Guest Post by Deeda-i-Beena

For most people in the past, the winter bath would be of cold water, Langotie-clad and preferably in plentiful sunshine. The weaker of the skin would boil water in a pot, mix it with cold in a bucket and do the job. The well-off possessed a Hamam – an oversized Samovar, right in their bathrooms and enjoyed its luxurious warmth and privacy right in their homes. There were also the neighbourhood Garam Hamam where, for a small charge one could bathe with host water.

The discovery of Sui Gas some four decades ago has materially changed it all, albeit only in some ways (here and here).

It was then stated the Sui Gas fields were so vast that Pakistan fuel needs were taken care of for the next two-hundred years. Wrong. Us red-blooded Pakistanis have wiped them out in some forty years. We are now looking to import natural gas from Central Asia and Iran. Prior to the discovery of Sui Gas, we had practically consumed forests for cooking-wood and the ever-present Taals are becoming a thing of the past. The Charcoal and Pathar ka Koila was becoming rare. For a while then we enjoyed the blue-glow of the Kerosene stoves. But, with the world price of oil soaring, the imported Kerosene oil bill was also becoming prohibitive.

For a while we thought Pakistanis will revert to stone-age and survive on semi-cooked or raw food. Miracle of miracles, there came the Sui Gas on our door-steps. Alhamdolillah.

Adil Najam

Here is a rather gruesome ad from the Punjab Anti-Narcotics Force, warning prospective pilgrims going for Hajj to Saudi Arabia of the dangers of drug trafficking.

The painted bill board ad makes the point, rather graphically and quite clearly that anyone caught bringing drugs into Saudi Arabia will face death. One wonders, however, if that point is being made a little more graphically than necessary.

S.A.J Shirazi

We had an earlier post on Ranikot here. S.A.J Shirazi now brings a very detailed historical post for ATP about this great fort. Clicking on photos will take you to their source and larger image sizes.

Sindh has been cradle of ancient civilization. The explored archaeological sites are testimony to this fact. But much is still in the store to be explored and investigated in the field of archaeology and antiquity.

Moenjodaro is described as the most valuable site in the world being one of the oldest as its scripts have not been deciphered so far. Experts are of the view that a more serious exploration and excavation in various areas will unravel many mysteries of the ancient and glorious past of Sindh.