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travel
Tombstones
of the fallen heroes
Danoi Forest Rest House (1928) is a place of tranquil solitude. The visitor's book is the highlight of the trip By Salman Rashid Out there in Islamabad, my
friend Shahid Nadeem is a bit of an Indiana Jones for And so we drove out of Islamabad on the road to Kotli Sattian. Past the village of Lehtrar, the vibrant green of sanatha bushes gave way to the duller shade of the chir pines and soon we were all but engulfed by these lofty trees. With Kotli Sattian yet ten kilometres away, a sign by the roadside pointed to our right for the tomb of Tikka Sarkar who, the sign told us, was also known as Kamra Sharif. We took the dogleg to the right and drove up the incline en route to Tikka Sarkar (whoever he was). Through a non descript little village and then Shahid pointed out a small hut on our left as one of the out-houses of the rest house. Nearly twenty years ago while holidaying over the Christmas season in the Soon Valley; we had spent a couple of freezing evenings in just such an outhouse because the main rest house was too damp. Our Scottish friend Don Munro (Och aye, as Scottish as they can come!) said the hut reminded him of bothies in his native Highlands. We huddled around a cheery fire in the middle of the floor swapping ghost tales. And the spirits uplifted our spirits. This one, I knew, would be
identical. We parked under the magnificent pines and below Danoi was just a notch below a rest house I first saw in 1994 and where I will return one day. Having come down the ridge of Musa ka Musalla in Kaghan the three of us, Javid Anwer, Javed Buttar and I were captivated by the tranquil solitude of Nadi Bangla. There the only sound to be heard above the birdsong was the tinkling of the nearby flower-lined rill. Nadi Bangla -- House by the Stream, with its unsullied forest was the kind of place that made you forget the reality of death and dying. But I was in a hurry to return to Lahore and pushed on; my friends stayed on to reflect on the many ways that so few of us know yet of making life worth living. And Danoi was just a notch below Nadi. The cypress-lined stairway with its whitewash blackened by rainwater led to the garden and the rest house. Young Shiraz who minds the premises for the Forest Department laid out chairs and a table. I asked why there were no birds singing and he cocked his head, raised a finger and said, "There, you can hear them now." It was almost as if the raised finger was a switch because unseen birds were indeed nattering away in the forest. Who knows if Shiraz, actually able to commune with them, had willed them into it so that we may not go away disappointed. A large sign in Urdu in the veranda said that the Danoi Forest Rest House was built in 1928 and was situated at 1438 metres above the sea. Like all rest houses of that bygone age, it had a pillared veranda with two bedrooms and a dining room. On the far side of the veranda was a sun room behind which there was an annex. A sign by the annex door ominously announced that this building (a single bedroom and bathroom) could not be used by anyone. So why build it at all then, I asked. It turned out that this was meant only for the most high in the Forest Department. The visitors' book was brought out -- and that made the highlight of the outing. The edges of its covers and inside pages were serrated, the straight edges having made for termite meals. The paper was almost brittle and the binding all but undone but it was perfectly legible. The top of each page recorded that the ledger was printed at Lahore by the Civil and Military Gazette. We who grew up in the Lahore of nearly fifty years ago remember the yellow-washed double-storeyed CMG building where the unattractive Panorama Centre now stands on the Mall. I have seen government forms with the year either of their invention or of printing in one corner, but precision was perhaps the hallmark of those glory days of the Raj for the date of printing of this particular document was 15.7.1916. That was exactly forty-three days before my father was born! The first five entries are in the same rather careless hand and with the same pen. The first one is dated in October 1928 when a Mr and Mrs whose name appears to be either Samber or Sambar stayed her for a full week. In April and May the following year Mr and Mrs Bloscheck spent several days here. The men were from the Forest Department and according to the book were travelling on duty. One can imagine them to be young and newly married to have brought their brides out to a sort of a repeat honeymoon. The visitors' book was apparently introduced in April 1929 when the earlier entries were also made. Early in November 1944 Stainton, DC Rawalpindi, spent four days here and then silence descended upon the rest house of Danoi. For a full fourteen years it appears to have slumbered undiscovered until August 1958 when a 'C. F. RPindi' (probably Commissioner Forests) favoured it with a six-day visit. The page being partially damaged all that remains of the name is 'Khan.' From 1959 onwards there is a regular procession of the high and the mighty and the not so high and the mighty fetching up at Danoi Forest Rest House. That was evidently the year the black top, or at least a jeep-able, road was first pushed through this far. Save for mid-winter no month went without visitors and the entries are many and varied. Some of them give insight into their author's minds. In June 1973 the Assistant Commissioner, Kahuta stayed here overnight. Below his entry he wrote, in brackets, 'One glass broken.' S. A. Basir of the Provincial Civil Service was evidently a man of some rectitude to have left behind this little notice of a moment of carelessness. For July 1989 there is an entry recording the visit of the DC Rawalpindi. Under the column 'Whether permission has been obtained to occupy the bungalow. If not the reason should be given' it says 'Not Required.' For added emphasis this particular notation is in block capitals. It is almost like the sahib irately snapping, 'Don't you bloody know who I am?' What little I know of him, I would have thought Sibtain Fazal Haleem would have done better than that. But we can forgive him, with only fifteen years of service behind him at the time he might have succumbed to a moment of callowness. Or it was simply a bad day for him. The star of all the entries is one made by a pair on Independence Day 1997. Visitors 'Baber Ali & Reema!' wrote under the designation and address column 'Shining stars of film industry.' Talk about big heads and beating one's own drum! There follows in very basic English a song and dance about 'seeds of suspicion in others' brain.' A 'sole (corrected to soul) inspirating' lecture by a gentleman whose name follows this entry is supposed to have prevented the flowering of these seeds. The inscription ends with a confession of love between the two. So whatever became of this love story? Shahid Nadeem had hoped to go walking on the high ridge behind the rest house, but we had dallied so long on the visitors' book that there was not time enough now. We had to check out the other rest house as well, and so it was back to Lehtrar for us. Just off the road behind the large petrol station, this one had a disappointing sign that declared the rest house built in 1901 but reconstructed in 1962. That took the magic away from the building. Shahid knew from his friends in the department that the building had been reconstructed from all the original material, but for me the magic was gone. In any case, at only 917 metres above the sea and no pine forest, the Lehtrar rest house was scarcely a place I would wish to resort to for a few days of relaxation. The next time I need to get away, it will be Danoi for me. Postscript: I gripe about so many things being wrong with this country. But the drive up from Islamabad gave reason to rejoice. At altitudes below 1000 metres, the hills were richly draped with sanatha and higher on it was chir pine. All along the forest was so thick and unspoiled it almost seemed like primary forest to me -- something I have only seen in Palas valley in Indus Kohistan. Mountain folks have that nasty habit of pruning pine trees for fuel leaving a once beautiful tree with only a swab on top. I call these trees Pinus toilet brushicus because that is what they look like: ugly. But not here. Somewhere someone is still working in the Forest Department and they need be applauded -- not only for the forest but also for the first-class rest house they keep.
Tombstones of the fallen heroes The relics of the martyrs of Battle of Ongor echo their presence in a cemetery near Hyderabad To the east of the Thatta-Hyderabad road just before the village of Oongar is located a cemetery containing tombstones of the fallen heroes of Burfat, Jakhra and Jat tribes who died in battle fought against the Jokhia tribe for Siri Jagir. In the chronicles of Sindh, this battle is known as Siri Battle or Battle of Oongar.The necropolis is spread over ten acres and home to a number of dilapidated and dislodged tombstones. There are more than twenty
tombstones and two severely damaged canopies in the There exist a large number of weaponry depictions on the tombstones in the necropolis of Oongar. If we compare with the other graveyards in Sindh, we do not find huge number of arm and armour depictions on the tomb. However, there are some tombstones in the cemeteries at Madhum-Jo-Qaburistan (Saidpur, Tando Muhammad Khan) Sonda, Raj Malik, Pir Lakho, (Thatta) Lakho Shaikh (Karachi), Chaukhandi and Jungshahi in Thatta and Karachi districts where one finds depictions of weapons indicating that person either died in line of action or took part in it. But unfortunately, all the gravestones in the Oongar necropolis have fallen into pieces. Not a single tombstone is in its original condition. According to notables of Oongar village some people have purportedly taken away some of the decorative slabs either to sell into markets or decorate their drawing rooms with these valuable pieces of art. Apart from representations
of weapons, geometrical and floral designs are also found on There also exist two canopies in the cemetery which are half buried in mud. Amongst these, one is severely damaged. Only three pillars of the canopy have survived. Adjacent to this is another copy which is too half buried under the mud. Only the shafts and the dome of the canopy are exposed. The canopy is eight-pillared built in square plan superimposed by hemispherical dome with finial atop. The plaster of the dome has peeled off thus exposing it to further vagaries of weather. The octagonal shafts of canopy are decorated with chevron designs and the four bracket capitals too are ornamented. The chajja (dripstone) and carved Kangura (battlement parapet) add beauty to this crumbling canopy. According to local people this canopy belongs to Darya Khan Burfat who died in the battle of Siri or Oongar fought against the Jokhias During the rule of Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro (1758-1772) many tribes rose to prominence in the bucolic areas of Karachi and Thatta and some enjoyed a prestigious position at Kalhora court. At that time, the Jokhias, the Bulfats or Burfats, the Lasharis and Kalmatis were powerful tribes. The Jokhias who claimed Rajput ancestry engaged in battles with almost every tribe displaying their chivalry and valour. Legend has it that the Jokhias migrated from Nawabshah probably in thirteenth century to other parts of Sindh. Some of the families of Jokhias settled in the mountainous areas near the shrine of Shah Bilawal Noorani. Afterwards they migrated and settled on the banks of Hub and from there they attacked and snatched the areas of Malir from the Kalmatis backing them into corner. A number of battles were fought between the Kalmatis and Jokhias. However, the Jokhias defeated their opponents almost in every encounter. Apart from the Kalmatis, the Jokhias also showed their bellicosity and belligerence towards other tribes particularly to Burfat tribe. None other than Burfats reined in the brinkmanship of Jokhias. Burfats too claimed Rajput ancestry. They were also very dominant in the areas of Thatta and Karachi. It was Burfats who gave heroic resistance and tought time taking them apart in every encounter that Jokhias launched against the Burfats save one at Oongar in which they suffered defeat. Like Jokhias, Burfats were also very close to Kalhoras. The chief of Jokhias Jam Bijar Khan had backing of Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro who used him against those tribes and individuals who declined to accept his authority. Jam Bijar had already occupied many areas which previously were under the dominion of Kalmatis. Finally, Jam Bijar Khan Jokhio set his eyes on the Siri Jagir that belonged to Burfat tribe. In order to snatch the Jagir from Burfats, he got military help fro Jam Aali Korejo then ruler of Lasbella, and Khan of Kalat. Subsequently, he collected the troops to attack and snatch the Siri Jagir. Burfats also prepared for the battle. Their chief Izzat Khan Burfat was not in the district. Instead, Darya Khan spearheaded his tribesmen and supporter and landed at the Baran River near the Oongar village to face the rookies of Jam Bijar. Jats, Kalmatis and Jakhra also supported Darya Khan Burfat. When Jam Bijar saw such large number of conscript under the command of Darya Khan, he got scared and thought it not wise to fight. Rather he played a trick and showed a green flag that then symbolised peace. The Burfats thought that Jokhias wanted peace parleys; consequently, they also demonstrated green flag. Taking stock of situation that war is not imminent, some tribesmen and supporters of Burfat tribe went away to their villages. When Jam Bijar knew that most of the recruits of Darya Khan have returned to their villages, he raised the black flag which symbolised war, very next morning and attacked the war party of Darya Khan. Rookies of Darya Khan were very small in numbers and could not resist the army of Jam Bijiar and died fighting against them. Thus Jam Bijar Jokhio won the war by deceit. Those who died in the battle belonged to Jat, Jakhra and Burfats tribes and were buried in the necropolis of Oongar. Later on tombstones and canopies were erected by their descendents to commemorate their heroism and gallantry. Their tombs were decorated with motifs of weapons bearing testimony to the fact that they were valiant and patriotic natives who sacrificed their lives while defending their motherland.
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uncovering strange and unknown places. Be it a fort tucked away in a remote
corner of the Potohar region or a pretty haveli in another or a forgotten
well and ruins that date back to the beginning of the Christian era and which
no one had ever noticed before, Shahid has a nose for them all. When he
called to tell me of the rest house amid the pines "only an hour's drive
out of Islamabad", I could not resist. There were, in fact, two of them
not very far from each other, he said.
us, in a clearing; there stood the Danoi rest house with its scarlet tin roof
sharply offsetting the deep blue sky and the deeper green of the pristine
forest. That was enough to forget the out-house. And all was quiet. No
birdsong leapt out of the thickets, no breeze soughed through the branches
and with a few kilometres between us and the main road there was also no
sound of traffic. This was the kind of silence that Chief Seattle of the
Suquamish Red People meant in which you could hear 'the unfurling of leaves.'
cemetery. Most of the tombstones bear figurative depictions of horse riding
and weaponry. However, depictions of weaponry are commonly found on these
crumbling structures. On two gravestones, one finds depictions of shields,
axes and spears on the upper slabs. There are three dislodged slabs scattered
over the site that depict the daggers, axes and shotguns. On some other
gravestones one finds on the upper slabs the depictions of shot guns, swords,
shields, bows, arrows and quiver. Mostly the weaponry depictions appear below
the headstone of the tomb.
the tombs. Amongst the floral designs, lotus seems to have been the favourite
flower of the builders which is profoundly sculpted on the gravestones.
Motifs of sunflower could also be found on these tombs. Most important is the
motif of Charpoy (decorative bed posts) which is carved out of the projecting
breadth and thickness of the slab at the corner of the casket. The charpoy
motif is also commonly depicted on the tombs in the graveyard.