June 2, 2005

In its heyday between 1400 and 1800 AD, before the Indus River changed its course, Thatta thrived as the seat of power under different dynasties, extending patronage to art, music, learning and religion, writes Adil Ahmad

What does a vast expanse of water, covering 64 square kilometres, and 15.5 square kilometres of graveyard, with one million historic graves, have in common? The answer is Thatta, Sindh’s ancient seat of learning, which once boasted over 400 renowned colleges.

A couple of kilometres to the east of Thatta lies the necropolis of Makli, established by the Sufi scholar Shaikh Hammad Jamali and his royal devotee Jam Tamachi. Makli is one of the seven world heritage sites in Pakistan and is the largest Muslim necropolis in the world.

A couple of kilometres to the west of Thatta lies Keenjhar lake (also known as Kalri), providing the life blood to a very arid area, and home to the island gravesite of Noori, the gypsy girl from Keenjhar who became Tamachi’s sweetheart and queen.

To say that Thatta has fallen upon hard times would be a gross understatement. In its heyday between 1400 and 1800 AD, before the Indus River changed its course, Thatta thrived as the seat of power under the dynasties of the Samras, Sammas, Afghans, Turkhans, and Mughals; extending patronage to art, music, learning and religion, and becoming a celebrated centre for enlightenment.

From being the primary seat of power and learning in the region, Thatta today is a small town providing services to the surrounding agriculture, while its jewels are in a state of disrepair, especially Makli. Of those buried there, over 125,000 were revered saints.

With the megacity of Karachi and its 15 million people just 98 kilometres to the west, and given such a weighty presence of history, culture and water, Thatta should be a bustling and prosperous tourist destination, but it confounds one to discover otherwise.

Poverty and illiteracy appear to rule the roost here, barring a few oasis of private and public extravagance. Such oasis are in dire need of multiplication in the hope that the trickle down effect to the less fortunate will gain critical mass and make a meaningful impact on poverty alleviation.

Mehtab Rashdi, now the secretary of Culture and Tourism saw the guests. Rabiya Javeri Agha, the additional secretary for culture, said that forever strapped for adequate funding and suffering from inefficiencies in fund utilization, and government functionaries view the Herculean task of restoring Thatta to its past glory an impossible mission .

The Sindh Tourism Development Corporation (STDC), with additional secretary Agha as its managing director, recently took a large first step. On World Culture Day a weekly bus service from Karachi to Keenjhar was inaugurated by Culture Minister Shabbir Qaimkhani. Two buses loaded up with members of the press made the trek along the narrow and quite harrowing National Highway.

The cool of the evening, or early morning, is probably the best time to visit Jamali and Tamachi’s graves, as the summer heat takes over as quickly as the sun rises. We pottered around the ruins and gazed in awe at the architecture that had withstood the ravages of time.

Rehabilitating the necropolis is clearly a priority with the culture department, and it is obvious that any sustainable effort in this regard can only be done in conjunction with the Tourism department.

While Makli houses the culture and history of the area, the romantic allure of Thatta lies in the wide watery expanses of Keenjhar, with its island bearing Noori’s grave, which was all lit up as part of the celebrations of the World Culture Day. There was also a live concert of indigenous music and a lavish banquet.

The fakirs of Sindh in their yellow robes held the audience captive with their mesmerizing melodies. Led by Fakir Rajab Ali, the son of Sohrab Fakir, these travelling musicians are part of the local folklore and Sufi culture and perform at shrines and festivals.

There were singers and musicians from the urban stronghold of Karachi as well. The pyrotechnic display that followed the performance was dazzling, and a rare occurrence in these otherwise desolate parts.

While the weekend bus service will go a long way in linking the Thatta tourism destinations with the mass market of Karachi, any effort at sustainable and meaningful domestic tourism on this route requires a well-publicized scheduled daily tourism service and only the private sector can provide this.

The corporate entities of Karachi need the serenity and inspiration of the rural countryside to reduce their stress levels borne out of hyperactivity. While the salt waters of the Arabian Sea provide the Karachiites with a potent rest and recreation option, the sweet waters of Keenjhar also beckons them with increasing desperation as there is an entire heritage on the verge of being lost.

The presence of upmarket hotel entrepreneurs in the tour group bode well for the future, and we may well see an air route made possible to Keenjhar. The trip from Defence Marina on Gizri Creek in Karachi to the STDC Marina in Keenjhar should be no more than 20 minutes on a water plane thus circumventing the need to traverse the National Highway. There are also two helipads at the STDC compound.

As for the tourists who arrive at Keenjhar, Noori’s descendants in the fishing trade will find gainful employment as tutors of the fine art of casting a fishing net.

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