The Bear Hug

A few days back, a photograph showing a chained bear hugging a child of the bear owner appeared in a leading newspaper with the caption “Bear Hug.” The picture immediately attracted my attention as the practice of using bears to fight with dogs and other unbecoming practices by the bear beaters to earn money is going on for years despite the efforts of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) to protect these animals from suffering and barbaric treatment.

I immediately wrote to the newspaper editor, drawing their attention to their correspondent’s mindset that had shot the scene for amusement of others rather than projecting the harm and cruelty done to the animals. Obviously the letter was not printed in the newspaper.

Those who care for these poor animals may have read about the ravaging of the Kund Park Bear sanctuary in the Khyber Pakhtunkwa province during the last floods, in which of the 23 rescued bears from the bear beaters, only three could be rescued, while the 20 unlucky perished in the muddy waters of the floods. The sanctuary is so badly devastated that it would take a long time for its reestablishment. The surviving bears have now been accommodated in another sanctuary located at Balkasar.

It is time now that we say no to such feats and display of animals being used to earn money. The wild animals have to undergo a torturous training to tame their wildness and pacify their animal instincts so that these can be used and tortured again for their display in public. One of the most cruel things done to these bears is that they are tied to a pole and made to “fight” with the dogs who are lose. How can a chained bear fight with a loose dog? I am sure if the bear was also loose; he wouldn’t let the dog last long.

If you find a chained bear being used for earning money, please notify the nearest office of the World Society for the Protection of Animals, so that these could be rescued and placed in the sanctuaries for protection in environment close to their natural habitat.

Related Reading: Floods ravage the Kund Park Bear Sanctuary

The post originally published at: The Fire Within

Another sunset of my life

Photograph Courtesy: Jalalspages (Flickr)

Vacation by the seashore

Whenever it is time for vacation, the first thing that comes to my mind is far stretched blue waters of an ocean and a coconut tree under which I see me sitting and enjoying a lone ship smoking away on the horizon.

And those of you who are familiar with the Myrtle Beach in the South Carolina would agree with me that there is no place better than this anywhere else. Have a look at  http://www.grandeshores.com that offers information about excellent vacationing resorts at very affordable price, yet providing you what is a vacationer’s dream.

The Myrtle Beach Hotel  located right on the edge of the beach provides a choice of one, two or even three bedroom condominiums laced with facilities that make your vacation a dream come true. The resort is ideal for golfing with friends, family reunions and honeymooning for the newlyweds. And that is not all: the Myrtle Beach vacation deals are tailored to suit your budget besides enjoying musical variety shows and stores full of facilities and stuff one need on vacations.

For hikers and walkers, the North Kings Highway (Business Highway 71) is just close by. For art lovers there are galleries, concerts for music lovers, boating for those who dare to go into the sea and lush green golf course for the T-Off lovers.

And before I forget – for those who love to see the sun going down on the horizon, turning into giant red glowing ball, the Myrtle Beach is ideal. Whether you view the sunset from the beach or from your resort window, it is still awe inspiring and a view never to be forgotten.

Log into their website and you can even have a 3-D view of the resort and many details you may want to know before packing up.

Pakistan is Asian Games Hockey Champion

Bravo Pakistan Hockey Team!!

Pakistan beat Malaysia 2-0 to bag yet another gold medal for Pakistan. In fact this gold has been awaited for the last 20 years when Pakistan won the gold in 1994 Asiad in Beijing. This time too China brings good luck to Pakistan.

Today Pakistan also won gold in squash team event by beating Malaysia. So in a day Pakistan beat Malaysia twice and both times filled their bags with gold. Pakistani girls also won gold in the women cricket earlier in the ongoing Asian Games. Pakistan got lucky as McKenna did in the final scene of the epic movie McKenna’s Gold.

The winning goals were scored by the drag flicker specialist Sohail Abbas and striker Rehan Butt. The win today is Pakistan’s eighth in the Asian Games and gold after 20 years. The victory today washes away the miserable and abysmal 12th of 12th in the recently held Commonwealth games.

It was Pakistan’s eighth Asiad hockey gold, ending a drought that stretched back to Beijing in 1990, and handed them their first major title since winning the World Cup in Sydney in 1994.

Pakistan ended the year on a high after a disappointing eight-month period in which they finished a humiliating 12th out of 12 at the World Cup in March and took sixth place at the Commonwealth Games in October. This was Malaysia’s first entry into the finals.

We wish Pakistani Hockey team the very best for the London Olympics in 2012.

Come November - The guest’s season starts

I have added another two months to the famous movie Come September’s title and made it Come November – a month that brings us our guests from the frozen and freezing frontiers of Siberia, Central Asian Republics and Mongolia. Yes I am talking of the thousands and thousands of the migratory birds that evade the sever winter conditions of their natural habitat and come to rather lesser cold climate of Pakistan. We will be host to these beautiful birds till March-April, when they again fly back to their homes when it is relatively warm out there.

One of these birds is the Houbara Bustard – a majestic bird on the verge of extinction which along with others flies from faraway lands, as far as 5000-6000 kilometres from Central Asian Republics and even China, and land in a numerous wetlands stretched from D I Khan in the north, Ucchali in the Salt Range to down south in the Cholistan Desert. These Bustards fly at an amazing speed and make to Pakistan in just about 5-7 days.

With the arrival of Houbara Bustard, the rich and famous from the Gulf States also start to arrive into Pakistan with their teams of falcons, specially trained to hunt the bustards while in flight. I was once deputed to accompany a high profile royal dignitary who had come for the Bustard hunting. They had camped in general area Jhampir near Thatha in the Sind province. Each day they would go out with their falcons and come back with a few hunted Houbara Bustards.

Besides Houbara Bustards, Flamingos, Swans and many other species of birds like the Marbled Teal, White-headed Duck, Eurasian Spoonbill, Dalmatian Pelican throng the wetlands in Pakistan. The migratory birds’ arrival in Pakistan provides an opportunity for the bird watchers to flock the wetlands and enjoy their presence amongst themselves. Once on a reconnaissance in the areas south of Rahim Yar Khan, I also got a chance of bird watching of a large flock of migratory birds perched on an artificial lake in Sandh and Gabbar villages inside the desert. Once they took off, it was a breathtaking lifetime scene to watch them flying, rather floating against the blue sky majestically. It was here that I saw black swans flying overhead me with their grace, charm and majesty.

Related Reading: Bird Watching in Pakistan (Pakistanpaedia)

Women cricketers win Gold for Pakistan

The roar and applause for winning gold medals by Pakistan’s Naseem Hameed and Sara Nasir in the South Asian Federation games was still echoing all over the country, when the women cricketers brought another gold for Pakistan – this time from a bigger event; the ongoing Asian Games at in Guangzhou, China.

It was only yesterday that we bagged silver in Wushu – but today was a different day. Playing against Bangladesh, the girls from Pakistan displayed a stunning team spirit, resolve and determination to beat back the Bengali girls with 10 wickets. Pakistan’s Nida’s best all round performance was the key to this golden win. Nida dismissed four for 16 runs. And if that was not enough; she scored a brilliant 51 off 43 balls to steer Pakistan to its first gold in just 15.4 overs. Javeria who hit the winning boundary scored 39.

The gold brought jubilations in Pakistan. The president telephoned Miss Sana, the team captain and personally congratulated her on their superb performance and winning the gold for the country. The president said that the gold was a gift to the nation riding on a series of crises.

We thank you girls for bringing us the gold after eight years and making us very proud of you. Bravo!!

Happy Eid ul Azha to everyone across the globe

The Muslims all over the world celebrate the Eid ul Azha (or Adha) on the 10th of last Islamic month of Zil Hajjah. Eidain or the two Eids that is the Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Azha are the two festivities of the Muslim world which are celebrated with religious fervor and zeal. The Eid ul Fitr is celebrated just after the month of Ramadan (during the month of Ramadan, all Muslims fast for 29-30 days and abstain themselves from eating from dawn to dusk beside some other conditions) on the 1st day of the Shawal.

The word “Eid” is an Arabic word that means “festival” and Eid-ul-Azha means the Greater Festival as it is celebrated to remember the sacrifice of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), who in obedience to the command of the Almighty took his beloved son to sacrifice in the name of his Creator. While he blindfolded himself so that his son’s blood doesn’t distract him from the supreme sacrifice, the Allah Almighty acknowledging his sacrifice and willingness to obey His command replaced Ismail with a ram. And since that day, Muslims all over the world sacrifice an animal (goat, ram, cow or even camel) to commemorate the greatest sacrifice ever.

Like many who could afford to sacrifice, I (by the grace of Almighty) also went to the animal market with my son and a friend. There were lot of buyers and animals. Every buyer was trying to purchase a good animal for a lesser cost while the sellers were trying to pocket huge profits. After lot of survey and negotiations, we finally purchased one at a cost that my pocket allowed. We took the goats home in a taxi and my sons straightaway started to feed the goat as it was our guest for one night only.

Today after the Eid prayers, we took the goat to a central place with requisite facilities and had our goat sacrificed by the butcher, which my friend had arranged. On Eid days, everyone who has the slightest knowhow of using a knife becomes a butcher and charge a very high labour to do the goat. This “butcher” happened to be a grill maker, who was doing a part time this morning. I don’t have to tell you what he did to our goat, but at least he did what he could.

The aim of sacrifice, like all other fundamentals of Islam, is to lead one to self righteousness. To explicate its purpose, Allah says in the Quran, "It is not their meat, nor their blood, that reaches Allah; it is their piety that reaches Him."

Besides following the footsteps of the Prophet Ibrahim, the aim of sacrifice has greater meanings. Each sacrificial animal’s meat is to be divided into three portions; one is to be kept for own family, while of the other two, one part is to be distributed among the poor who cannot afford to sacrifice and thus including them in our own festivities and making them feel part of the whole. The third portion is to be distributed among the relatives, but starting from the lower level of financial well being thereby also providing them a chance to celebrate the festivities.

So back home, we divided the meat into three portions and distributed as per the teachings. While we were distributing, we were also receiving meat from friends and neighbours. So while I am writing the post after having distributed the two shares, now my doorbell is constantly ringing as others are sending in. This is the spirit of the day as everyone remembers the poor and the friends and neighbours.

Our First Dahlia

We have recently shifted into our new house and the first priority of my wife was to set up our little garden with ornamental plants and flowers. We bought some of our favourites, including the double dahlia. Beside marigold what we planted and have since grown, a few days before our red and pink double dahlia started to come out of their sprouts. Today when almost fully grown and in bloom, I decided to take a shot to preserve our first dahlia flowers. This is the pink one, majestic and beautiful.

For those who love flowers, I add here that dahlia is named after Swedish 18th-century botanist Anders Dahl. In German the dahlia was known during most of the 19th century as Georgia, being named after the naturalist Johann Gottlieb Georgi of St. Petersburg, Russia.

There are some three dozen species of dahlia, of these hybrid dahlia is usually grown as garden ornamental plant.

Since dahlia has been our favourite flower, it has always been part of our garden wherever we have been. Photographs of some of our dahlia can be seen at Jalalspages (Flickr). Links to a few best shots are as under:

Macro | Flora | Dahlia

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The Railway Signal

While most of the world switches over to electrical signals, these manual signals continue to be the mainstay of railway system in Pakistan. I shot this signal while travelling from Lahore to Karachi at about evening time. I have given it a sepia touch as it was taken from behind the train window to make it come out clearly.

The breakfast morning at Islamabad

Today I was to drop my sons at the Bahria University as they were going to Lahore for a two days trip. So got up in the rather chilly morning, and got ready to take them to the other end of Islamabad where their university is located from the Rawat end of Islamabad where we live in the DHA. Since I was going to Islamabad, I was reminded by my wife to take our newly purchased lawn mower for initial adjustments along as the only “renowned” mechanic is in Aabpara market.

So after wading through very heavy traffic on the Islamabad Express Highway and off loading my sons at the university, I went to the Aabpara market. It was too early to be there as I found most of the shopkeepers still having their breakfast, mostly eating freshly baked parathas “the heavily greased version of chapatti both inside and outside.”

An avid paratha lover, I looked for the source, which happened to be a few shops away from the mechanic I had gone to. And right there on a big tawa, at least 5-6 parathas were being freshly cooked. Needless to say that the scene was mouth watering, but since I had had my breakfast at home, and a heavy one, I arrested my inner impulse to sit down there and have the steamy paratha straight from the tawa.

But people were there were busy eating it, mostly with hot doodh patti. There was a group of tourists also sitting and enjoying their parathas heavy breakfast with tea (my cellular phone camera came handy to preserve the moment). I was later told by a friend (Shaun D Metcalfe) when I shared the same photo at Flickr that these were French cyclists touring Pakistan, whom he had met in Gilgit a month ago. And I am sure they must have been enjoying this heavenly bread to their entirety. I envied them as I did not have room for the paratha shot.

As for the lawn mower, there wasn’t any good news as the mechanic told me that Chinese machines are nothing but a liability as all parts are made of plastic and wear away in months. While he promised to do whatever he could to adjust the machine, he also told me never to go for Chinese stuff again and substantiate his professional views, he opened the machine and showed my all plastic parts which did not look robust and long lasting. After seeing the rather delicate rubber parts, I readily agreed with the mechanic. It is also a caution for my readers if any is planning to buy a Chinese lawn mower.

So I left the mower in the hands of the expert and came back. I hope he fixes it otherwise I am mentally prepared to see my “investment” going down the drain.

Tag: | Travel | Places | Food |

Iqbal Day Today

9th November is celebrated throughout Pakistan as the birthday of Dr Muhammad Iqbal, commonly known as Allama Iqbal. Born in 1877 at Sialkot, studied at the famous Government College Lahore, obtained his PhD from the Munich University, this poet philosopher was the man who dreamt of a separate state to be carved out of the British India to be the homeland of the Muslims. Later in 1934, Rehmat Ali, a student at Oxford coined the word PAKISTAN.

Due to hectic efforts and the driving force of motivation of Dr Iqbal, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, also widely known as the Quaid-e-Azam, led the struggle under the flag of All India Muslim League to realize the dream of Iqbal and win a homeland for the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent on 14 August 1947.

As a poet philosopher, Iqbal’s audience was the Muslim youth of then British India. In his writings, he addressed and exhorted them to stand up and boldly face life's challenges. The central theme and main source of his message was the Qur'an. His poetry and philosophy, written in Urdu and Persian, stress the rebirth of Islamic and spiritual redemption through self-development, moral integrity, and individual freedom. His many works include "The Secrets of the Self"; a long poem; "A Message from the East" and "The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam". His Persian poetry is still being taught in Iran and is known as Iqbal Lahori.

The sufferings of the Muslims, specially in the Balkans, after the World War I, the end of the Ottoman Empire and sufferings of the Muslims of the Indian sub-continent and the unjust attitude towards them from the British and Hindus compelled Iqbal to enter the politics and was elected to the Punjab provincial legislature in 1927. He became the president of the all India Muslim League in 1930. In his historic Allahabad Address the same year, Iqbal visualized an independent and sovereign state for the Muslims of North-Western India. He said, "I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Balochistan amalgamated into a single State. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the British Empire, the formation of a consolidated North-West Indian Muslim State appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of North-West India."

To boost the morale of the youth, which he referred to as Uqaab (Eagle), he wrote:

Tundi-e-bad-e-mukhalif say na gabhra ay uqaab

Yeh to chalti hay tujhay ooncha uranay kay liye

(O’ Eagle, don’t be afraid of the opposing winds, these are blown to make you fly higher)

Iqbal set the Pakistan movement in motion and steered it to the path of success, both through his political acumen and meaningful poetry. It was a big blow to the movement when he died in 1938, nine years before his dream of an independent Pakistan could realize.

Much research has been carried out on Iqbal’s poetry. But it would be unjust not to mention the name of famous German scholar Annemarie Schimmel (1922-2003), who is remembered and revered for her lifelong research on the life and poetry of Iqbal. Her book Gabriel’s Wing– A Study into the Religious Ideas of Sir Muhammad Iqbal (1963, rpt. 1989) is still the finest specimen of her insight in Iqbal studies and Islamic thought in general. This is testified by the fact that from among a large number of books written in the major languages of the world, Gabriel’s Wing was declared as the best work on Iqbal studies, in the international languages, for the period 1947-1981. Apart from these works she was the author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books on Iqbal and Islam. She also funded the Annemarie Schimmel scholarship for Women Studies in Pakistan.

Related Reading:Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal (Pakistanpaedia)

Gilgit – the China Town of Pakistan

It was awhile ago that I along with my family decided to see Khunjrab Pass – it was a rather hasty decision and hence we did not cater for the hurdles en route and the total length of journey and the leave that I have. And we just left by road. Although, Gilgit is connected by air with Islamabad but due to uncertain weather, road travel is much preferred.. Though some tourists choose to travel Gilgit by air since the road travel between Islamabad and Gilgit by Karakoram Highway takes nearly 18 hours, whereas the air travel takes a mere 45-50 minutes. 

We took the N-5 and stayed a night at Abottabad. Early next morning we reached Mansehra and from there we headed towards Pattan – where a Road Maintenance Battalion of the Frontier Works Organization is stationed (the unit is responsible for the repair/maintenance of the Karakoram Highway – the KKH).  Next morning our journey resumed and soon we were on the right bank of the roaring Indus river with its gushy muddy water ( far different from its rather bluish water at Attock). At Thakot, we crossed Indus and now we started moving on the left of the river. The small town en route were Chilas, Dasu, Besham.

Near Gilgit, the KKH branches off and continues to head towards Khunjrab Pass through Hunza (Karimabad) and Sost. We finally reached Gilgit in the evening – which is the hub of various valleys to the North Hunza and China. To the South, Diamar, Kohistan and Swat. To the East Skardu and Kashmir, and to the West Ghezir and Chitral.  Here we were told that the air service had been suspended for the last five days and while thanking our stars for choosing to travel by road, we had a pity on tourists stranded for days altogether in hotels and messes.

The Gilgit bazaars are infested with Chinese good, decoration pieces, cloth and what not – it looked like a mini China Town. While my wife got busy in looking for Chinese cloth, we window-shopped for Chinese decoration pieces and carpets. By the time we came back, we had loads of small decoration pieces and naturally ladies garments.

There is much to be seen other than Chinese stuff in and around Gilgit. There is a monument to commemorate the fact that the boy scouts of Gilgit were the spark that set the flame in the battle between Pakistan and India for supremacy over Kashmir.  Two miles out of town there are a pair of Buddha's carved in to a high rock. They go back to the 5-th century. From where we parked our car, the path up to the rocks was a nice hike – and the carving looked really awesome. I admired those who did this.

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One bright sunny day morning, we kicked off towards Khunjrab Top – but luck was not in our favour. Near Hunza, we were told that the road ahead was blocked and wont be open for days. So the trip ended in a mere flop and we could only visit Karimabad and the Baltit Fort – something one mustn’t miss when in Gilgit. This wooden fort is a class of its own. The fort is said to date back around 700 years. The architectural style is a clear indication of Tibetan influence in Baltistan at the time. The Fort is also listed as one of the UNO sponsored world heritage architecture. On our way back, we stopped to eat some of the most delicious apricots in the world – fresh from the apricot gardens. When we asked the garden owner to pack us a few kilos as souvenir for relatives back home, he told us that those apricots were so delicate that they would not withstand the heat even out of Gilgit – still we insisted and true to his words, those melt hardly a few hours out of Gilgit.

The best lunch that I ever had was at a  place from where the mighty Raka Poshi is seen rising from the ground and reaching its pinnacle. The Raka Poshi View Hotel was a small hutment but served us sizzling hot “parathas” with scrambled eggs and hot tea. A feast I would always cherish.

The beautiful valley of Naltar – some 35 kilometers to the south east of Gilgit has lush green pastures and green carpeted ground make it a jewel of the Gilgit. It is a forested (pine) village known for its wildlife and magnificent mountain scenery. It also houses the Skiing School operated by Pakistan Air Force. We were offered a helicopter ride to Naltar but having reached the helipad, we were told that due to extra load, we could not be accommodated – so a golden opportunity was missed out.

Well then we finally returned. En route we also encountered a road block due to falling rocks and had to wait for 4-5 hours till the road was cleared.

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Vintage car lovers on the road for a cause

In 2006, eighteen vintage cars from Korea, Germany, Britain, Switzerland, Italy and Australia came to Pakistan as part of rally through the Himalayas from Islamabad to Kolkata. The people of Pakistan got a chance to see some of the rare and vintage cars ‘roaring” past them on the roads. Now that was sometime ago.

This Friday, the Vintage Classic Car Club (VCCCP) of Pakistan is taking out a car rally from Karachi to terminate at Islamabad through Sukkur, Bahawalpur and Lahore. The rally has a threefold objective; passion for restoring old cars, create awareness at home and abroad of heritage on wheels, and to visit the flood affected areas.

The rally staring on 5th November will finally culminate at Islamabad on 11th November. It is expected that some 25-30 cars, mostly from Karachi will participate in the rally. The cars include 1954 model Jaguar Mk VII, 1947 Lincoln Continental and 1950 Chevrolet Styleline. As per one news report, the participating Jaguar has a historical value as it was this very car in which Queen Elizabeth travelled during her visit to Pakistan in 1960-61.

At this time, with the cricket being played outside Pakistan and there being no sporting activities taking place in Pakistan, this rally would be a cool breeze of fresh air for the car lovers, specially the vintage car lovers throughout Pakistan, who would get a chance to see these oldies roaring, huffing and puffing past them.

PS: The vintage cars finally reached Islamabad on 11th November. Watch Video

Abbottabad – Once City of Maple Trees

After Kohat, I was to travel and stay at yet another beautiful place for almost two years – Kakul, in the suburbs of Abbottabad. Kakul houses the prestigious Pakistan Military Academy - equivalent to Sand Hurst or West Point – but more of Kakul, from where the marching began, later. For now it is Abbottabad.

I first came to Abbottabad on a sunny day of May 1975 and have since then fallen in love with this beautiful city with fresh air and loving aroma of fruit trees. I remember having boarded a vintage Ford wagon from Sadar Rawalpindi for my maiden journey – filled with joy of a dream coming true (though it took two hard years to materialize). In those days, the road from Rawalpindi to Hasanabdal (a place from where the main Rawalpindi Peshawar highway branches off for Abbottabad). After an hour’s drive on curvy road, the scene changed and the road started to rise amid towering mountains on both sides. The last half an hour’s drive is through ascending and winding road (reminding me of the famous Beatles’ song “The Long and Winding Road”) till one reaches Abbottabad.

Located at a height of 4,120 feet (1256 m) above sea level, and 100 kilometers from Rawalpindi, Abbottabad is one of the most scenic and beautiful cities of Pakistan. Surrounded by pine abundant mountains and refreshing green hills of Sarban, it is one of the best-known hill resorts of Pakistan. The romantic weather of Abbottabad attracts thousands of visitors each year. The city was once called “The City of the Maple Tree”, for its large Maple trees that lines the road sides, but were sacrificed for the sake of widening the roads. Allama Iqbal wrote his famous poem “abr” (cloud) , when he got inspired by the beauty and grandeur of Abbottabad on his visit in 1904.

Located on N-5, the Karakoram Highway (KKH), 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 from here to 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. One can see endangered magpies, shikras (falcons) and occasionally a golden eagle flying up there.

Over the years, the lush green patches around Abbottabad have been eaten up by housing schemes while the city has been polluted by thriving business centers and shops. However, the suburbs of Abbottabad still wear the still greener cloak surrounded by tall trees. Shimla Pahadi is a picturesque vantage point from where the entire valley can be seen amid fresh breeze.

But for real pollution free air, one needs to go to Thandiani (Thandiani means a cool and chilly place). The road up to the hill top is very steep, narrow and hair raising curves. People with old cars have to rest near many natural springs by the road to pour water on their radiators to cool down the boiling water inside (so I too stopped!!). One should not adventure the area in the winters as these can be very harsh with mercury dropping to -20 degree C, besides heavy snow fall which may sometimes pile up to 10-12 feet of snow.

Abbottabad is at its best in the Spring season when low flying clouds play hide and seek with the hills surrounding the city while the greener patches are filled with thousands of multi hued flowers. The fruit trees of apricot, pear, peach, plum and apple provide an adorable look.

For lovers of Cedar trees, one should pay a visit to the Frontier Force Regimental Centre Officers’ Mess, where I found a cedar tree planted in 1850s, planted during Major James Abbot times. The branches of the tree are so heavy that supports have to be provided, lest these droop on the ground.

There is yet another place worth visiting near Kakul – the Illyasi Mosque. . The mosque is built over a stream of water that flows from the mountain. In front of it is a little pond-like area in which people can ride paddle driven boats. The water running from various springs is sacred for many of the people.

But why am I revealing all secrets of Abbottabad – why don’t you pack up in the coming Spring and visit the place (don’t tell your wife that there is a place called “Jhugian” outside Abbottabad famous for ladies cloth and other house hold items – remember I warned you).

pakistan

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