Mauj, Masti program on the Ban Faqiraan Hike

(Shaikh Muhammad Ali)

We live in a fast-paced and interconnected world where breakthrough technologies,

demographic shifts and political transformations have far-reaching societal and
economic consequences. Getting away from the hullabaloo of this life is always a
pleasure and I seek my refuge in hiking whereby I would love to escape away in unchartered territory and remain aloof of as to what is happening in the wired world. Going
away into the mountains always gives me a sense of belonging to the earth, mother
nature which continues to call me, caress me and take me in its fold and like a tired
wanderer, a fallen soldier; I continue to go back to her, my soil, my love, my mother
earth.
SHAIKH MUHAMMAD ALI

There are so many hikes that I have missed in the year 2015 and there is indeed a lot of
catching up to do on this front. While the weather in Islamabad is ideal for hiking these
days thus my boys and I have been itching to go hiking cause real men; we indeed are.
When the going gets tough, the tough go hiking. I think I should get this sentence
registered in my name before somebody steals it from me and run away with the money
too. Laughter.
Come 2017 and the first hike I planned for the season was @ Trail # 2 in the Margalla
Hills which turned out to be a strictly family hike whereby the five of us went for a family
thingy and thoroughly enjoyed the slow and steady morning walk. The rest of the invited
crowd was either too scared of the rain which did not come or were stuck in the Wifey &
Wi-Fi syndrome. The could not leave either of them types. Duh
Planned another one for Saturday 21st January, 2017. This time we wanted to do the
Trail # 4-A, the Dhoke Jivan loop and had scheduled the meetup at the Islamabad Zoo,
a convenient rendezvous at 7:45 a.m. on a chilly, winter morning. Again, my hiker
buddies dumped me for whatever strange reason. Whether they have gotten married
and gone astray or are too busy with their Facebook or WhatsApp thingies. Painful to
the extent that it hurts. Well, life is like that; boy and we surely need to go on!
While I was reeling through the blues of missing my hikers, Ahtesham texted me that
the ASG (Asian Study Group) guys were meeting at the Play land Japanese park at
8:00 a.m. to hike the Ban Faqiraan trek and check out the newly discovered Stupa
there.
After asking Adil and Mohsin who were thankfully accompanying me, we decided to join
the ASG hikers group and there was no turning back. We reached the Japanese
garden parking around 8:05 a.m. and waited till 8:15 a.m. for the rest of the gang to join
us. Ahtesham Raja and his team greeted us and took us in their fold.
We left the venue around 8:30 a.m. and drove back all the way on the Margalla Avenue
and around E-11/4 intersection; Khawaja Zaheeruddin aka Tiger Chachu drove past us
while waving his hand vigorously. It was such a relief to have seen and known that
Khawaja sahib; the life and soul of Islamabad at 67 was going to accompany us for the
trek. As usual, he drove past us at the speed of light and vanished somewhere in the
Margalla Hills while we maneuvered our way through Sector D-12 in a caravan of five
automobiles and ultimately skirting through the narrow streets of the Shah Allah Ditta
Village; reached the site of the Shah Allah Ditta caves.
I have already written about a trip to the Shah Allah Ditta caves back in October 2011. If
you want to read this article, you can surely savor your appetite on:
https://www.scribd.com/document/70334893/A-Trip-to-Shah-Allah-Ditta-Village
Once there, we took pictures of our surroundings while the new comers in the ASG
group moved around to enjoy the serenity and the antiquity of the place.
SHAIKH MUHAMMAD ALI

(The banyan vines are getting older yet firmer)

Not much has changed in the last 5.3 years that we have been here except for more
land grabbing that has taken place by the land mafia. More shoddy structures have
risen up with as gaudy colors as it could get; on the haphazard houses or more of the
many palatial residences of a particular community. The pond at the entry of the village
was as dirty as it was five years ago and the road as narrow as it could get although the
folks in the area seem to be better off at least from the houses that were being built
overnight. Sickening as it could be.
But the caves stand in their grandeur and magnanimity and the ambience as poetic as
ever.

SHAIKH MUHAMMAD ALI

(The author posing on the path of truth and light)

As usual, the government with its tall claims as could be seen from this board which has
been erected a few years ago although not much work has been done.

Erecting a board does not guarantee the fact that preservation and further excavation
work will be done at this site. Hum dekhain ge..

SHAIKH MUHAMMAD ALI

(The Pied Piper in the Shah Allah Ditta caves)

(Mohsin happens to be more photogenic than I am )

Ultimately, we called off the photo shoots and started the (roughly) one hour hike while
taking this last groupie.

SHAIKH MUHAMMAD ALI

(The long lost twelve tribes of Moses)

The long lost twelve tribes of Moses! Bana Yamou An interesting caption which just
struck my mind as I write this article. Wish we had asked the locals as to where that
specific stupa was before we embarked on the rugged journey of light and awe.
As usual, we started slow on the trek and within a lapse of half an hour realized that we
were thoroughly lost. Khawaja sahib sprinted to action and went up the hill with a hop,
skip & jump and vanished in the bushes while we traversed the treacherous path; slowly
and gradually.
As always, the mood of the Margalla Hills was different at the spinal of the first ridge
with new grandeur and colors that it offered to our thoughtful yet thirsty eyes.

SHAIKH MUHAMMAD ALI

(The majesty of the Margalla Hills)

We noticed that the trees in this part of the mountain were quite painfully burnt for want
of timber that needs to be burnt in homes to keep oneself warm in the extreme winters
of Islamabad. What an irony! On this path we saw village homes where the women
were toiling, men skipping around in search of new trees which could be cut; the cattle
searching for newer pastures and children crying for want of milk and so on and so
forth.
And then came a point when Ahtesham returned and announced that the path up north
was difficult and steep and thus the rest of the gang decided to retreat to the village
below and call off the hike. Adil (my older one) decided to trek in the path taken by
Khawaja Sahib along with Malik Nazeer Sahib while Mohsin (my younger one) also
wanted to join the bandwagon. I was not left with much choice but to accompany my
boys and thus the four of us took the tougher route in the footsteps of Tiger Chachu.

SHAIKH MUHAMMAD ALI

(Far from the madding crowd, somewhere in the Margallas)

The path got steeper while the vegetation got dense but our hopes were high. Adil was
leading the group and with his hiking acumen which he has gathered over the years; we
continued to fight with our surroundings and marched upwards. Ultimately we reached
the top of the hill but Mohsin dropped a bombshell by announcing that his hiking shoes
were torn.
Incidentally, Adil experienced a similar fate with his hiking shoes as well but continued
to dance the butterfly dance. I decided to call off the hike and asked Mohsin to stop
there while we could enjoy the chill in the breeze and the ambiance of our surroundings
but Mohsin wanted to go on with his torn shoes till we reached the stupa. It was a
pleasure to see my travel hardy boys that with their determination there was no turning
back in the moods.
Adil and Malik sahib travelled north and were able to touch base with Khawaja sahib
who had already found the Ban Faqiraan Stupa and was basking in the sun. They both
descended to the stupa with the guidance of Tiger Chachu while Mohsin and I followed
in their footsteps. It was getting more and more difficult for Mohsin to continue the
expedition due to his broken and torn shoe but his spirits were high and the little tiger
that he is; he continued to fight the odds.

SHAIKH MUHAMMAD ALI

(The historic shoe that lost it somewhere along the line)

Bravely enough, Mohsin and I also descended the steep fall and ultimately reached the
stupa offering our thanks to God and heaving a sigh of relief. With roughly 9 -10 years
of hiking under my belt, I have somehow mastered the art of hiking which has gone
down to my sons too. Imperative to mention that all three of us father and sons carry our
chocolates, dry fruit, dry ration, Swiss knives, ample supply of water, dates, torches,
whistles, ropes, proper sturdy gear, hiking boots, an extra pair of socks, binoculars,
bandanas, caps & hats, compasses and smart phones. We usually dont carry sleeping
mats & bags since we have not done an overnight hike as yet.

SHAIKH MUHAMMAD ALI

(The sign board right next to the Stupa of Ban Faqiraan)

As the board says, the Stupa is some 2,000 or so years old and was excavated around
April 2015. It is thus a comparatively new finding and should have been taken care of
but alas we always hide behind the excuse of not having enough funds to secure and
maintain such sites. Oh, what a drag! As usual I tried to connect the dots by perceiving
that the less known Sadhu who lived in the Shah Allah Ditta caves would come here
and offer his prayers while doing a Chilah (A 40 day meditation) at this Stupa which
brings me to the point that whether you be a Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, or Muslim; you
would certainly meditate and do your Om Shanti Oms at the top of mountains while
absconding from the madding crowds.
Anh. Religion indeed is an opiate of the masses as dictated by Karl Marx and while
taking that dictation verbally, we brought out our Shahad ki bottle oops water bottles,
our snacks, our juices and our chips and what have you and feasted on our little picnic
and thus the Panj Pir (that we were) celebrated our achievement by taking pictures and
dancing & singing at the top of our voices with the sound of Bullah ki labdah phiray and
Bullah Ki Janaan mein Kaun.

SHAIKH MUHAMMAD ALI

10

(Mohsin took this hilarious shot while relaxing on top of the Stupa)

(Mohsin clicked this shot for the four of us)

I took the last parting picture of the Stupa of the Ban Faqiraan before we offered our last
rites to the Gods who may have lived there or maybe still trying to co-exist with our
current not so godly whims and fancies and religious bigotries that we wear on our
sleeves; daily. Reminds me of the popular poem by Salman Haider taking the rounds

SHAIKH MUHAMMAD ALI

11

these days i.e. Mein bhi Kaafir, tou bhi Kaafir. Jo na manay wo bhi Kaafir aur jo
maanay, woh bhi Kaafir.

(The Ban Faqiraan Stupa standing tall)

We stayed at the Stupa site for almost 45 minutes and then retreated while missing the
seven people who could not make it to the top. I do plan to bring them back on my next
excursion here.
Khawaja Sahib and Malik sahib descended fast while Adil, Mohsin and I walked slowly
since both had worn down shoes and there was no point in hurrying since it was only
12:00 p.m. and we had ample time on our side. We slowly and gradually walked down
while enjoying the scenery around us.

SHAIKH MUHAMMAD ALI

12

Now this is what I call teamwork. Adil helping Mohsin out while tying his laces around
Mohsins worked up shoes. We ultimately reached the parking site where our cars were
parked and were delighted to learn that Khawaja Sahib and Malik sahib were waiting for
us at one of the hideouts and had ordered hot cup of chai with amazing pakoray to go
with them
We enjoyed the tea break and forgot to take pictures here but that would surely give us
another reason to return with a bigger group next time around. On the way back, we
found the actual trek which was much easier than the path we took on the way up.
After having said our goodbyes to the two hikers, we stopped for a chat with
Muhammad Yaqub, the son of Muhammad Ayub; who we last met in the cave when we
visited this place in 2011. Muhammed Yaqub informed us that his father has been sick
for the last 3 months and had thus vacated the cave and gone down to the nearby
village of Shah Allah Ditta.

SHAIKH MUHAMMAD ALI

13

(The author posing with Muhammad Yaqub)

It was heart wrenching to learn from Muhammad Yaqub who runs a Chai and Pakora
stall here that right in front of his Dhaba was a Shahi Bagh which is no more. This
garden was established by Sher Shah Suri who had planted fruits which he brought
from different parts of the world. There is also an old mango tree which dates back to
some 900 odd years. All this is gone due to the greed of the menfolk that traverse and
rule these lands now whether they be from the government or the private land mafia;
both of the same perverted creed and cast.
With this pain in the heart and the antagonism in the mind; we left the place with a
promise that we shall soon return and return we will. We reached home around 3:00
p.m., took hot showers and had a late lunch and relaxed after saying our Qaza Zuhr
prayers and then jumped to offer our Asr prayers which followed suit.
As soon as I shared some of the pics from this hike with my hiker friends; they got
tempted and requested me to take them again to Ban Faqiraan; Dr. Faheem Hashmi
and Hassan Nasir Zaidi to have topped this list. Of course I will try and convince Kashif
Khan also to accompany us next time when we traverse this path again
Till then, please do continue to celebrate life and if you go hiking without me then please
make sure that you take only pictures and leave only footprints. Au revoir!

Shaikh Muhammad Ali

The Wandering Dervish

E-mail: dushkashaikh@gmail.com
Cell: +00-92-321-5072996
Sunday, 23rd Rabi Us Sani, 1438 H
22nd January, 2017, 9:13 p.m. (PST)
SHAIKH MUHAMMAD ALI

14