PESHAWAR: Born as Farid Khan, Sher Shah Suri was the founder of Sur Empire in the northern part of India with Delhi as its capital.
He had earned widespread fame in the history owing to being a progressive and valiant Pakhtun ruler. Among many of his achievements, the construction of Grand Trunk Road from Kabul to West Bengal, introducing civic and military reforms, issuance of first Rupiya coin, and speedy postal system in the subcontinent were just a few.
Apart from a military strategist, Sher Shah Suri had been gifted with excellent urban and civic capabilities and in a short tenure of his reign spanning over just five years (1540-1545) over India he had made himself eternal. The arrangements along Grand Trunk Road for travellers speak volumes about his farsightedness and futuristic vision.
The Sher Shah Suri highway facilities included a Sarai, Baoli (stepped way water well), mosque /temple, shadowy trees under which horses, camels and mules used to rest, a postal point and a safety post.
Residents of area consider the well a sacred one
A lone Baoli still exists in its original shape on a short distance from the main old highway at Azakhel Payan in Nowshera district. Local residents say that the Baoli had not been in use since long as they considered it a scared place and always referred to it as ‘Baoli Sharif.
Noorul Amin Awan, a local, told this scribe that the Baoli was a pride for the entire village since it had been remnant of a celebrated Pakhtun king. He said that the legend was that Sher Shah Suri along with his horse would go down into the well on the steps way to fetch water.
“That’s why local residents didn’t harm this Baoli as they consider it a scared well. The legend is whenever Sher Shah Suri would pass through this way; he would sojourn in this inn and use its water. The water never dries up in this well. It is the only surviving Baoli in the entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” said Mr Awan.
He said the water level had risen up the well, no one knew depth of the well and sometime the water overflowed its edges.
Mohammad Usman Mardanvi, noted archeologist and an international tour consultant, said that he had prepared an album during his recent journey from Karachi to Kabul carrying rare photographs of archeological sites including shrines, temples, Baolis and many other spots of historical significance.
He said that since it was the only surviving water well built by Sher Shah Suri, it should be preserved for the tourists. He said it would cost only a few thousands rupees to renovate and guard it by a boundary wall. He added that a signboard on the main roadside could be tucked for the visitors. He said that foreign tourists took great interest in such monuments and archeological sites.
“If revived and preserved, the historic Baoli could help boost local tourism too,” said Mr Mardanvi.
Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2018