Let us sing that forgotten song once again, let us recall those memories one more time and let us listen to the reverberations of fading human history with the help of these photographs..

 

I have a very basic camera and my these photographs are not here to show my photographic skills..these are here as last cries and protest of abused people, chopped trees, homeless birds and vanishing heritage for which demolition orders have been issued...

 

Fragile and skillfully built towns, hill stations and health sanitoriams like Abbottabad, Galliat and Thandiani are now in shambles and this recent earth quake and arrival of new funds have gravely endangered what remains of their original designs and buildings.

 

We mourn slow death of that Abbottabad, which was once, an unforgettable experience for heads of states, commander in chiefs, poets, statesmen, writers, and thousands of nature loving souls.

 

I quote following words of Captain Thomas, in which he describes magic of Himalayan hill stations, he writes:

 

" From March, when the sleet and snow may have passed away, to the middle of July, the climate is heavenly. There is nothing like it on earth. Nothing! Nothing in Italy! Nothing in France! Nothing anywhere that I know off. Recall the finest day, nay hour, of sunshine you have ever known in English spring, and conceive the beauty and gladness of that sunshine, brightened by continuing without a storm, and deck the fruit trees and bushes in a Thousand English blossoms;and spread violets and daises and berry blossoms and wild roses over the bright close emerald turf; over crags amid the pine roots, and far away down amid the ferns and you may fancy some thing...."

One of the gazetteer mentioned that places like Abbottabad, Srinagar, Murree and Shimla were pieces of Heaven on this earth and there were times of the year when these towns offered the world best climate.

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Are we completely helpless?? will some sons or daughters of Pakistan come forward to claim this heritage and ask government to protect leftovers of these assets for the appreciation of future generations ??..

 

My town, Abbottabad was built in 1853 by British Royal Engineers and local tradesmen touched heights of craftsmenship and architectural refinement.

Due to their dedication and hard work, Abbottabad was once considered as the most beautiful, greenest and artistically built town of the Sub Continent.

 

It had trees and avenues of Horse chestnuts, Lebanese and Himalayan Cedars, Pines, Maples ( Chinars) , Ash, Elm,Camphors, Walnuts, Celtis and Pistacias etc.

Trees of Abbottabad were brought from all over the world.

 

Hazara gazetteer of 1883 AD mentions about the scenery of Abbottabad on the page 4, it says:

The scenery is picturesque in the extreme, and charming from its endless variety..

It further says on the page 211:

The station of Abbottabad is probably the prettiest in the Punjab. ( Abbottabad was part of Punjab, before the creation of the separate province of NWFP)

 

Hazara gazetteer of 1907 AD reads on page 223 about the splendour of Abbottabad in the following way :

 

"A pleasant spot is Abbottabad, and most refreshing is its aspect to the dusty traveller as he emerges from the barren areas,..with the snows of Kagan and Bhogarmang in the far distance to the North, and closer by, to the east, the beautifully wooded hills of Thandiani and the Galis, embowered in trees and studded with houses of almost English build, it affords a welcome relief from the monotonous regularity, white washed uglinesses, and level uninteresting surroundings of the ordinary cantonment.

In April, when irises and fruit trees are in blossom; in early May, when all the gardens and even hedges of the roadside are ablaze with roses; in late October or in November, when the tallow tree, the chinar, and the chestnut vie with each other in the splendour of there autumn tints, and a crispness in air heralds the approaching winter, it is truly a good thing to be alive in Abbottabad."

  

In collusion with self imposed , contractors hiding as so called political and religious parties, Army sponsored Mayors (nazims) ...Government Engineers are going to demolish these buildings.

 

They have already demolished various master pieces of stone masonry and chopped down dozens of mature old trees due to following reasons..

 

1- They get expensive seasoned timber , heavy gauge roof sheets , chieseled stones and antique building items for their private bungalows..

 

2- They make huge money from kick backs, bribes, commissions, shares etc..from sham contractors during reconstruction phase..

 

3- They remove neatly built buildings, so that eventually Pakistanis won't be able to compare ugly and ill designed buildings with well proportioned, symmetrical and environmentally friendly buildings left for us by Britishers..

 

Please note the land scape and grace of these buildings and it is so damaging to know that instead of retrofitting them..they will be demolishing such buildings of Abbottabad and other districts of Hazara...??

 

All viewers are requested to please do some thing ..at least to convey their concerns in this regard to the governor house and government of NWFP, Pakistan.

 

I wrote following few lines for the sake of the fast depleting environmentally friendly buildings ,old trees and birds nests of the hilly towns of Northern Pakistan.

 

After independence, India inherited several world class hill stations, where as Pakistan got very few of them.

Archaeological Survey of India enjoyed sweeping powers and it managed to preserve heritage and historic landscapes of India, which payed dividends and India got third position in the world tourism industry.

 

In Pakistan, built heritage, surrounding landscapes and environment never got the committment, which it deserved.

Destroyed historic landscapes, failed tourism industry and poor physical, mental and emotional health of general population are few of the consequences, which we reaped due to our such approach.

 

After the last major Earth quake, Sub Engineers of ERRA, PERRA, Works departments ( C&W, MES) and NESPAK visited such sites and declared most of the old buildings as irrepairable and worthy of demolition.

 

It is important to note that real qualified Earth quake experts, PhD structural Engineers, Archaeologists and conservationists of the Universities of Pakistan are in favour of preserving old master pieces of stone masonry and according to them, there are simple techniques available to repair and retrofit such buildings.

 

Engineers of government works department and MES also spread wrong information that buildings which were built prior to 1947 had expired and construction of new buildings was due anyhow.

 

They fail to disclose the truth that architecturally and historically important buildings are worth billions of dollars in the world market and are very important to maintain the history, antiquity and tourism industry of the country.

 

They also hide information about those centuries old buildings, which are well protected and looked after in Europe, India, Turkey, Syria etc.

 

They also confuse us about heritage issue and tell us that heritage buildings cannot be utilized actively on daily basis and only places like Moenjedaro, Taxila or tombs etc can be declared as protected monuments.

 

They forget to mention that historic buildings come under various levels of protection and protected buildings are classified as A, B or C class and protected buildings can be owned by the government, semi government or private sector.

 

For example, certain "B class" protected buildings can actively be used for normal needs and some "B class" buildings can have their interiors renovated/ changed without compromising their exterior facades and in case of A class protected buildings, neither exterior facade nor interior can be changed or modified.

 

Federal Antiquities Act of Pakistan gives protection to 75 years or older buildings, trees and landscapes and rules of Archaeology department clearly state that if Director Archaeology or Executive Engineer discovers any building or site which is of Architectural or historical value, then he must inform the government accordingly.

 

Moreover Conservation Manual and guidelines, which were written by Sir John Marshall of the Archaeological Survey are conveniently ignored by the concerned government officers.

Conservation Manual educates government officials and explains the importance of the old buildings and landscapes and it also explains techniques for the repair and upkeep of historic sites.

 

It clearly states that Executive Engineers and Sub Engineers are trained for the construction of new buildings and in case of old sites they will work under the supervision of the Director Archaeology, who will make sure that during repair or reconstruction, antiquity or originality of the building or site is not destroyed.

 

Conservation Manual also requires that all original electric switches, chandeliars, furniture, door handles, bath room/ kitchen faucets and fittings will not be removed from the historic and antique building.

 

This manual also states that no experiments will be made and proper planning and strategies will be discussed, before commencing any work on historic sites.

 

Archaeological rules also require Executive Directors of the Works department, MES and Archaeology department that if new constructions are inevitable then new buildings must resemble with existing original character and architecture of the site and old materials and fittings must be utilized during reconstruction process.

 

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Any body with aesthetic sense can realize that Abbottabad was beautiful due to such slope roofed buildings and those buildings were of immense symmetry, proportion and harmony.

Such buildings and parks enhanced the beauty of this area and blended well with the mountainous landscape of this unmatchable town, which is in the foot hills of the Himalayas and Kashmir.

Due to corruption, lack of planning or coordination between government agencies, Abbottabad has now become a polluted, over crowded chaotic town.

Amidst the concrete jungle and haphazard buildings, one can still find few buildings and surrounding trees of the older original design and landscape.

 

If we fail to protect them then we are, for sure, going to lose the remaining traces of the originality and antiquity of the town.

 

We have only 20 (approx.) old buildings/ sites/ avenues with old trees left in the municipal area and approximately 30 old buildings/ sites/tree lined roads in the cantonment area which are worth declaring as protected monuments under Federal Antiquities Act 1975.

 

Photographs of the leftovers and highly endangered buildings and green belts of Abbottabad are being presented,so that the honorable governor of NWFP, government of NWFP and the Federal government may declare them as protected sites and monuments.

 

Ah, Love! could thou and I with Fate conspire

To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire!

Would not we shatter it to bits - and then

Re-mould it nearer to the Heart's Desire!

 

Rubaiyyat of Omar Khayyam (12th century visionary poet)