In my last two posts on Islamabad (here and here) I talked about the woods and the forest trails that I love so much and take to them whenever I can.
In those woods, at the foot of the Margallas, until a few years ago, there was a very large and very old tree — some believed it to be hundreds of years old. Its gnarled branches sprawled over a very large area around the tree. Next to the tree was a small concrete kiosk with a concrete bench.
It was a pipal tree (botanical name: ficus religiosa). Pakistani residents of Islamabad were mostly unaware of the presence of this tree and those who knew about it were generally indifferent to it. But the tree attracted many expatriate residents, mostly from South East or East Asian diplomatic missions based in Islamabad. They would come, sit on the bench and contemplate and admire the tree.
It was said to be a bodhi tree.
What is a bodhi tree and how it came to be in Islamabad?
As many of us would remember from our history books, that is, if one graduated from high school before the 70s (for afterwards they stopped teaching history of pre-Muslim era of the subcontinent in schools), prince Siddhartha Gautuma meditated under an old pipal tree in a village named Gaya near Patna, Bihar some 2500 years ago. Ultimately he achieved nirvana or was ‘awakened.’
Consequently the tree under which he sat was named Bodhi, meaning “awakening.” Sidhartha Gautuma became Buddha (the awakened) and the village where all this happened came to be known as Bodh Gaya, which name it still carries, and the Bhodi tree that grows there today is believed to be a direct offspring of the original Bhodi tree. In the centuries after the Buddha, the Bodhi tree became a symbol of the Buddha’s presence and an object of devotion for Buddhists.
A little more history before I get to the pipal tree in the woods of Islamabad.
King Ashoka (died 232 BC), the third Maurian king, converted to Buddhism and became a great advocate of the religion and actively propagated Buddhism throughout his empire. The Mauran Empire included, other than the present Northern India, the Gandhara region, which included the area around present day Islamabad, the Peshawar valley and parts of Afghanistan and Iran. Taxila (then Taxshashila), Peshawar (then Parshpura) and Charsaddah (then Pushklavati) were important cities of Gandhara. It was at this time that Taxila reached the peak of its development and became the center of Buddhism. Chandra Gupta Mauria and Asoka spent time at Taxila and so did their famous political adviser, Chanakya, who taught at Taxila.
King Asoka’s daughter, Sanghamitra, who became a Buddhist nun, is said to have taken a cutting of the Bohdi tree from Bhod Gaya to Sri Lanka and planted it at Anaradapura, the ancient capital of the island, where it still grows. Many temples throughout the Buddhist world have bodhi trees growing in them, which are or are believed to be offspring of the one from Anaradapura.Now, back to Islamabad.The very old pipal tree that grew in the woods of Islamabad was also believed to be an offspring of the Bodhi tree in Gaya, possibly planted centuries ago by a devotee alongside a temple that might have existed then. Taxila, as you would know, is only a few miles from Islamabad as the crow flies and is full of Buddhist monuments - stupas, statues and remains of monasteries.
In the 1980s Ziaul Haq ruled Pakistan. In his zeal to “Islamize” the country he encouraged and helped build madrassas all over the country, mostly with Saudi money. One such madrassa was built in the woods of Islamabad, not too far from the bodhi tree. Over the years the madrassa expanded, as most madrassas do, violating the building codes and encroaching upon state land, to become one of the largest madrassas in Islamabad. Today it occupies 5-6 acres of prime real estate in Islamabad and has a sprawling building complex and a very large playing field - larger than any school or college in Islamabad might have.
The madrassa houses a couple of thousand students ranging in age from 6 to 26 or even older. One sees them during breaks in their classes when they swarm into their playground and, as if the playground were not large enough, overrun the nearby children’s park, driving the children and women out. It is quite annoying for the residents - and a bizarre sight - to see young bearded men swinging and sliding like crazy on the swings and slides meant for young children of the residential area. Other contributions of these madrassa students to the community are: defaced street signs and walls with posters soliciting sacrificial animal skins, and vandalized letterboxes.
Fortunately, because of its very large girth, the bodhi tree did not burn down completely even though it was badly damaged. It still stood with half of its branches still intact. The city administration tried to preserve what was left of the tree. They even posted guards at the site for sometime after the incident to protect the tree from any further attacks. When I saw it last, a few years ago, it was still green and seemed as if it was struggling to recover from the wounds inflicted on it.
Last week, having returned to Islamabad after two years, I decided to look up the tree, as if you would look up an old friend, and see how it was doing. I was shocked to see that there was no tree there!
Only a few logs of the decapitated tree were lying around like dead bodies. The concrete kiosk next to it was partially demolished, the bench was gone, and the remaining walls covered with graffiti. Through the woods I could also see the madrassa — some construction work going on it. Still expanding, I guess.
Related somewhat to the subject of this post, this from Daily Times today:
Pervaiz Munir Alvi said: “It is just that Pakistanis are trying to point out theirs on this post in a hope of self betterment. I for one appreciate your interest in Pakistani society. Please do tell us where we go wrong; in a positive way though. ”
Pervaiz Munir Alvi: Let us start with patronizing smugness son endemic among some Pakis if you have decided to looks at the “wrongs” in a positive way.
@Bhindigosht,
Yes, occasionally I do talk to them when I come across them during their breaks. Like the other day I talked to a 9 year old Sa’d from a village called Attar Sheesha, short of Balakot. He said he was a Hifz student(memorizing Quran) — a 3 to 4 year course as opposed to 8 year aalim course. He said, they wake up at about 5 in the morning, do the namaz, then breakfast, then hifz for a couple of hours, a short break, more hifz, sleep for two hours, more hifz, early lunch, more hifz … and it goes on. They get a long break of one and half hour before sunset and then maghrib prayer, some more hifz, Isha prayer, dinner and bed. Wake up at 5 next morning and so on — for three or four years.
Do they get punished? Yes, occasionally. Why? when they talked to each other during hifz or when they made a memorizing mistake. How are they punished? With a “pipe”, Sa’d said innocently. Pipe! What pipe? What he meant was rubber hose. Any other punishment? Yes, sometime they are made to sit like a “kursi” (chair). How? You are ordered to sit as you were sitting on a chair with your back against the wall, and your thighs horizontal. He even demonstrated how and sat without any effort. I tried it too but fell on my bottoms before I could count up to 10.
Did he like Islamabad or Attar Sheesha? Islamabad is nice but too much fahashi, said the 9 year old. What kind of fahashi? Young women sitting in the cars with men.
There are so many other interesting details that give a peek into the lives of these students but it would require a separate post.
There is a pipal in our building compound in Chennai, India. I wish I could send you a sapling to replace the lost tree. I will think of its Islamabad family, past, present and future, when I see it now.
I found it interesting that you assumed that many would remember Siddhartha Gautuma from their schools. Such a pity that our education was made a mockery of when it turned from being about expanding young people’s horizons to limiting their visions. I wonder how many school kids in Islamabad today have even heard of a man called Siddhartha Gautuma!
MQ, just curious- have you ever interacted with any of the madrassa students?
ahsan: Thank you too. Your perspective is no less interesting than that of mahi earlier.
About Greek influence on Ghandhara Civilization. Being from Pakistan myself, I had recently taken some of my Greek friends to Taxila. We visited the museum and the ruins. My friends were amazed to see how much ancient Greek cultural influence was present on these artifacts. It was a learning experience for me too.
Dear MQ:
Since I observed that there was another one bearing the same name, and also another Ahmad,
I decided to convert to Ahmed2. Let me say that I follow what you write very closely and always appreciate your comments.