Balochistan: the land of diversity

Rasheed Lala

I arrived on 14^th April 2011 to Balochistan for an extensive trip to monitor the schools run by Taaleem Foundation where I work as the General Manager. After going through numerous scans at the Islamabad Airport, oh sorry… Benazir Bhutto International Airport, luckily the flight left on time and reached on time. Apart from a little turbulence during the flight, it was a comfortable ride.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has improved its service though one of the air hostesses to serve us was surely the age of my aunt, I am not telling which one. I am not against old air hostesses, in fact, they are better because of their motherly appearance. Yeah, I know I am joking…

As soon as I reached Quetta, I was received warmly by the person who is going to accompany me through the rough terrains of Balochistan for a month – my driver. He has been the driver for one of our school vehicles in Balochistan for the past 12 years and surely is a veteran in his field. He drives a ’82 Toyota Hilux. You have guessed it right, that is the vehicle which is going to take me around in Balochistan.

The journey has already begun and I have already visited one of the most peaceful districts in Balochistan, if not Pakistan – District Pishin – which is just 50 kilometers away from Quetta.

This is my third visit to Balochistan in the past 9 months. I went to attend a wedding in Gadani, one of the biggest ship-breaking ports of Pakistan. I saw the Baloch culture and thoroughly enjoyed the wedding. Though, the sentiments against the people outside the province were quite dominant, but the hospitality and warmth I received over there actually proves it so wrong. From what I have understood, they are just against the trouble makers and then there are some troublemakers within their communities who try to capitalize on the situation to spread a wild fear into the minds of the travellers to achieve their goals which only time will tell are right or wrong.

The second visit was an extensive one too, more because I travelled more than 1000 kilometers; I have lost count, where 50 % of the time there was no road, so it was not an easy trip physically. But for the eyes, it was a treat to see the culture, the rough and serene mountains and of course for the stomach it was an excellent treat – I am in love with the Balochi food. 

When I say “Baloch” or “Balochi”, it also includes the 40 % Pakthun population residing in the area. For me, or I should say to make it easy, the people in Balochistan are Balochi. It does not matter the two cultures are diverse, but they belong to the same land even though the amalgamation between Balochistan and British Balochistan was done under the supervision of the British.

Coming back to Islamabad, my family, relatives and friends always ask this question when I leave for Balochistan - “Are you sure you want to go?” – The answer has always been positive. I believe no one should be afraid to travel to Balochistan if they have a 24 hour security guard with them. Haha…not funny! No matter what, the people outside the province should not stop coming to Balochistan. It needs travellers and tourists to bring a boom to its ailing markets – though the road underneath the office I am sitting right now is hustling and bustling with buyers and consumers. In addition, there is a huge need of developmental work to be carried out by nonprofit organizations to bring economic growth on par with the other provinces in order to eliminate the feelings of being deprived developing in the people.

Anyways, as always, whenever I start to write I easily cross 500 words before coming to the point or to the climax, I know it is a drag but bear with me please because there is so much to say and express that I can write all day and night long. Khair…. I reached Pishin through Kuchlak within 1 hour from Quetta with one of the warmest personalities I have come across in my life – Rasheed Lala, my driver who received me at the airport.

Heard the typical life story of a driver on my way to Pishin; yes, he used to drive a ten wheeler but love and marriage bend him and made his heart soft, that is why he drives a robust four wheeler which is 28 years old to spend quality time with family. What an irony! But, Pathans are so tough that it is not actually. He drives 35 kms from home to work, even when it is – 15 degree Celsius.

I had already sketched a picture of Pishin which proved to be so wrong when I reached over there. It is just like any other city in Punjab, it looks like the cities which come on the way to Lahore from the GT Road, something like Dina. Dominated by twin storeys, the area and the people did not look like aliens; neither did the atmosphere felt like I was in Mars.

Once again, I was warmly welcomed by the people over there and in fact they were waiting for their alien to arrive. But, I guess both the parties surprised each other, the hosts with their hospitality and I did due to my knowledge about the Pakhtun culture and environment. Thanks to my friend Zain Sadullah Khan who gave me a book to read, which I read during my flight – The Pathans by Ghani Khan – I was able to add more into my knowledge about the Pathans and certainly one point that a Pathan can be a warrior, a lover and a poet at the same time. In short, we all absorbed very well into the new environment created by my arrival.

I read out several stories from the hadith mentioned in the Translated Quran I was given by a person several years back at a dhaba where I used to smoke, drink tea and have fun with friends all night long. It surely transformed me and I always take it along to my trips so that I am able to help someone from it, I am sure it has to transform anyone in the world… yes even George Bush and Pamela Anderson if they give a thought!

The students at Pishin shocked me, they are intelligent and they try harder than other kids only if you gain their trust. So, all I had to do was to crack some jokes in the beginning of the session and it was all good since then. The English in the translated Quran is sometimes not even easy for adults to understand but the students did a good job in understanding the story and learning the moral of the stories i.e. not to lie, work hard, be focused and believe that there is only one God whose name is Allah.

The kids were fascinated by the alien they saw who was wearing Junaid Jamshed Kurtas and fashionable dress pants to work. Off and on they came to say ‘hi’ and ‘Salam’. It was different for them and they liked seeing the alien traveller in their school.

Moving on to the local food now; the most important part of my trip for sure. I tried some local delicacies such as the “Roash” that is how they say roast, no “T” in the Pashto people speak in Balochistan. I also tried the so called Chinese cuisine which is surely better than what the Chinese eat and cook in China. The next day which was yesterday and a Sunday, I was invited for a lunch, a big lunch which filled my belly so much up that I chose to have a sandwich at lunch today. That was not it. I always thought the tea they sell at the dhaba I used to sit in at the night religiously everyday had the best tea in the world; I was so wrong, Pishin has the best tea and it costs 20 rupees unlike the 10 rupee cup of tea we get in our cities, they surely deserve to charge extra for it.

Climax:

There were two incidents which shook me and threw me into the wilderness of my mind. Rasheed Lala was astonished when I explained him about Bluetooth technology and google maps. He felt a bit scared when I told him that I always know that where my employees are through the google maps technology. To throw him off the guard completely, I showed him the roof of the CMH hospital in Loralai, he knew that nobody can escape from this young and cunning “Afsar”.

I guess he thought that the days are not far when I am going to clip a gadget on him to keep a track on him. I could see his eyes popping out and there was a deep silence in the room. Rasheed Lala lost in amazement and I was trying to control my laughter and tears. For sure it was sad to see one generation of Balochistan so far of the latest happenings of the world and the progress it has made. But, I kept myself happy in thinking that this is what makes Rasheed Lala live his life like a child even at the age of 47.

The second shocker I got when on the second day I was served Briyani. Briyani in Balochistan? I know Briyani originated from the Iranis at the same time it was discovered in India but Indian Briyani in Balochistan? Something was fishy and I was sure an Indian agent was around and I found her. Khala, works for our school and originally belongs from Bangalore and moved to Pakistan with her Pakhtun husband when she was 17, but she did not lost her touch at cooking Indian food. It was easy for me to guess the food had an Indian touch because I was born in UAE which is flooded with Indian and Pakistanis.

What brought me to tears and shook me vehemently was when I asked about her parents, she said:

“Mein taaees chobis saal se nai gai maa baap ke paas…. Maa udhar roti hai aur mein idhar…”

(I have not gone to India for the past 23-24 years… My mother cries over there and I cry over here…)

When I asked her why did not she go, she said:

“Paisa”

(Money – a devil for those who have more wants than they earn…)

And I asked myself “why did I ask her?”….

Anti-Climax:

When Silence is overcome by love, it turns into a song,

When a song becomes obstinate, it turns into a noise,

When a thought is sure of itself it turns into a word,

When a word feels like dancing, it turns into music,

And when music goes dreaming it turns into silence,

Silence is the beginning, Silence the end….

(Lewanae Falsafi – a young poet who has published nothing though he has written much – From “The Pathans” by Ghani Khan)

Zain, Thank you for the book once again....

More about diversity and religious tolerance in the next blog...