| Fun and frolic at Attock |
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The mighty Attock Fort and its surroundings are being decimated, one brick at a time, by all and sundry.
As the engine chugged out of Peshawar, we settled for the journey ahead. Our destination was Attock Khurd and the people going there included representatives of various tourism and heritage organizations. Besides members of the Sarhad Conservation Network - a local NGO - there were scores of history enthusiasts and domestic tourists.
Attock has a rich history. The great mathematician and grammarian, Panini was born here in 520BC. However, it was Akbar who built the fort in 1581, which has witnessed countless battles and skirmishes between the Sikhs and the Afghans.
The Sikhs over-ran Attock in 1819 and within a few years the British had taken control of it and built a bridge here, across the Indus. It is said that the boat bridge was deliberately disrupted during the War of Independence of 1857 and thus people from the North-West Frontier
of India were prevented from playing any role in the rebellion.
In 1883, the renowned builders Joseph Westwood and Robert Baillie of the Westwood Baillie & Co, London, built the iron girder bridge. Apart from having a railway line above, the bridge also has a separate route for other mechanized traffic and foot passengers underneath. And though the bridge was abandoned in the late 70s, it still is a marvellous sight to see.
Our train finally reached Attock Khurd. Khurd is a Persian word for small. After a week of relentless rains, the visitors were welcomed by a crisp and bright sunny day. They enjoyed the scenery and trekked to the old Attock Bridge under a cool refreshing breeze and enjoyed the
beautiful view of the Kabul (Landai) and Indus rivers converging.
The area is famous for duck hunting in the rivers and for shooting black partridges on special game permits in the surrounding mountains. There is an abandoned British fishing hut and a rail track on the side where the English sometimes parked their famed vice-regal coupe for abrief retreat and recreation. And once there, they caught rao, mahasher and other delicious varieties of fish, as did we.
The children played on white sands along the river while others enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the mountains. One could easily drift into nostalgia and imagine the haunting scenes of the bygone days when Alexander and his armies travelled along this rugged mountain range,
followed eventually by Durrani and Sikh soldiers. The drumbeat signalled the charge of sword wielding horsemen; the chants from the charging lashkars, the sound of the hoofs and the clash of armour on both sides. It must have been really deafening.
One of our fellow travellers, Dr Gulalai Wali Khan narrated the history of Attock during Mughal times. She gave a discourse on how religion was exploited by Akbar and Byazid Ansari and his decedents in the region in order to subdue the local tribes. Following a sumptuous
lunch, the visitors were shown the structures of archeological importance: Attock Fort, Begum ki Serai, Bahram ki Baradari, Tomb of the unknown dancer and many Hindu, Jain and Sikh temples of the bygone era. Unfortunately the utter state of dilapidation of these precious sites is a sad commentary on the federal archeology department and UNESCO that regularly issues eclarations and arranges seminars on heritage preservation in Islamabad.
These important archeological sites are not properly marked for visitors and unsightly encroachments have cropped up around them in recent years obscuring their heritage value and marring their beauty. A group of woodchoppers were busy felling large trees inside the 'protected' compound of Begum Ki Serai reportedly, "on the orders of the military administration" at the nearby Attock Fort.
The final stop was the Kund National Park where the visitors observed the wildlife and enjoyed the walk around the track. On the occasion, Zahoor Durrani of Sehrai Travels reminded that Pakistan's tourism industry was an important national asset and it had much potential to develop as an international tourist destination. But sadly there was a lack of political will and effort on the part of the concerned authorities and the general public. He invited the public to visit the old bridge and enjoy picnics and barbecues there as travel agencies
could arrange such camping tours.
Dr Murad Ali said that heritage preservation was a corner stone of SCN's guiding principles and he informed that the whole idea of arranging this visit was to introduce people to our rich heritage. This was the first tour of Attock and hopefully, SCN would launch similar visits of other important sites like Golra Train Station by Steam Safari, Taxilla Museum and Takht Bhai Buddhist remains in the current year.
It was a captivating journey indeed and the words of poet Khushal Khan Khattak came to one's mind in which he had described the region as follows:
And when the rains fall, how lovely is the spring!
What of Swat and Ashnaghar or Pekhawar or other lands,
All bow down to it, and their bounty cometh thither.
(Translated from Pushto)
Khushal Khan Khattak longed for his home during his imprisonment in
Delhi by the Mughals and on another occasion lamented in this manner:
O gentle morning breeze, shouldst thou pass by Khairabad.
Or should thy way lead thee by the side of Surai's stream,
Whisper to them my greetings again, and yet again,
Salute them that I love so dearly,
To the Mighty Aba-Sind cry out with a loud voice,
But whisper softly to the Landai stream!
It may be perchance that I shall again drink from thee,
Nor ever dwell beside the Ganga and the Jammna,
In Hind are no cool waters for refreshment,
God's curse upon it, though it be full of luxury;
God grant that I may be one again with my beloved,
Not forever will Khushal remain in Hind.
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