Pakistan Travelogue II

Re: # 552
This travelogue by Waryam Sandhu was published in Punjabi Tribune.He is basically writer of fiction and a very good one too( arguably the best contemporary punjabi story writer).He can weave stories out of nothing,it is difficult to say how much is fact and how much is fiction.Whatever Stuka has written has its own merit.Lets not belittle his effort.
Stuka zindabad!

khamkhwa, thanks for the ilog. good read. I have a feeling you are going to get Indian visa and durdana as a package deal. manzoor hai?:-)

dulleya...
jhalleyaN di gull da bura nain maanday hun ... vaise, if you wish to read a proper travelog like sandu`s...read my i-logs full of travel and travails of a paki into... tera bharat mahaan...;)

Manto, I know Stuka and I think he is a good hearted person and a friend of mine. Why would I insult him? All I am pointing out is that these travelogues and visits need to get out of the Chowk context and decribe the more detailed picture on the ground by talking to more common and on the street people. Stuka did get close to that few times e.g. when he attended the rally on his own but he should have talked to people there also and found out what they really felt, which may be he did but is not in the article. I though understand that his main reason to go there was to visit the city and go to his ancestral village to connect to his roots. which he has decribed very well.

dear yasser, let me croorect myself when I say common man I mean common man on the street other than our chowk friends (who are also common men). happy?:-)

Re: # 552

Dear Dullahbhatti.... I am saddened to see that you too have jumped the fray and joined the usual chorus of ``dunkin donuts`` even when it is clear to even the most simplistic readers that it was merely a joke. I read your Punjabi excerpt and I am afraid I didn`t find anything special that Stuka may not have experienced...

Is it just arrogance which makes you act like this... insulting those like Stuka, and those who welcomed him in Lahore...

Whats this fascination of dividing up Lahore into the ``elite`` and the ``common``... where do you think this so called ``elite`` came from ... the sky?

Perhaps in Delhi that is the case... but Lahore`s various economic and social classes are deeply interconnected.

Re: # 543

Yes... but here is where the truth comes out... legal systems don`t matter in our part of the world... which is why despite being legally a theocratic-dictatorship, Pakistan is way ahead of India, a so called secular democracy, as a progressive and liberal society...

Stuka, I read both of your articles on your visit to Lahore with great interest. As you know I had plans last month to go to Lahore but due to my own busy and unpredictabel schedule in India I had to drop my visit to Lahore...with great regrets. It was possible for me to go there for 1 or 2 days from Amritsar but I refused to do so because I realised I won`t be able to see and visit all the places I want to and the experience I wanted to have.

I have read lot of traveloges in English and most of them mention the same places of interest but without much sense of historical or cultural attachment to them. They describe the beauty and outward impressions of building , roads, restaurants and monuments they get as they travel through the place. I think it is only one layer of experince. Most travelers lack the time and sense of attachment to go any deeper and corelate their experience to the past and future. So for you and Dost ji come close to a honest narrative of what they experienced but I would say your narrative makes it very evident that you did not go below the first layer either and experience the real Lahoris and real Lahore that could be much more beautiful than what you have described. Let me explain why I am saying so.

I had heard about one travelogue in Punjabi by famous Punjabi story writer Warayam Sandhu who grew up and lived most of his life 3 miles away from border and had the chance to go to Lahore on World Punjabi conference in Apr 2001. It was published as a book titled ``Wagdi ay Raavi...`` in Punjabi couple years ago and attracted lot of discussion in Punjab. I had this book for some time but did not read it because I knew Waryam’s background and being from the same neighbourhood I did not wanted to read before hand what I could experience when I visit the city myself. but after coming back home this week I finally opened the book last night and have just finished the 208 page travelogue. I had tears in my eyes many times and felt my throat swelling while reading this travelogue. He visited only 6/7 days but he visited many of the places Chowk visiters go to but feeling that I had reading him is absent in what you guys describe. Part of the reason might be that he being 6’3” tall turbaned sikh gets more attention from common Lahoris who come to him and talk and say and share the things that none of you experienced.

Chowk travelogues and interacts dicourage the reader to visit the city..while after reading “Wagdi ay Raavi” I am feeling so sad that why I did not handle my time well and find few days to visit Lahore. Waryam Sandhu is Sahitiya Academy award winner and I think as a result his books are published in all Indian languages. Try to find if they have his travelogue in Hindi and read it and you will find the Lahore beyond Cuckoos and Dunkin donuts and real passtionate people.

Here is an exceprt from Wagdi ay Raavi....about one evening on a road in Lahore.

Bhaarti delegation de member paidal hi aapo apne hotlaN nu nikkian nikkian tolian wich jaa rahe san. laghbhag adhi raat da wela si. ikk tuttey jihe cycle utte adho-raane kapRay paayee ikk kamzor jihe jism da banda jaa riya si. ikk akh te hari patti badhi hui. shaiyad operation hoyea howe. uss ne Gurbhajan Gill (a punjabi poet) horaN di toli nu wekh ke cycle nu brekaN laiyeaN te cycle toN utter ke toli nu mukhatab hundeyaN akheya

“sardar ji! Kashmir kadoN denaN je?”

Gurbhajan nu ussde masoom sawaal te haasa ayea. oh uss de cycle de handle te hath rakh ke oussey hi masooom andaaz wich kehan lagga:

“ bharaawa! sawer takk saar laweiNga ke nahiN? te je nahiN saran lagga taaN Kashmir hunne lai jaah saade walloN ...”

Gurbhajan da jawab sunnke hornaN saareyaN naal uss musalmaan mazdoor ne vi Thahaaka layea te handle utte rakheya Gurbhajan Gill da hath ghutt ke aakheya:

“ waah! sardaar ji”.

Gurbhajan ne oussey masoom ganbheerta naal pher aakheya:

“gall kar, hun teri marzi ay, hunn leina hunn lai lai, sawerey laina saweray sahi”

hassdeyaN hoyeaN hi uss ne cycle aggay toreya te paiNdal utte pairr rakh ke pher aakheya :

“waah! sardar ji”

cycle te baiTh ke hasdeyaN hoyeaN uss ne apna sajja hath pichhaN(pichhay) nu iss taraN hilaya jiweiN keh riya howe “ chalo chhado! eh hun tuhanu hi ditta”.

ki kitay dohaN mulkaN de aagoo injh hi raat barate kisay saRak te mil nai sakde? Kashmir nal juRhi haumeiN, hankaar te vakaar nu chhad ke paak-pavitar dil naal thorha bahuta ikk dooje lai chhadd chhuddaa nahi kar sakde. chhad chhudaa te sakde ne, himmat chahidi ay, mohabbat chahidi ay!

Sukhdev ne uss nu cycle te hassdeyaN jandeyaN wekh ke magroN awaaz ditti:

“ hunn tooN aap ee chhadd ke challeyaN, murh ke ullahmaN na dewiN”

“nahi, hunn koi ullahmaN nai sardaro, koi ullahmaN nai” uss ne cycle challaundeyaN tasalli naal hath hillaya.

Where is that common Lahori in Chowk Travelogues?

echoboom#550:

Thanks for that response. Sorry, if I offended. I am aware of your devotion to your religion and I respect that. Although, being not similarly inclined, it is sometimes hard for me to understand how anyone can be so drunk with religion, whether Islam or any other. At the same time, I am capable of drinking deep from spiritual music, be it Meera, Kabir, Nanak, Amir Khusro, Bulle Shah or Ghulam Farid, or even Aretha Franklyn.

I am quite aware that you are not an arab-wannabe and you probably know better sanskrit and hindi than I do. If you think that you and I are different, who am I to take issues with that. To me, we are all sons of the same soil. Oops! I lapsed once again into the mother-earth lingo. I guess we are different!

Dost-Mittar:
Sir!
It was not supposed to hit a raw-nerve but it did. You I did not have in mind . Sorry! My apologies.

We`ll hit off very well in person.

It was just very tongue-in-cheek & was meant to spice-up (mirchi) some interacts. Chowk, to me, is the gUlee-kaa-NukkaRR. For serious stuff I have live, lively & real time avenues.

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Because this mother-land and father-land nomenclature or concepts are alien to muslims. Usable & inhabitable property--yes, but not so important as to be a Parent or god.Why do you guys always assume that oh really we are just the same. We are not! but we could be good friends, very good friends and cherish and share some beautiful historic memories but then you go your home and I go mine.

``In tazaa khudaa-oaN meiN baRRa subb sey vatan hai
jo pairahaN iss kaa hai voh mazhab kaa kafan hai``

``ghar meraa naa Dilli, naa SfahaaN, naa Samarquand``

We are not so much hung up on Dharti-maata be it Pakistan, India, Arabia, England. Dhartee-pooja is not our religion. Pakistan is not referred to as motherland by anyone (E & O E).

Our love for Arabs, Indians, Englishmen , Amreekans or anyone else is solely & solely based on their being muslim or muslim-supporters.

Land comes & goes. Boundaries change . Land is important if it is serving muslims & Islam.

You may call me muslim-goochaater and I would gladly accept that.

PS: Having said all this, I am still in awe of the great intellectual heritage that Hindoos (not India) has left for the world. I am richer because of it and keep on honing upon my hindi, some sanskrit, and the Vedas, Upanishads, Geeta and Ramayan. Ditto for Indian esp. hindu music.

I do not have any reservations about reading english, farsi, and arabic either.

Ref Mantolives #536

[Now... tell me the truth... why did Yusuf Khan feel insecure in ``newly independent India`` to change his name to Dilip Kumar ? And why is Sanjay Khan Sanjay? And what about Avul Pakir .... the token Muslim you have as President of your union... ]

Yasser, dear boy, none of our token Muslims have defected to Pakistan -- or any other country -- unlike the first Law Minister of Pakistan whom you are so fond of trotting out to prove Pakistan`s secularism.

#540 by jang on April 9, 2005 7:20am


......My offer to pour ointment on your eyes and calm your cough still stands.All that pollution in New Jersey has done your ENT in.

#538 by stuka on April 9, 2005 6:04am PT
``It`s saturday, i got to go out, get laid etc.....``

Ahh, so you are meeting Tyrone today then?
[Reply to interact #538]


Tsk.Tsk.Lonely and frustrated??.Pity your ``brothers` wouldn`t let you stay in your native land.

echoboom:

Be consistent sir!
I frequently agree with some of your criticisms of those whom you call `gora goo-chaaters``. But why are you upset when someone praises the ancient civilization to which you belong, regardless of whether or not one of your ancestors came from outside the subcontinent? Why is it wrong to be a gora-goo-chaater but not to be an arab-persian-goochaater?

Re: # 536

``why did Yusuf Khan feel insecure in ``newly independent India`` to change his name to Dilip Kumar ? ``

Sridhar, drlokraj have already replied on this. Also Mahesh has his own suggestions.


`` And why is Sanjay Khan Sanjay?``

He is not known as Sanjay, but Sanjay Khan. Every one knows that he is the brother of Feroz Khan. Also his daughter is named Suzanne. I guess he doesn`t like muslim names:)

`And what about Avul Pakir .... the token Muslim you have as President of your union... ``

I have already replied on that. Please use Abdul Kalam, many indians won`t even know who Avul Pakis is. I guess Manmohan is a ``token`` PM too, so is JJSingh, just a token army chief, Sonia just a token chairperson of UPA. Can you have a ``token`` hindu as the President?

#534 by cayenne on April 9, 2005 1:30am PT
[Without comment......

Will Durant, (1885-1981) American historian: ``India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe`s languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all``.
[Reply to interact #534]

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Comment:

Great historian, These Durants.

Except that they forgot to mention about their father. In fact there were several in succession. Quite hot and fertile has this mother has been. She first got ``married`` (raped is what some ill-wishers claim) around the year 1000AD . Mehmood of Ghazni was the first husband...and a Durant ancestor.

She remarried because the rules for widow-remarriage and Sati were changed. She has been waiting for quite sometime for a new husband...the very right kind.

Not that she has not been teased or whistled at.

Everytime someone winks and smiles at her, she replies `` Abhi toa meiN puRRhh rahee hooN--IIT mein``

May God bless the Durants--good gentle folks , these Durants.

#541 by Mantolives on April 9, 2005 7:28am PT

According to the law of the land in the land of the pure, your father is commiting a crime when he calls himself muslim....ask maulanas urstrully and echoboom...they`re the authority on this...i`m sure even capt clueless will admit that....

so everytime your father claims he is a muslim, he is breaking the law of the land of the pure....