Pakistan’s Thar: Where the cow is not sacrificed

Neither the fear of theft, nor the fear of robbery, nor the trouble of contaminating the environment, nor the feeling of alienation.

This is the Thar Desert of Sindh, the province of Pakistan, where culture, tradition and values ​​still exist in its true form.

Thar is counted among the world’s largest deserts.

It is also called friendly dessert because it is easier to reach here than in other deserts.

The district of Thar is the headquarters Mathi, this city is named after a woman.

There are also some beliefs that here was a well of a woman named Mai Matha whose water used to quench her thirst.

Umarkot, Mirpur Khas and Badin come by way to Mathi.

Nowadays, a project to make electricity from coal is going on here, due to which it has become easy to reach here.

You travel on the National Highway from Makli to the decoration, and from there to Badin and then from there to the Thar border.

The road connecting Thar is good and all small and big cities have been given bypasses.

So Mathi can be reached from Karachi in five to six hours.

Hindu Muslims have been living in Thar for centuries. Sometimes there have been Muslim and sometimes Hindu governments.

Be it Eid or Holi festival, Dussehra or Muharram, those who believe in both religions are involved in it.

The managers of more than a dozen dargahs in the city are Hindus. There is no sacrifice of a cow in this city, nor cow meat is sold.

Mathi city is situated among the Mound, whose population is continuously increasing. The largest mound is called Gadi Bhat. A platform is also built here.

There is also a check post of the Talpur king’s era which has been broken over time.

Once upon a time, this check post was made to keep an eye on foreign invaders and bandits from Gujarat and Rajasthan.

As soon as the sun hides behind this mound, the city lights glow, it feels as if someone has decorated candles in a puja or mehndi plate.

While the stars on the sky make this scene even more attractive.

Thar’s handicrafts are available in many big cities of the country including Karachi, Islamabad, including traditional clothes, warm shawls, letterboxes, wall paintings, etc.

Some fabrics are still made on block printing. Some of these sheets are still made on the khadi, which are stronger than machine-made sheets.

Mai Bhagi, who became famous with the Marwari song ‘Kudi Neem Ke Liye To Hekli’, was also related to the desert.

Apart from them, Arib Faqir, Sadiq Faqir and the current Karim Faqir continue the practice of singing.

These singers of the Mangnahar clan sing in the local language Dhatki, Sindhi and Urdu.

Tourists who are fond of song music listen to them by calling them at private festivals and guest houses.

Islam Kot has located about 40 km from Mathi. Thar is a special city due to the production of electricity from coal which also has an airport nearby.

Once upon a time, this city was called the city of neem trees. There used to be a large number of neem trees here. Inside the city is the ashram of Netu Ram, a learned saint.

It is said that when there was a drought in the Thar and the Musafir used to pass through here, these saints used to collect rice from all the people and them used to give voice to the Musafirs.

This route of service is still maintained.

Apart from humans, food and birds are also provided in their ashram and the travellers coming here are not asked for religion.

Most of the people in Thar live in Uglu-numbed raw rooms, their roofs are made of grass which remains cool in summer. Fresh grass is planted on them every year or after the second year. Apart from this, there are also rooms made of cement and clay, which are called Landhi.

Here water is usually taken from wells for which donkey, camel or bull is used. It is the responsibility of men to drain water from wells, while women carry water to homes. With the changing times, tube-wells have now come into the countryside, so the women who keep two to three pots of baking at the ends seem very useful.

Whether people are dry in Thar or happy after the rain, people here are guests. If you have stayed close to the village somewhere, then helping the passengers and their guests are included in the tradition of the local people.

Male kameez salwar or lungi while Muslim women kameez, salwar and Hindu women wear ghagra or some sarees. The clothes of women are mostly of bright colours, some of which are also embroidered.

There is dialogue from famous Pakistan’snational TV drama ‘Aakhri Geet’’ written by Asgar Nadeem Syed ‘’is ‘’ Thar Ki Hawa Insan Ko ashiq Bana Deti hai ‘’ ( Thar’s wind makes a man Lover).

In fact, as the sun sets, the winds from the Run of Kutch make the weather happy and the twinkling stars on the sky become the reason for the beauty of this place to grow further.

Peacock will be seen wandering in most of the villages of Thar, who come to the house in the morning to feed the grain and then go to the forests and return again in the evening. Where there is a Hindu population, the number of these morons is more because it is associated with Shri Krishna and Saraswati Devi.

Some countryside panchayats have also imposed penalties for catching or selling peacocks.

Reindeer and indigo cows are also found in Thar, which can be seen near the border areas of India, Run of Kutch. Their hunting is banned and the border army rangers supervise it.

The old city of Nangar Parkar has located about 130 km from Mathi, Karonjhar hill has taken this city in the lap. The colour of this mountain of red granite stone varies with the light of the sun.

There are also many holy places of religion in which one is called Saddu Dham where Hindus burn the remains of those who die.

According to some beliefs, when the Kauravas resurrected the Pandavas for 13 years in the Mahabharata, five Pandavas had settled on this mountain. Water exists in his name. Woods including honey and herbs are brought from Nangar Parkar mountain. There is a saying that Karonjhar is born every day and a quarter from gold.

There are also temples of Jainism in and around the city of Nangar Parkar which were built in the twelfth century. The temple in the city is being repaired again, while the temples outside the city are in bad condition.

A Qadim Mosque is located along with them. According to various beliefs, this mosque was built by the Muslim rulers of Gujarat. Some historians associate it with the rulers of Delhi.

Archaeologist Dr Kalimullah Lashari says that this area is a stronghold of Jainism.

He says that Jainism had progressed in the trade till the thirteenth century and when their economic condition strengthened, they built these temples. The existing temples remain of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

Originally published at https://www.mubahisa.in.