Guest Post by A. H. Cemendtaur
In the history of South Asia, 1947 was a blood-soaked year - hundreds of thousands got killed while millions were uprooted from their ancestral lands. Prior to 1947 Sikhs lived everywhere in North-Eastern area of what is today Pakistan. I hang my head in shame knowing that presently there is only a small number of Sikhs left there.
I have been a great fan of Sardars - more so after a community of them saved my life in Lusaka, the year was 1992. I got sick while traveling and sojourned at a Gurdwara (Singa Singa Mesquita). The family that took care of the temple took me to the hospital and fed me. I don’t recall their names, but I remember there was a young man who pursued a modeling career and wanted to go to the US.
Compared to followers of other faiths, a practicing Sikh must find it very hard to conceal his identity. And that is the reason I always wondered what professions Sikhs in Pakistan took, and how they kept a low profile in the rising tide of hollow religiosity of the majority.
In my last trip to Pakistan I ran into a very colorful Sardar. He was a hakim who ran a Yunani matab called “Khalsa Dawakhana.”
Here is video footage of Hakim Sarber Singh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La7Hjik45as
“Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh.”
Besides writing fiction, A.H. Cemendtaur writes on contemporary issues, both in Urdu and English. This post was originally posted at Karachi Photoblog; thanks to iFaqeer for suggesting it for ATP.
Mast Qalandar: President Raffiq Tarrar is from Gujranwala. I know for fact. He was a student of my father. Film actor Asad Bukhari(Landa Bazar) and TV/Film actor Masood Akhtar were also from that famous city. Don’t forget Maharaja Ranjit Sing was born in Gujranwala. His father Maharaja Maan Singh ruled from Gujranwala and his Crematory is standing in Sheranwala Bagh in that city. My mother placed a garland over Quaid-i-Azam’s shoulders when he came to Gujranwala to address a ladies gathering in the “Daak Bangla”. The list of Gujranwala luminaries goes on and on. Please correct your perspectives of the first capital of the Sikh Kingdom of the Punjab and my ancestral hometown. Thank you.
I was emailed about this post by a couple of people. Good to see this. I am a Sikh who grew up in Peshawar. Came to London for my studies and now work here. Most of my family is still in Peshawar. Most Peshawar Sikhs speak Hindko, although many also speak Pushto. Many are traders supplying wholesale goods.
“Aaj aakhan waris shah noon” is featured on meekal hasan’s debut album “sampooran” rendered so beautifully that feeling emotional is only natural…how can one not be moved to tears while listening to this
look for track called “Waris Shah” on musicindiaonline under indipop. search for sampooran or meekal hasan
Sorry for hogging the space on the topic but, after reading Amrita’s nearly complete poem by Adnan Ahmad, couldn’t resist writing some more.(In a way, it’s a refuge away from the “Line of Fire”)
Adnan, I believe there are a few more couplets to this poem. One, particularly painful, is:
jithay vajdi si phook piyaar di, ve oh vanjhali gayee gawaach
Raanjhay de sab veer, aj bhul gaye uhadi jaach
A rough translation:
[Lost is Ranjha's flute that played the songs of love
His friends and peers no longer know the tune]
I think its poignancy stems from the fact that it is applicable even today.
MQ
Mast Qalandar, I did not know that. I guess it is true that flowers can and do grow in the desert (sehraa mein bhi phool khiltaein hain). The other flower that I know from that city of jugat baaz and wrestlers is Akhtar Hussein Jaffrey. His long poem Aeena Khana and a few others place him high in the Pakistani literary ranks. He passed away a few years ago. For his sake I wanted to visit this city but now it will be for Amrita as well.
Adil, Adnan A,
It’s getting a little away from the topic, but did you know that Amrita Pritam was from Gujranwala?
Many of us associate Gujranwala with only sweets, rice and wrestlers (and probably also rustlers. Or they do come from neighboring Gujrat?) but nothing cerebral. All fat and muscles.
Actually, it’s not ture. I believe other than Amrita, several other renowned poets like Noon Meem Rashid and Mira Ji were also from Gujranwala (am I right?). There must be many more, I am sure.
Farrukh, Yes, there are Sikhs in the N.W.F.P particularly along the tribal belt. Some of them are Pathans. The last time I took an American Sikh friend to Punja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, Punjab (the second holiest Sikh Shrine after Nankana Sahib) I found the caretaker was a Sikh from Khyber Agency (the Afridi area).
[quote comment="3527"]I have always heard of Mantos Toba Tek Singh but not read it yet. After all these endorsements will certainly read it, probably the Khalid H. translation.
I am surprised to hear about Sikhs in Peshawar. Always thought they were concentrated in Punjab.[/quote]
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There is a joke associated with my meeting with this Hakim Surber Singh. I see this very intriguing sign of Yunani Hakim so I go in the shop, I find this Sardar Hakim, and I greet him in my wanting Punjabi. The baffled Hakim interrupts me and says,
“Um Pathan aay.”
I was dumbfounded.