Although I
was too young to remember things but I still have memories of those golden
days. The all crowded houses and
known faces; mirth in voices; spark on the faces and merriment all around. The
echoing of continued prayers and
the buzz of the visiting pilgrims. The late night market lights and the
flocking of people made it sure that life awoke till midnight. The lightened up
streets which otherwise were congested because of their narrowness provided us
a lot of space to play. And how can I forget the long waited weekends when all
children used to play together games and sing aloud songs of joy. It would
have been same I guess but the incident of 1995 turned it around.
Life has come all way since then, the
per-capita income of families has gone up; poverty line declined; more vehicles
on roads; DTH antennas on the roof of every house; the talk of modems and data
cards and not to forget the small box in everybody’s hand. For me also
everything seemed to be heading in the right direction. When I used to compare
my land with other nearby areas or other non-urban areas I always felt proud
about having good roads, power supply, water supply and among other things a
good literacy rate. I was happy in my own way but with the passing time I
realized that nothing was good at all. Age and books bring knowledge and
wisdom, I believe. A peeping look in the history revealed facts that were
hidden to me. I realised that the land has not only a religious importance but
historical also. Even though the fact remains that the history of
Charar-I-Sharief doesn’t date back to about 2000 Years or more as the history
of Srinagar, yet one should admit the fact that Charar-I-Sharief had its
inhabitants even before the coming of Hazrat Sheikh (RA) This makes
Charar-I-Sharief a historically important Sub-Urb area. Charar-I-Sharief as an
area got blessed, when Hazrat Sheikh (RA) chose it as his final resting place.
No one can deny the fact the “Chaar-waen” would never had become “Charar-I-Sharief”
if Hazrat Sheikh (RA) had chosen any other area.
I don’t think there is any need to
introduce Hazrat Sheikh`s (RA) here. Every Kashmiri believes that
Hazrat (RA) was a blessing of Allah unto the people of Kashmir. He is Taj-ul-Awliyai Kashmir (Crown of Kashmiri Saints), Alamdar-I-Kashmir (Flag bearer of the people of Kashmir), Shiekh-Ul-Alam, Noor-Ud-Din, Nund-Reshi and what not. He taught Islam in its
purest and simplest way to the people of Kashmir. My elders always remarked
that on the day of judgement when Allah will ask Kashmiri “Why haven’t you done
what I ordered you in THE QURAN?” They will say, “We couldn`t read Quran as it
was in Arabic”. Allah will say “You are making an excuse; I had sent a saint
unto you who translated my book in your locale to make it easy for you to
understand”. It will take me a volume of books to write about the introduction
of this Saint of God. Nonetheless one should not forget that his presence in
the area of Charar-I-Sharief made it a centre of excellence and an important
religious destination even in the life of Hazrat Sheikh (RA).
Thus we come to a fact that Charar-I-Sharief has got both historical and
religious importance. Yet a visit to this land will give you a different
flavour. I am not a propounder of regionalism yet one has to feel for such an
important land which was supposed to be the “Model Town” in Kashmir as promised by Mr Jagmohan. I
as a resident of Charar-I-Sharief don’t want any special favours but at least I
should get what I deserve. I have witnessed people who say that there was
nothing in Charar-I-Sharief before 1995. But the history tells a different
tale. Hazrat Sheikh (RA) in his life time made Charar-I-Sharief
a centre of his activities where he would assign duties to different saints
asking them to visit different places to preach Islam. Khanqah-e-Faizfanah was established in the times of Hazrat
Sheikh (RA).
Charar-I-Sharief had the first Higher Secondary School in the whole Budgam
district. Students as far as from Chanapora were rolled in this institution. It
remained a centre of education for decades all together. Due to its Religious
importance Charar-I-Sharief remains a centre of attraction for millions of
people round the year. Not only Muslims, Hindus and people from other religions
came to pay their homage to this great saint.
But since 1995 when the whole world has
been developing at a fast pace and India at a faster pace Charar-I-Sharief
seemed to have taken a reverse gear. The higher secondary remained the same
when primary schools of other areas where graded up to colleges. The hospital has
the same capacity for decades all together. The accident prone road remained a
single way even though every year we hear the same phrase of “Road
Widening.” To add to its trouble the road which connects Charar-I-Sharief
with Srinagar is often closed because the bridge is not ready or there is
strike on water supply or there is a quarrel between two families or a hen was
crushed by a lorry! The power supply is something not to be talked about. What
is the fun of providing a 24x7 line for the shrine when the people living
nearby don’t even get 7x7. The streets which once where lightened up are dark
and fearful. The drainage system is in drains and the local municipal committee
is busy in collecting money from the buses and cars. The public transportation
(SRTC) which once was a major means of transportation for the people of
Charar-I-Sharief, ply ones in a day and that too when a bus is available, when
at hundreds students are going to their colleges daily. This has resulted in a
kind of monopoly of Sumo drivers, the people are helpless to board these Sumos
and pay triple fare as compared to the bus services to reach their
destinations. Though the number of vehicles in the bus stand has gone up
exponentially yet the bus stand remains the same. To add to its problems the
vehicles don`t have a permanent bus stop at Srinagar (Even when an area around
Iqbal Park is still remembered as Chaar-Ada),
this makes the passengers to run for the vehicles at Iqbal Park Srinagar and
due to this problem the sumo drivers are reluctant to visit Srinagar after the
dusk leaving hundreds of people stranded in the city each day.
Leave the facilities to the locals aside,
people who visit the town face difficulties. The open spaces are no places to
stay in winters. No proper arrangement of washrooms and rest rooms add to the
headache. There is not a single hotel in Charar-I-Sharief, whereas if one goes
to Ajmer or Mata Vishnu Devi there are hotels and many hotels around. I should
say the Government has failed to portray Charar-I-Sharief as a religious-tourism site. These are the reasons that to me are
enough to answer the question of declining pilgrims to the land. If you can’t
make a local pilgrim happy so that he can have happy memories about the place
why do you think of foreigners to visit the land again?
I don’t know the reason behind this. They
say change is necessary and the land hasn`t changed. May be the caretaker of
the land wasn’t changed as and when required. May be giving a person more than
30 years for caretaking, without results, was a reason. May be the people of
the land themselves are the reason for the pathetic plight of their homeland as
they never demanded their rights and never raised their voices. But he question
still remains unanswered and the blessed land is longing for the rain of
renewal that can bring back its lost charm.
اپنے اجڑے آشیاں کی داستاں ہم نے کہی
پھر گلا کرنا نہ ہم سےکہ تم وقت پہ بولے نہیں.....
You have raised a really fastidious issue. Our town has been abandoned and regardless of of the fact that all of us know it, still we can’t help. I am myself observing it from past 20 years and there has been not a single change that could have benefited us. Hope our future caretakers would try to fill up the left loopholes.
ReplyDeletewe can only hope...
DeleteA very thought provoking article.
ReplyDelete