for seeking knowledge. Now it is a home to prestigious institutions of learning: the Ayub Medical College, Burn Hall School, and Abbottabad public school. Ten miles up from Abbottabad is a teaching hospital. Nearby Kakul has the Pakistan Military Academy (one of the best rated military training institutions in the world, giving training to cadet officers from many countries in addition to Pakistan) and the School of Music. Before independence, Albert Victor high school and a Municipal Anglo-Vernacular High School were good educational institutions in the town.
The cantonment area of Abbottabad gives an old look: European-type huge bungalows, the club, the church and the British cemetery are still there. The town presents every graduation of scenery, altitude and climate. I caught my first glimpse of Abbottabad in early March when I traveled up to Havalian by train and further ahead to the town by a Ford Wagon. Now comfortable flying coaches commute between Rawalpindi-Islamabad and Abbottabad.
Spring in Abbottabad is for the most part a lovely time. Clouds fly about low in the sky, playing hide and seek with the hills. There is a nip in the air, with frosty mornings and chilly evenings. The lush green countryside is at its best after weeks of winter rains. New leaves are budding into the light, and the blossoms are out in all their glory -- apricot, pear, peach, plum and apple. I ate the world's most delicious plums from the orchards around Abbottabad.
The panorama starts changing after crossing Haripur. Environment is tranquil, pollution free and quiet. One finds countless attractions spread around the town. There are meadows, grassy stretches, wild flowers and walking tracks. You can go for climbing, trekking, rock repelling or explore Thandiani or Shinkiari valleys. Further north; you can go to the black mountain near Oghi or to see the Asokan inscriptions on boulders near base of Bareri Hill close to Mansehra. Or just sit on top of a hillock overlooking Ilyasi Mosque and count yourself lucky for being there.
While the entire valley is breathtaking in its splendor and beauty, one of my most enduring memories is watching the sunrise over snow clad Thandiani (meaning 'cold' in the local language) in winters. It is a small plateau surrounded by pine forests. The drive to Thandiani from Abbottabad is one with lovely views on both sides of the road. There are some of the most beautiful glades on the way to Thandiani. The road rises gradually above Abbottabad. In the past, on the way to Thandiani, along with tall majestic pine trees you came across groups of monkeys. Unfortunately, their population is dwindling now.
Thandiani offers lush, green sights, with small colorful flowers blooming everywhere. It looks like someone has covered the mountains with green velvet layers and the flowing water channels increase its splendor and majesty. Every scene is lovely on its own. At night the lights of Abbottabad and Azad Kashmir are clearly visible. To the east beyond the Kunhar river, you can see the snow covered mountain ranges of Kashmir, to the north and north east, the mountains of Kohistan and Kaghan are sighted, and to the north west are the snowy ranges of Swat and Chitral. A well-defined and common walking trail leads from Thandiani to Murree through well wooded and attractive country. In this very tourist area, apart from spectacular sights what one comes across are kindness from the ordinary people of the area. It was while walking on this route that a local who courteously walked some distance with me once said, "Keep a lemon and suck on it while walking hard and long in hills. It gives strength and quenches thirst. And, tire the mountain not yourself." I realize the folk wisdom in the advice every time I walk.
More adventurous people can backpack their provisions and take a long, but beautiful, walk off the road track to Hasan Abdal. On the way, people have tea at the lonely railway station Sarae Saleh. By the time you reach there, it will taste the best. On the way, you will surely come across cadets from Pakistan Military Academy, walking in files with heavy rucksacks engaged in outdoor training exercises. On this route, also look for a peculiar board hanging on the perimeter fence of an orchard near Haripur that reads, "Greedily looking on the fruit is prohibited." What is the harm in looking at fresh fruit from across the fence? I keep wondering since I first saw it.
Abbottabad has been a favored summer destination for rest and relaxation; for locals on the run from the sweltering heat in summer all over the country. It's also for foreigners, in the capital city Islamabad who want to chill out on weekends, and for hardcore travelers on the way to picturesque northern Pakistan and beyond to China. But one does not have to wait for any season to go to Abbottabad. You can enjoy it any time during the year.
BTW, this was my treading grounds for two good years. Men at Their Best from 55th PMA, might recall some of this.
Labels: Men At Their Best, Pakistan Military Academy, PMA
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/06/2009 11:54:00 AM,
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Pakistani Cricket
The scorecard of this historic match can be seen here. In my opinion, it opened this pandora box that even in 2009 we haven’t made up our mind whether domestic cricket should be regional or departmental. I think it can be both as long as they are kept separate. For example, who would have an interest in a match between Lahore and WAPDA with WAPDA players also hailing from Lahore? However a Karachi vs Lahore will be a certain crowd puller.
What makes the domestic cricket scene in Pakistan more confusing is whenever the Cricket board management changes, the format of domestic cricket tournaments also changes.
As one of those crazy fans, who actually follow domestic cricket in Pakistan, it has become painful for me to see changing policies every few years. e.g. when Tauqeer Zia was heading PCB, regional teams were given preference and all major tournaments (Quaid-e-Azam trophy and National ODI championship) were played between regional teams only. Departmental teams were allowed to compete in a separate tournament (Pentagular Cup) limited to them only. Whether Tauqeer Zia was a good chariman or not, I certainly liked the domestic tournament pattern set under his chairmanship. I think it is more competitive as well as keeps the interest alive among crowd when regions or cities compete against each other.
With current PCB management, the waters have become murky again. Both departmental and regional teams are participating in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. This policy gives regional teams no chance of any competition unless there is an out of the blue excptional performance. The reason is departmental teams are better paying sponsors and they take the best talent out of country and that leaves regional teams to field their 2nd or 3rd tier teams. Look at the points table of ongoing Quaid-e-Azam trophy, especially pool A here. It is not a surprise that Cricket nurseries like Karachi and Lahore are at down below in the pool A table.
In my recent memory a regional team in Pakistan has not won a major first class tournament when a departmental team is also playing in the same tournament. The closest a regional team has ever come in pulling such a miracle in my memory was in the Wills Cup Final of 1981-82. Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) reached the finals where they met Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and lost to them.
In my opinion the only reason Lahore was able to reach final of that tournament was because both Imran Khan and Majid Khan were playing for Lahore in 1982. Both Imran Khan and Majid Khan have been a vocal supporters of seeing Pakistan’s cricket structure to be based on regional teams and they prefered to play for Lahore as a policy matter. See the score card of this interesting match here. Majid Khan was the second highest scorer of the tournament that year with 273 runs at 45.5 Ave and Imran Khan also scored 202 runs at an average of 40.4. In bowling Majid Khan actually grabbed the ‘Best Bowler’ award that year by taking 10 wickets at 15.2 ave. Imran Khan was second highest wicket taker of the tournament with 9 wickets at 12.11 average.
Let me throw another interesting statistic your way. The last time a regional team actually won a tournament in Pakistan in the presence of a departmental team was 35 years ago when Punjab defeated Sindh in the finals of 1974-75 Quaid-e-Azam trophy. Scorecard is here
I believe most of our informed readers know the advantages and disadvantages of regional versus departmental cricket structure. Here are some points that I want to make.
Regional Teams:
Advantages:
1. Crowd pullers
2. People feel more attached to their regional team
Disadvantages:
1. Regional teams are financially not strong - unless there is a sponsorship. They don’t have means to employ players year long.
2. In Pakistan’s particular situation, regional cricket spreads regionalism and narrow mindedness -A point made by Javed Miandad in his auto-biography - I don’t agree but this thought it out there.
Departmental Teams:
Advantages:
Cricketers are employed year long; even when they are not playing; so they can concentrate more on the game and lesser on worrying about economics.
Disadvantages:
Less crowd appeal. Crowd may come to see its favourite player playing for a departmental team but does not feel attached to a departmental team’s win or loss.
What is Your Opinion?
We would like to get your opinion. Should Pakistani domestic cricket be regional - as in most of the world - which get more crown involement or should it be departmental - which is more beneficial to the players.
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/06/2009 11:14:00 AM,
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Attock Crossing
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
We have briefly covered Attock Bridge in our earlier posts at ATP titled: The Bridges of Pakistan and When Kabul Comes to Attock. Today’s whole post is dedicated to this great bridge’s importance in Pakistan’s Railway network, its history, salient features and its current condition.
As soon as the British annexed area around present day Punjab-NWFP boundary, they started working on the idea of bridging Indus at Attock. The crossing at Attock was considered very important for military strategic reasons. In 1853, one Colonel Crommelin proposed two designs, both which made use of suspension bridges to cross the Indus. While this design didn’t go forward, British provided a better bridge of boats for winter, ferry boats for summer and a light rowing boat for daak (postal services).
Click on the photo above to see its larger image. This photo was taken in 1863 by William Baker and it shows the Bridge of Boats at Attock as well as the famous Attock Fort.
In 1865, Colonel A. Robertson summarized three types of projects that were being thought of to cross Indus at Attock.
(1) On the river itself - by boats
(2) Over the river - by a bridge
(3) Under the river - by a tunnel
Before There was a Bridge - There was to be a Tunnel at Attock:
While projects proposing boats and ferries didn’t go farther, the idea of digging a tunnel under Indus at Attock actually got to working stages.
In 1859, Colonel Robertson proposed the idea of a tunnel and following is an extract from his report:
The dimensions I propose for the tunnel inside are twenty-four feet wide by twenty feet in height, and a lining under the river of brick masonry two feet thick. This places foundation level of the roadway 82 feet under the low water level, and placing the entrances one hundred feet above this level for safety, we have 182 feet to descend and ascend. The grade I propose is 1 in 20; this is rather steep for railway traffic but offers no difficulties for normal road traffic. The width of the river bed at the point I have selected for the tunnel is 1215 feet.
As a result of the detailed report from Colonel Robertson, of which an excerpt is given above, British Government sanctioned Rs 10000. Work started on building this tunnel on 12 March 1860. In June of same year, water leakage in the tunnel works made the project suspended for few months. In January 1861, another grant of Rs 10770 was approved but work never caught pace. Some heavy machinery could not be obtained on time and work got suspended again from May to November of 1861. In summer of 1862 another machinery breakdown caused the work to stop. By now British government had spent Rs 59300 which was far more than the original estimate. At this time work was stopped until a study could be made about all the challenges and causes of delays.
When the work stopped on the tunnel only 258 feet distance remained between the two ends of the boring to meet under the bed and complete the tunnel.
This is an amazing piece of history related to bridging effort of Indus at Attock. I don’t think many people know that a tunnel was dug here which came as close as 258 feet of making a thoroughfare before it was abandoned.
Does the Tunnel Under Indus Bed at Attock Still Exist? I don’t know. But I would love to know. I wonder if the two ends of tunnel are still there? Does the tunnel ends still go under river bed or is it by now totally flooded? Do any of our informed readers know?
One reference [2] tells us that by 1862 water leakage in the tunnel had become so serious that men at work could not keep up with drainage, and the project was shelved.
No one tried to build under permanent crossing at Attock for the next 20 years until another war with Afghanistan occured and this time the British orders came to finish the railway track up to Peshawar at all costs.
The Railway Bridge at Attock: The Attock Bridge on the Indus was originally designed by Sir Guildford Molesworth (1828-1925). Guildford was also the first General Manager of Sri Lankan Railway, which was then called Ceylon Railway. The bridge is located about 80 km (50 miles) south west of Peshawar and forms one of the most important strategic and commercial crossings on the Indus. The structure was designed and constructed by Sir Francis O’Callaghan and Mr. Johnson.
Civil Engineering at the Bridge Site: The place where Bridge is built used to be 600 ft wide during winter months. In the center of the river there is a huge shallow rock. It was considered to form the foundation of center pier. All other foundations were above water and presented no serious difficulty. The bridge consisted of 5 spans. Three of them are 257 ft long and two are 312 feet long. The latter were, at the time, the longest in India.
The girders were of double intersection type carrying the railway on a floor system attached to the the top booms and the Grant Trunk Road on a floor supported by the lower booms. At the time of cnstruction the Attock girders; 26 ft deep; were the largest erected in India. The cost of the bridge was more than Rs. 3.2 million.
Attock Railway Bridge opened for traffic on 24th May 1883.
The first Attock bridge lasted more than 40 years. In 1921 it was found that the spans had lost camber and had become distorted. Besides, many members were seriously over-stressesd under the existing train loads, and it was necessary to renew the longer spans and to strengthen the shorter ones to enable the passage of heavier loads under contemplation. The speed of all trains was consequently lowered to 5 mph on the bridge, double-heading with certain classes of locomotives was forbidden. Heavy road traffic on lower level was also restricted at the same time time when a train was crossing overhead.
During reconstruction phase in 1927, an examination of the central rock foundation came as a shock. The whole of the downstream side of the island had been under mined to a distance of 10 feet. Half of the trestle rested on an overhang of a decaying rock. The overhanging rock was later cut away and it was replaced with concrete reinforced with rail pieces whose total length came out to be more than 3 km. This formed the new bridge foundation which is standing firm to date.
The bridge was reconstructed by replacing the longer spans with new steel girders erected outside them and converting the old main girders to continuous girders by the erection of a central pier in each span.
The bridge reconstruction, carried out a cost of about Rs. 2.5 million was the work of Mr. W.L. Everall. It was particularly difficult because it had to be executed entirely during the intervals between the passing of trains, the maximum uninterrupted time available being three hours and usually only about one hour. The reconstructed bridge was opened on 30th August 1929. It carries a single broad gauge line.
A new road bridge was opened to cross Indus at Attock in 1979 and that left the road bridge of Attock rail bridge to slowly decay because of lack of maintenance. Following photo is from BBC correspondent Mark Tully’s visit to Attock in 1993-94.
Our readers may be aware that almost all the railway lines in Pakistan which lie west of river Indus were built for military or strategic reasons, that is why one can see fortified entrances with turrets on almost all the tunnels and bridges west of Indus. For example Lansdowne Bridge Sukkur, Khojak Tunnel, almost all the tunnels in Bolan Pass, almost all the bridges on Sibi to Harnai route and Attock Bridge have fortified entrances to guard these installations as strategic assets. Even Lahore railway station has turrets to defend it as a strategic asset. Following photos show the fortified entrance to the Attock bridge.
Chronology of Bridge at Attock:
1853: Colonel Crommelin proposed 2 designs which made use of suspension bridge to cross the Indus.
1859, Colonel Robertson proposed the idea of a tunnel crossing under the river bed at Attock.
1860: Rs 10000 were sanctioned by the British to build a tunnel under Indus river bed at Attock.
March 12, 1860: Work started on building a tunnel under the river bed of Indus at Attock.
January 1861: Rs 10770 were sanctioned for the tunnel work. This was the second installment.
May 1861 - November 1861: Work remained suspended on the construction of tunnel
Summer 1862: The main shaft which was being used in tunnel boring broke down and so ended the plans for finishing the tunnel.
1879: A war with Afghanistan got the orders from British to complete the railway track upto Peshawar at all costs and this included a bridge on Indus at Attock.
February 1880: Work started on laying the foundation of the pier which was in the center of the river and was to be built on a shallow rock under water.
October 1880: Girders for building the Attock Railway bridge started arriving at the site.
January 1, 1881: Railway track opened for traffic upto left bank of Indus at Attock (Punjab side)
November 1981: Water was pumped out of the compartment made across central river pier position. The compartment was made out of cotton bags and after the water was pumped out, the rock was examined on which the foundations of central pier were to be laid.
February 6, 1882: The first column shoe of the river trestle was placed in position.
May 1882: All trestles of the bridge were completed.
October 9, 1882: Bridge staging was started. The stagings were made of timber and they hold the weight of bridge span during construction phase.
1882: Railway track got completed from Peshawar to Attock, with river crossing still incomplete.
February 1883: Second bridge staging was completed towards the end of this month.
March 3, 1883: Last span of the bridge was completed.
March 31, 1883: An earthquake in the area shook the bridge girders so violently that they were displaced 1 inch out of position on the tops of the trestles. No other major damage happened.
April 15, 1883: By this date, all the staging timber was removed.
May 5, 1883: First locomotive passed over the Attock bridge.
May 24, 1883: Attock Railway bridge was completed and opened for traffic. Trains could now run between Karachi and Peshawar on a continuous track.
1921: It was found that the spans had lost camber and had become distorted. Besides, many members were seriously over-stressesd under the existing train loads, and it was necessary to renew the longer spans and to strengthen the shorter ones to enable the passage of heavier loads under contemplation.
June 1925: Work was authorized for the reconstruction of Attock Bridge.
1927: An examination this year showed the rock under the trestle to have been highly undermined and dangerous.
November 1928: Steel work arrived on site for the two 312 ft long spans before the month end.
August 30, 1929: The reconstructed bridge was opened for traffic.
My Personal Memory of Railway Bridge at Attock: I have been fortunate enough to cross this historic bridge both by rail as well as by road. In 1979 we were travelling from Faisalabad to Peshawar by car. The New Attock road bridge had not opened yet and the famous Grand Trunk Road used lower level of Attock rail bridge. I remember the road level of the bridge was one way traffic and we had to wait 15 minutes or so before our side of the traffic was let go.
On our way back from Peshawar, we took an overnight train called ‘Abaseen Express’ to Lahore. The train left Peshawar at 6:30 p.m. and I remained awake till 10 p.m. especially to see Attock bridge by rail. When the train crossed the bridge, I had my neck hanging out of train window. I could see lights of road traffic on lower level and I still remember seeing roaring green-blue water of Indus right below the bridge because of some lights there but everything else was in pitch dark.
These nostalgic images of Attock bridge have been imprinted in my memory since then.
References:
1. Hundred Years of Pakistan Railway by M.B.K. Mallik
2. Couplings to the Khyber by P.S.A. Berridge
3. Great Railway Journeys; Karachi to the Khyber by Mark Tully, BBC
Pakistan Railway Discussion Group:
If you want to learn more about Pakistan Railways, then feel free to join the Pakistan Railway (PR) discussion group. Everything and anything related to PR is discussed here e.g. preserving of Pakistan’s rail heritage, steam locomotives, sharing of photos and news, time tables etc. You can join the discussion group here.
Related:
Karachi Circular Railway: Revival Gets 1-Step Closer?
Labels: Built Heritage, Railways
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2/04/2009 01:53:00 PM,
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