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Last year I got a phone call from London, England - the person on the other end bombarded a lot of questions that only someone who knew me in my teens could ask. I tried to recall my memories of some four decades and even old and was still engrossed in guessing when the caller introduced him to me: Zahid Masood Khan, a class fellow of mine since 1966-971. He found me out from Facebook - that was the start of many more pleasant encounters.

And then a chain of events started. A few days back I got a call from another classmate Tahir Aslam from Lahore, followed by Khaleeq from Saudi Arabia and the chain kept on connecting. And then I found a friend tariq Hashmi in Holland, Rashid Mahmud and Dilawar in Lahore. 

Meeting my friend Tariq Hashmi (second from left) in Groningen, Holland 2014 - flanked by our sons

And as if that was not all - I also got connected to a classmate working for Habib Bank in Bangladesh. It was really amazing as the chain is still connecting. I met all those in Pakistan recently as the came to my home in Islamabad and I went to Lahore to meet some. Not only that I went to Holland to meet my friend Tariq Hashmi and suddenly my memories and nostalgia brought me back my yesterdays - once more.

But that is not all still. Another surprise was yet to come till a few days earlier. A few years back while in Islamabad with my younger son, I passed through F-6/4 sector, a place where we lived from 1966-1971. Though we actually lived in Lahore, we visited our father in our vacations, who was then heading the Interpol Pakistan. I had some vivid memories of the place, so I decided to go to the house where we once spent our vacation.

In 1966, the area where we lived was fresh, clean and well maintained. The smell of fresh paint could still be felt when we occupied our flat 27/7 in 1966. But the landscape had changed and did not not present a healthy look with unkempt hedges and long grown grass. But for me its was still a place where I had spent earlier part of my teen. I asked my son to take a photo of me while I stood in front of the flat 27/7 (above).

I never knew someone else living so close to us would be watching this photo. I shared this photo too on Facebook and specially on page My Home Islamabad. Many people liked and commented on the photo - and then someone asked me if I knew her father. Well I never thought that someone lived so close to us and I replied: I wish I could - we did not have Facebook then. She liked my remark and that was all.

But then another comment came - this time naming her father: Umar Daraz Khan. And that was a bullhit. Yes I knew Uncle Umar daraz Khan, we called Uncle UD Khan, who lived on the upper story of oflat. And I instantly replied and was reconnected to my past. Children of Uncle UD and we were of the same age and had a wonderful childhood/teenage. The next comment was a bit sad as I was told that her parents and only brother of our age have since boarded their heavenly flights. 

Much that I wanted to meet my father's friends, but that four decades is a lot of time and obviously my father and his friends were in their 50s at that time and living beyond 90 is a lesser of all the probabilities. But finding their children was really amazing and a wonderful coincidence. Suddenly my mind was floating in Islamabad and the street where I lived (I wonder if you have heard this song or not - from once classic My Fair Lady).

This is the wonder magic of Facebook - do you have any such coincidences?

Read more:
School days friends - Lost and Found

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Facebook and Pakistan

Of all the social media networks, Facebook has over the years emerged as the most powerful social media not only around the world but in Pakistan too. Each day a ton of information is uploaded by various groups and individuals from Pakistan that are not only amazing and beautiful, but are awe inspiring as well. These photos and accompanying information indeed serves as a well treasured source to introduce the beauty and natural trove of Pakistan to the world.

Today, while I was scanning through the Facebook, some of the photos and information caught my attention and I thought of sharing these on my blog so as to project the natural wealth and beauty of Pakistan to my readers around the world.

To start with is the photo above of the Mataltan Village, Swat, shared by Colors of Pakistan (Picture Credits : Mujahed Qasmi). This group has been sharing stunning and eye catching photos of various parts of Pakistan and is source which is worth appreciating.

Head Taunsa on River Indus at Kot Addu (Sada Apna Punjab)

Sada Apna Punjab (Translation: Our Very Own Punjab) is another group where you may find exclusive photos of the province of Punjab. Each photo share here is the true reflection of the people and land of the Punjab province and their lifestyle. 

The above photo is about the special 'halwas' one comes across in Punjab, specially Lahore during winters. These sweets are enormously rich in oil, sugar, milk and dry fruits, beside the main ingredients. In the above photo, one can see two large open pans with Gajar ka Halwa (made of carrots) and Daal ka Halwa (made form grams) is the specialty of Lahore. One should not miss eating these when visiting Lahore.

Lahore, the City of Garden is yet another rich group about the culture, history and its glorious past and present of the city of Lahore. I have always been attracted by their photo sharing which go back to as old as the city of the Lahore itself is. This is one my favourite groups and despite being a born Lahorite, I am amazed to find so much about Lahore that I had not known before. 

Above: Badshahi Mosque, Lahore (1915-1919 Bottom: The 1st Inniskilling (Royal Irish infantry regiment) marching through street of Lahore c. 1947

The two photos above are rare in the sense that the photo of Badshahi Mosque is almost a century old. And the photo below shows marching of the British soldiers most probably just before the partition as the troops were leaving Lahore on the eve of end of the British Empire in the Indian sub continent.

The information shared by Lahore, the City of Garden, about Princess Bamba Sutherland, the eldest daughter of Maharaja Daleep Singh, who chose to settle down in Lahore in the then posh locality of Model Town, is worth mentioning. She named her house as Gulzar, which had a complete one canal of land dedicated to her garden of roses. Here she married Dr David Waters Sutherland who was Principal of the King Edward Medical College, Lahore (now Medical University).

Princess Bamba inherited a vast collection of paintings, art objects, historical documents and royal orders from her father and kept these in safe custody at Lahore. After her death, her art trove caretaker Pir Karim Bakhsh Supra handed over her art trove that consisted of 18 oil paintings, 14 water colours, 22 ivory paintings, 17 photographs, 10 metallic objects and seven miscellaneous articles, are known as ‘The Princess Bamba Collection’ to the Department of Archaeology, Government of Pakistan, for preservation as a national asset. 

She quietly slipped into its soil on March 10, 1957, almost unknown and unwept.

I do not know what became of the ‘The Princess Bamba Collection’, but the information shared by the group is of enormous historical value, which we may not have known otherwise but through Facebook.

I will continue to share information about Pakistan as shared through Facebook by individuals and groups to let my readers outside Pakistan know about the inherent beauty and love in time.

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