September 28, 2003

Away from urban Pakistan, the lush scenery of Rawalakot offers unscathed, soothing greenery for the city-weary eyes

WHEN a European tourist got up on a fine morning, he saw dewdrops adorning every leaf and petal. His excitement knew no bounds and he exclaimed loudly: “Oh! This is the Pearl Valley.”

Roughly shaped like a saucer, Rawalakot indeed has many attributes about it to qualify as a pearl of valleys in Kashmir. The civic body taking care of its development and housing needs has borrowed its name from the tourist’s remark and is called the Pearl Development Authority. People having visited the other side of the border call it a Second Srinagar.

The headquarters of Poonch district, it has layers upon layers of scenic beauty. Wherever you look at, you discover a new vista unfolding itself magnificently before your eyes.

Situated at 5,500 feet above sea level, some 95 kilometres from Islamabad through the new Gooin Nala road, the Rawalakot valley climbs and drops as a series of hills and hillocks pull and push it out from the city centre.

When on Toli Pir, a hilltop 30 kilometres from Rawalakot, take a glance at the panoramic view around and you will realize why Iqbal had gone ecstatic: “If paradise can be on earth, it is this same place.” And why had the emperor Jahangir on his deathbed said he desired “Nothing but Kashmir.”

The city of Poonch is situated in Indian-held Kashmir. The part of Poonch district on this side of the Line of Control also retains its name.

The name Poonch is also wrapped in a yarn. The tale says that Poonch was a beautiful shepherd girl who had bewitched a young prince of Kashmir. He was willing to pay any price to marry the lass. She was already betrothed to a lad of her own tribe and, therefore, her tribe wanted to take the prince off their back by making a difficult demand. They demanded that a whole village be built for them where they could live during the harsh winter days.

The prince built the village within a minimum possible time with all the facilities and married off the girl. But the young man whom the girl was promised to be married could not bear it. Love-stricken, he began giving vent to his grief through songs while wandering on a riverbank, where one day he was found dead. Poonch, the shepherd princess, learnt about it, saw him dead and jumped into the river to her death. Both the lovers were buried the same day. Some people believe their songs still echo in the valleys.

A new housing scheme is in its initial stages of construction next to an ancient Sikh temple, on the hill overlooking Rawalakot town and its surroundings. An elevated water tank for the project has already been constructed. It provided us, a group of six men from Karachi, with an unforgettable view of the town from the rooftop of the tank. At sunset lights began to flicker in the surroundings hills and valleys like fireflies. The stars above seemed to be forming an ornate canopy. The growing darkness was brightening the view. It was so mesmerising that we took a long time to realize that the chilly air had begun to bite sharply.

With cascading waterfalls, exotic fauna and flora, extremely cold, and hot springs, the whole of Rawalakot valley is exceedingly beautiful. But some spots excel others. The Toli Pir top is one such place. Shorn of trees but rich in grassy bed, this is a meadow at an altitude of 9,000 feet. It offers an enchanting view of almost the whole of the free state and a large part of the Indian-held territory, the snow-capped hills, snaking rivers, et al.

An old man living near the top offered us lassi and explained various areas to us. “That is the peak (Haji Pir) which was occupied by the Indian army in 1965 and later restored to us. A hastily-built helipad where Indra Gandhi had landed and addressed her armymen was named after her is still there. Those ridges mark the Line of Control. The city of Poonch is right behind that hill and Srinagar behind that mountain...”

The late K.H. Khursheed, when he was at the helm of the state’s affairs, had built a rest house on Toli Pir. It was later struck by lightning and razed to the ground. Now only its foundation remains.

A saint, Shah Hamadan, passing through the area, made a stopover here, prompting his followers to build a simple shrine, which attracts a large number of pilgrims. Goats are sacrificed here by shepherd and other pilgrims and visitors feasted.

The Banjausa lake, 20 kilometres from the town, is another picturesque spot. Hugged by hills on three sides, this lake can compete in beauty with lakes anywhere in the world . With the tall Biar and Diar trees reflected in the water, small flocks of ducks glide by in joy, instilling a similar feeling in the beholders.

Here we had a pleasant experience in administrative outlook too. When we were enjoying eating fruits on the grass beside the lake in front of an official rest house, a policeman approached us and politely asked us to get to aside as the AJK president was coming to the rest house. We ignored his request and went about our eating and viewing business. He went back to his place without insisting on our dislocation. The president, Maj-Gen Anwar Khan, accompanied by the first lady of the state, flashed a friendly smile at us and went inside unruffled. The president’s political secretary, perceiving our surprise, told us that individuals came up with the request to see the president at odd times and he had to oblige them. This showed a marked difference from what political leaders do in other parts of the country after they grab high offices.

When we visited the shrine of Sardar Bahadur Ali Khan in Taeen, we had to climb down a very difficult and slippery pathway. Our energy had already sapped and we were finding it difficult to return to our van. An Afghan boy, collecting junk from the scattered houses, volunteered to go to the driver and guide him to a patch of road further below the shrine. Samia, a seven-year-old girl living and studying in Islamabad and vacationing in her hilly village, led us to the road far from her home. Two young women who had earlier gladly allowed us to pick apricots from trees near the shrine, did not have any apprehension about Samia’s accompanying strangers. This confidence seemed to flow from the fact that such crimes do not occur there.

People in the Rawalakot valley are generally well off. Otherwise they would not have houses nestled in high hills, with shimmering tin sheets and walls in bright colours. Mud and wood houses are fast becoming extinct. Everything costs much more when carried off the road and up and down the hills. Many have family members settled abroad, particularly in the United Kingdom. Some families divide their time between their hometowns and the country of their living. We met a 78-year-old British national who had lived in London for more than 42 years. He said his sons and their families were settled in England and he lived only for three months in his hometown.

The concept of Mohallah or village is different than the traditional one. Though set apart by several acres, houses in close proximity form neighbourhood, village and even town. People like to build houses in a central point of their tracts of land to have a feel of the exuberance of vegetation. Some of them have two homes at separate places — one for the winter and the other for summer. Even at an hour’s walk, weather changes markedly, necessitating the two homes to suit the weather.

Literacy rate is high here as schools and colleges are common. Many monuments built to honour the martyred heroes show how dearly these valiant people loved their freedom and tried to protect it with their lives. Near here, at Mang, war crimes of the worst kind were committed by the Dogra regime in 1832 — several people were flayed alive.

Because of the growth population, wildlife has naturally dwindled, but various rare species are still found in the thick forests.

The other must-see spots in the vicinity of Rawalakot include Tatta Paani (the hot, or thermal, springs), Shaheed Galla, Khherian Pachhot, Dunna, Jassi Pir and Baloch. The steaming springs attract people particularly in winter. Some people believe the hot sulphur water relieves arthritis pains and cures some other diseases.

Despite its ravishing beauty, Rawalakot does not attract as many tourists as it should. A probable reason for the neglect of this region by the tourist community could be its being part of Kashmir. It is generally believed that the area is dangerous for tourists as shells might come raining on it from the other side of the Line of Control. In reality the Rawalakot valley is safe and is not in the range of the Indian artillery.

Residents say there has never been any shelling in the vicinity of the town. Another reason why tourists have not visited it in as large numbers as they should is the condition of roads leading into the area. The road running from Azad Pattan, the entry point to the state, to Mang and Rawalakot is one such example. This road, 95 kilometres from Islamabad to Rawalakot, may take up to three-and-a-half hours.

However, work to improve various roads is under way. Bridges are being built and fortified. And there is no actual hindrance in the way for a genuine tourist, who might find more than its reward at the end of a bumpy ride. But a good network of roads is as necessary to boost tourism as water to keep a duck in high spirits.

Although there has been an official ban on foreign tourists, AJK President Sardar Anwar Khan told a conference on tourism recently that the ban was no longer in force. Previously there was a ban on purchase of land by non-Kashmiris. It too has been relaxed to help promote the tourism industry.

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