Unforgetable Experiance

Yesterday in 'Principle of Management' lecture, when discussing decision making , professor asked to write the personal decision that brought good change in you or that you feel was really good. Although this type of question looses its weightage when compared to life where the life is based on decision making. Hundreds and thousands of decisions, some leaves impact and other just passes away. The only decision that clicked my mind at that time which will always be remembered by me, was the tour of Nothern Areas(Pakistan). The place of which I made my mind to travel every year. One of the few areas of the world which are isolated and most difficult to reach. But its worth it to see the beautiful valleys, lakes, landscapes, high mountains of the world and the people. People who reflects the picture of the centuries old simple life style. Wonderful experiance to be part of. Aurel Stein(1921) quotes in Serindia,

“The way was difficult and rugged, [running along] a bank exceedingly precipitous, which rose up there, a hill-like wall of rock, 10,000 cubits from the base. When a man approached the edge of it, his eyes became unsteady; and if he wished to go forward in the same direction there was no place on which he could place his foot; and beneath were the waters of the river called the [indus]. In former times men had chiselled paths along the rocks, and distributed ladders on the face of them, to the number altogather of 700, at the bottom of which there was a suspension bridge of ropes by which the river was crossed, its banks being there 80 paces apart.”

Justly famous as a destination for trekking and mountaineering Pakistan's nothern mountains also have a rich cultural diversity. There can be few areas in the world where mountains rise in such a awesome splendour. Above some of the longest glaciers in the world rise some of the highest and most inaccessible mountains, guarding some of the remotest valleys where, beneath all the hectic jumble of rock and ice, neat villages cling to their green oases, as if stranded on the very edge of civilization. The people living in the remotest nothern valleys are desended from the combined waves of invasion and migration which entered the Indian subcontinent from the north; from the first Aryans all the way through to the Huns. There was also influence from the south, particularly following the decline of the Gandhara Civilization, when waves of migrants, first Buddhist and then Hindu, pushed northwards from the plains. Today the majority of the people in the region are Muslims, divided between the Sunni, Shia and Ismaili sects. As far as many locals are concerned, the north of Pakistan is still a land of fairies and demons.
Before the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, those areas were extremely hard to access because of terrain and weather. After the independence, Pakistan gave importance to the Northern Areas and made the unbelieveable joint venture with China, Karakoram Highway(KKH) was made through Karakoram mountain range and connected towns and villages, providing better oppertunities for the locals. It was begun in 1966 and completed in 1982 and needs to be maintained every day because of land sliddings. The memorial by the road down to Pattans(Besham to Chilas) reads,

“Some time in the future when others will ply the KKH little will they realise the amount of sweat, courage, dedication, endurance and human sacrifice that has fone into the making of this road. But as you drive along, tarry a little to say a short prayer for those silent brave men of the Pakistan army who gave their lives to realise a dream, now known as the Karakoram Highway”.

No doubt, if KKH is not a wonder of the world, its not even less. Believe me, its hard to explain the experiance. A must have experiance. Apart from oppertunities and open of wide trade this road provided to locals and others, every year thousands of adventurers and nature lovers from foreign countries and south of Pakistan use this highway to reach their destinations. I went to the Haramosh in Karakoram mountain range, just before Hamaliyas starts. Unfortunately I lost most of the beautiful pictures but here are few in this blog.