The Peshawar Rhapsody

KhamKhwa, you might be right, but it`s the best available right now. the best bit is probably Amjad Hussain`s map of old Peshawar.

Another web site worth a look is the Sarhad COnservation of Nature. they have some excellent old pictures of Peshawar.

I had worked on the construction of the Warsak Dam from 1956 until the end of 1960. Warsak is some seventeen miles from Peshawar. We used to go to the city on weekends to watch movies and sample the kebabs and other dainties in the Qissa Khwani bazaar and other select places recommended by friends. Incidentally, Qissa Khwani, a Persian composite word, translates to story telling. It seems it has a history of its own – this may be the place in the past where people might have gathered to tell or hear stories. The place in 1960s was more or less the same as described by Banjara. I remember, once we went to a restaurant there in the evening on a wintry day for dinner. The brick building of the restaurant was okay but it was dark and dank. The kebabs however were delicious. During the five years that I was there, the wealth generated by the Warsak project became visible in Peshawar. Some new businesses had cropped up and the old city had started acquiring a new and refreshing look particularly in the cantonment.
I had visited Landi Kotal and Torkham also a couple of times. The landscape, the Khyber Pass, and the people – all of them – made the history so real as if one could physically touch and feel it.

The last time that I visited Peshawar was in 1970. The impression that I gather from the accounts that I have read of the Afghan refugee camps, the effects of war in Afghanistan, and the unbridled raids of the foreign journalists, is that the old mystique of Peshawar is ruined. I might be wrong.

Yes, Paul Theroux wrote about his experiences of travelling in trains from Victoria Station, London, to the eastern extremities of Asia in his book “The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train through Asia”. He wrote in his book about Peshawar:

Peshawar is a pretty town. I would gladly move there, settle down on a verandah, and grow old watching sunsets in the Khyber Pass. ….You sleep soundly under a tent of mosquito net and are awakened by the fluting of birds for an English breakfast that begins with porridge and ends with a kidney. Afterwards a tonga to the museum.

About his ride in the train, he wrote:

And there is the Khyber Railway, a further pleasure. Built fifty years ago (the book was published in 1975) at great cost, it is an engineering marvel. It has thirty-four tunnels, ninety-two bridges and culverts, and climbs to 3,000 feet. The train is well guarded; on bluffs above the track, in little garrisons and pillboxes, the Khyber Rifles stand sentry duty, staring blankly at the plummeting blue black ravines on Afghanistan’s inhospitable edge.

…It seems an impossible journey for a train. The 132-Down teeters on the cliff sides, breathing heavily, and when there is nothing ahead but air and a vertical rock face the train swerves into the mountain. Plunging through a cave, it dislodges bats from the ceiling, which the tribes-men at the windows swat with their sticks. Then into the sunlight again, past the fort at Ali Masjid, balancing on a high peak, and an hour later, after twenty sharp reverses, moves on a gentler slope in the neighborhood of Jamrud. Above Jamrud is its bulky fort, with walls ten feet thick and its hornworks facing Afghanistan.

How is Peshawari naan different from the ``norma`` naan ?l

freethinker.
Thank you for quoting Theroux and clarifying leighton`s query and educating me personally.The influx of the afghan refugees has certainly effected the soul of Peshawar.The Hindko city has been changed into a Pashtu speaking city.

faisaluno.
Cable T.V, MMA ?? What is your question?

Zakkk.
Mohalla Sethian has been slowly losing its charm and the distinctive
carvings,all in the name of modernity.Not many typical sethi houses are left in the area,which is such a shame.

Ras.
Green Hotel is still there but it`s no more the same after the death of Lala
Ayub,the owner.You probably ate the Chapli kababs in Nothia at Karimoo`s.They were the best.But Green Hotel`s mutton tikka was good too.

i read in some online paki newspapers that mma goons had gone into the offices of cable companywallas and destroyed their equipment. just wanted to know how many people were effected and if there was an outcry locally?

http://www.geocities.com/scn_pk/gallery.html

That`s the link for the pictures of Peshawar. Some good stuff there.

I would say Peshawar is not exactly a Pashtun city either. The city has become fairly schizo, after all the more modern suburbs of Hayatabad are dominated by Persian Speaking Middle Class refugees from Kabul. While the inner city still has a small hindko majority the remaining areas are dominated by Pasthuns. so the problem of having a cohesive City pride is still a long way off.

The Cable TV issue is an old one, the MMA coming to power has just brought the issue out again. I doubt Cable cutting is as wide spread as people make it out. Again surprisingly it was in the posh localities that it was particularly bad, that only because the local Mullah brigade happened to be on good terms there. Anyway Cable TV connections are a federal issue so the MMA goovernment can`t exactly ban something that`s not under it`s juridsaction(sp?)

I really hope Peshawar get`s some really money pumped into the local economy. The city has been ignored for to long, and considering it`s been a front line city twice over, it deserves help to put it back on track.

another Peshawar Rhapsody:

``PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Jan. 18 (AP) — Officials in a deeply conservative Pakistani province destroyed audio and video tapes and compact discs today as part of a campaign to wipe out material the authorities deem obscene.

In front of a crowd of more than 1,000 people, officials doused gasoline on the materials piled up in a bazaar in Peshawar. The police chief, Tanveer ul-Haq Sipra, then set the pile on fire.

``We are determined to fulfill our promises about Islamization and cleaning up society,`` said Maulana Haji Ihsan ul-Haq, general-secretary of the Muthida Majlis-e-Amal, or United Action Forum.``

Aasmaan se giraa -- khajoor meiN utka -- poor Peshawar...

Kabul kaa bhagaa -- Peshawar kaa -- abhagaa...

folks -- i hope meray last post ney -- ``rung meiN bhang`` -- naheeN kur diya...

the Plague in Peshawar --

Ghalib was definitely wrong about Talibans --

-- ``lohe jahaN pu harfe mukarrar naheeN hooN maiN`` --

zakkk,
It`s a great site specially the articles on Peshawar.I have seen the Mela Ram collection elsewhere and there was another collection out of Quetta
pertaining to the same period by another Hindu Photographer.I seem to have lost that site.Will check it again.Yes it`s about time Peshawar got its
due share having borne the brunt of the Afghans for decades.Thanks for the site.