Since they starting bombing our country to find so called terrorists the most effected province was Khaber Pakhtoon Khwah a.k.a Sarhad. I remember the time when our relatives send their kids to study in universities and colleges of the same province. It was before the time when things started to change in Pakistan. Slowly but steadily, they continued to spread terror & hatred among the nation for specific areas and provinces. Government lost its interest to spend money for the development of those areas and they got more in the hands of foreign powers.
Pakhtoons were and are undoubtedly among the best race and nations. They are strong, powerful, fearless, respectable and honorable. They know how to protect their possessions whether it is their women or their money. KPK was mostly crowded with Pakhtoons or Pathans previously. They were somehow the biggest reason of fear for the powers who actually claim to be super powers. So they decided to start the hunting down process by killing them first. It all started after they have bombed Afghanistan & began their search for Bin Laden in Pakistan. A bomb here one day, and a bomb there another day-soon became the routine for citizens of the province. Thousands of families were killed in this hunt game. Millions were orphan and the rest began migrating to other areas. Bin Laden was never found even then. Many parts of the cities were destroyed and Talibans were accused for bombing their Muslim fellows. The Super Power was innocent as always…
After a considerable time has passed, things started to get settled in KPK. Life was smooth. And there was nothing to be afraid of then. In that time I found a person from my crowded busy life that belonged to KPK. Her family was living there for past 30 years. She told me that nothing is as bad as it is shown. Thanks to the media those days and these days, things are pretty much exaggerated to create fuss among people, for some unknown reasons. Anyways, time went on and I became good friends with her. Then a plan came up to go visit the city where she lives, the heart of KPK, Peshawar. I, a weak hearted person was already taken over by the situations and circumstances in the province avoided the idea. But couldn’t stand her constant insist. The next weekend we were off to Peshawar. Booking seat in a Hiace, comforting myself for a 3 hours drive I was on my way to the city I never imagined I could ever visit, because of the fear of “bombs” of course. Like me my family was also afraid of the current situations of the country they were against my idea of visiting the city but I couldn’t refuse my friend so, despite of their denial, I went on.
Along the road side were garden of fruits and other trees making the view calm and beautiful. The breeze was making the scene even soothing. My guide in the city was my friend and her family. She showed me the Kabul River on the way. One specialty of Kabul River is that at a point near Attock Kabul & Sindh River run side by side without mixing into each other. Similarly I saw other small rivers too. Some were dried and a few had traces of water in them. Another hour passed viewing the roadside gardens and rivers and then we were on the entrance of the city. The crowded, historical and important city of Peshawar.
Traffic on roads and public in markets already was telling another story. How come people can live a normal life shopping in plazas and treating their kids with pizzas and ice creams at a place where bombs were falling from the sky? How can there be such heap of traffic on the roads inside the city where only Taliban and Military is fighting? Shouldn’t there be tanks moving on the roads instead of rickshaws, buses and cars? I doubted my faith there.
After a kilometer or so we were in between huge plazas. Plazas in which there were stores of branded clothing, shoes, restaurants and what not. Shouldn’t there be only weapons in a city where bombs were raining and people were dying? But no, there were people who were leading a happy satisfied and safe life with their families. And how can I forget the huge beautiful Killa Balahisar. The great building is now turned into army headquarter but it still manages to show its beauty.
Later in 15 minutes we were home, my friend’s home. Hospitability and care they took after me was immense. It was to be making sure that I should be treated well and should feel at home. After resting till the evening we decided to go to some ice-cream parlor to have some midnight delight. I was told by my family not to leave the house as the circumstances aren’t good in that city but I cannot stay back until my inner-being is not satisfied with something. Without wasting a minute we hit the road and drove to a famous ice-cream parlor famous Peshawari ice-cream of the city. Ice-cream was as sweet as the language they were speaking there.
The next day it was planned to show me the city & also that it should be a girl’s day out so all of ladies board in a car and went for a long drive. Where I was going to see the city and rest have to sit back and enjoy. I saw the palace, the universities, and the square with a plane on its center, the parks with kids playing, the stadiums/grounds with boys’ cricket matches, and roads with jaw dropping sports cars and bikes, the large crowd gathered at Charsi Tikka to treat their taste buds with those mouthwatering tikkas and what not. I found life in people there. I found love in them for each other. I found education there. I found every meaning of happiness in the eyes of people who were being degraded and hated for just being Pathans but yet there they were trying and excelling ahead despite of caring what others think of them. I found myself peaceful when I was there, instead of being fearful of a bomb which is going to fall on my head from anywhere.
My perspective took a phase change of 90 degrees by the time we reached back home. I enjoyed staying there & preserved some good memories too. Later that night there was a dinner arranged for the relatives and the famous dish called “Sobat” was cooked. I was expecting to eat a fried egg in the dinner because I hadn’t tasted it before and was expecting it to be a boring tasteless dish. We went on the dining table and I thought before excusing the hosts for not eating the dish I should taste it first. One bite, second bite and then it went on. Sobat was probably the best food item I ate in the city so far. My mouth still gets watery when I remember the taste of it. It was that meal of the weekend which made me eat more than I should have and I slept with over filled tummy.
While I was in the bed on my last night in Peshawar I recalled my whole visit & indeed I was happy and contended with my visit and my stay here. It was only because of my friend that I got to see a beautiful city with my own eyes and brought along the memories and the new image of Peshawar. I came back to capital alive and healthy and here I am missing the hospitality of the family I lived with and definitely the Sobat they cooked.
Author : Aniqa Ajmal
Blog : http://aniqamalik.wordpress.com/
