Munaza Kazmi
Magical wells, Spectacular Jain
temples, Gigantic sand dunes hiding several exotic tales, wow…sounds like “Ali
Baba and Forty Thieves”.
I believe readers could only imagine these enchanted
tales in Arabian nights storybooks but never heard or thought of those in real
world. For living your imaginations Come with me to a mesmerizing journey of
magical and undiscovered lands of Pakistan.
Pakistan is not just about the
mountains and streams like my friends think it’s far much interesting, full of
mysterious stories, adventurous and yeah beautiful indeed.
Today am taking you to
Nagerparker. Born from under the sea, Nagarparkar is a beautiful town situated
at the base of the dramatic and mineral-rich Karunjharhills and neighbouring the
Indian border in Tharparker, Sindh.
The area is surrounded by rocky
belts and sand dunes same of that of Aladdin, also it is the home to
centuries-old Jain and Hindu temples, a beautiful white marble mosque, a magical
well, thousands of resident snakes like you see in National Geographic Channel,
memorial stones, granite deposits also rare flora and fauna.
It is said that the Karunjhar
hills provide 1.25 kg of gold every day in the form of red granite stone, china
clay, and honey.
Nagarparkar is home to almost
200,000 inhabitants, who mostly belong to modest backgrounds. The town is
majorly inhabited by Hindus, who have historically lived in harmony with the
Muslim minority.
In fact, the famous temples of
the area make it mostly a town of the Hindus and Muslim pilgrims who visit each
year to perform religious rituals or attend meals at the local shrines.
In the past Nagarparkarwas
largely populated by Yogis and Jain Munis, the followers of Lord Mahavira and
Parsanatha, some hundreds of years ago. These Jains and Shaivites were known to
practice austerities in the hills of Karunjhar.
Stories from the localsrelate
that wealthy Hindu merchantsbuilt temples and dedicated them to Lord
Parshwanath, the 23rd Jain prophet.
But with hardly any Jains left,
these major archaeological monuments lie abandoned, neglected and shrouded in
mystery.
Jain Temple
Apart from the golden sand,
exotic wild life and rich mineral reserves, Nagarparkaris famous for the Jain
history and their remarkable architecture.
There are over twelve Jain
temples that you can find in the area. These dates back to as far as the 14th
century – the era when the Jain architectural expression was at its ultimate –
and are now one of the oldest heritage sites of Pakistan.
Some of the notable shrines
include; Karoonjar Jain, Virvah Jain, Gori and a cluster of three temples at
Bodhesar etc. These are richly decorated with sculptures and paintings.
The carvings on the pillars and
entrances of these temples are magnificent for their intricacy. One of these
sanctuaries is believed to have been built by a Jain woman and is locally
called, PoniDaharo.
The walls of these abandoned
buildings are geometric steps of marble — a particular style that shows up
everywhere from the temple’s steps to the frames carved inside some of its
walls and are widely seen among Jain constructions.
The canopies at the entrance of
these temples are decorated with paintings that represent Jain mythology.
It is believed that the frescoes
at Gori temple are some of the oldest Jain frescoes in existence.
Unfortunately, not much has been done to conserve these heritage sites and you
would find some are merely ruins of what were once considered architectural
wonders.
I believe we should not leave
everything on government since this heritage is belong to the citizens as well,
we our self could preserve our precious heritage for the coming generations.
Bhodesar Mosque
Going furtheralongside the pond
at the foothill of the Karunjharyou would discover a beautiful, shining white
mosque.
This remarkable structure, built
entirely with cold and welcoming marble, is said to have been built by Sultan
Mehmood Begra, the ruler of Gujarat.
On a closer inspection you could
see an inscription on the mosque lists the year 880/1505, which is also a
reminder of the Jain-inspired architecture at the mosque.
Durga Mata Temple
Next, lies on the ChurrioJabal
hill, there’s a historic Hindu sanctuary hosts up to 200,000 pilgrims annually
on Shivratri.
Visitors bring cremated ashes of
their departed beloveds to immerse in the holy water. The valuable and
multi-colored hill supporting the temple is mined for its rare and expensive
granite, which I believe is posing a serious threat to the foundation of the
house of the Hindu goddess, Durga.
By now you are in the thoughts of
golden land, and its preservations that’s a great idea work on it. Well I think
now let’s move to another totally different view of this beautiful land,
something like we use to see in Bollywood movies…yeah, it’s a “Love Story”.
Marvi’s well
Located in the Bhalwa village,
this well is regarded as one of the primary cultural standpoints of the Thar
Desert and has now been extended into a cultural center.
This complex is a historical
reminder of the story of Umar and Marvi. Umar Soomro, a local ruler of the area
in the 13thcentury, fell in love with the beautiful Marvi while she was drawing
water from this well, same as in films though.
The story, however, takes a bleak
turn where after continuous rejection, King Umar kidnapped the girl and kept
her hostage for a year in hopes for her to settle one day.
But after realizing that no
number of jewels could waive Marvi’s love for her fiancé back in her town,
alas, he had to let her go.
Marvi was immortalized because of
her strong-will, determined character and her pure love for her homeland. She
is remembered today as one of the bravest women in Sindhi history.
Interesting indeed…. hasn’t
Pakistan.
However, there are some
difficulties in to getting these vivid places reasoning the tough weather and
security.
Also, the Lodging facilities have
been almost non-existent in the area, except for a few rest houses. However, in
2017, the Sindh culture and tourism ministry opened the ‘RooploKolhi Resort’,
in hopes of promoting tourism in the area.
On the other hand, ones with
wandering souls can rent a charpai, from any local restaurant to spend the
night under the starry skies of Thar.
Indeed, there’s a need to build
the hotels in order to promote tourism.
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Munaza Kazmi has recently done Master of Philosophy from Bahria University Islamabad. Her debut novel is Unrequited Love.
She’s an author, columnist writing in different newspapers and a researcher having seven publications till yet, she’s been writing since 2016.
You can connect to Kazmi at twitter @munaza_kazmi or on research gate as munaza kazmi.
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