December 02 , 2005

Macedonia to Multan

The old is fascinated by the new. The new is fascinated by the old. In Pakistan, there is considerable zest for acquiring new things and in discarding old ones. Sometimes it is done in the name of development. In the process, history and heritage occasionally suffer as well as knowledge of the past. A case in point is Multan.
Along with Damascus, Multan is one of the world’s continuously inhabited living cities. It is commonly known as the city of heat, dust, graveyards and mendicants. It is also a key cradle of Sufism. Most prominently it is associated with the great Sufi saints Baha-ud-Din Zakaria (1182-1262), Shams Tabrez (1165-1276) and Rukn-i-Alam (1251-1334). Baba Farid Shakar Ganj of Pakpattan (1173-1265) was born in the Multan area.
Multan has its own unique, charm, culture and crafts. The city has a nice craft bazaar set up by Mr. Qazi formerly of NCA where most of the Multan handcrafts and artifacts are on display, along with artists at work on different crafts, under one roof. The city, however, needs a government-supported and entrepreneur-funded Multan Craft Institute suggested by this scribe. An English daily newspaper would be an additional boost to the city.
Muhammad Bin Qasim took Multan in 712. This much is reasonably known about Multan. What is not well known about Multan is its rich history. It is here where the East met the West nearly 2500 years ago through Alexander the Great who came from Macedonia – also pronounced by the Greeks as Makedonia – receiving an arrow wound at Multan during the battle here from which he never entirely recovered.
Alexander traveled from Macedonia and changed history 2500 years ago. 2500 years later when Pakistanis went to Macedonia in search of livelihood they were rounded up, falsely accused of terrorism, and gunned down by the authorities there. Subsequent investigations implicated high Macedonia officials in that atrocity. Human rights activist Ansar Burney helped highlight it.
Relatively speaking, Australia, New Zealand and the US have little history. Yet, they attract considerable domestic tourists. Americans love visiting Washington during the summer to partake of its sights associated with US Presidents and American history. New Zealanders travel to the Bay of Islands in the North Island and Queenstown in the South Island. Australians go to Sydney’s Botany Bay and to Ayres Rock in the Australian Outback. Such journeys tend to strengthen national pride. All of the foregoing have histories barely 300 years old. Still, tourism there is a major revenue-producing industry.
Sent by the Chief Minister, Punjab, to represent the Punjab Government during the England v. Pakistan cricket test match at Multan, it was difficult to visualize why some erroneously view Multan as a cultural backwater. It is not.
Multan Cricket Stadium was considered by the British media and the Vice Chairman of the England Cricket Board (ECB), Michael Soper and his effervescent wife, Julie, as one of the finest stadiums in the world and the best ground in the region alongside Mohali, Chandigarh. The city also has an excellent restaurant called Zanzibar where the British media contingent used to feast during the evenings. Multan is also renowned for its homemade Baba Ice Cream and its barbequed chops. Multan demonstrated its capacity to host a mega- event. Soper – a close friend of former British PM, John Major – was so impressed with Multan’s history, the courtesy of its inhabitants, and its art, especially its blue pottery, that he told me a part of his heart would always remain in Pakistan.
When the England team was in Multan, the real winner was the city of Multan, which captivated its English visitors with hospitality and decency. In fact, one section of the local crowd waved a huge Union Jack banner. The crowd was well-disciplined and calmly queued to get inside.
It is important that students be made aware of their own heritage and heroes so as to instill self-esteem and self-confidence. Pakistanis, young and old, need encouragement to travel all over Pakistan. It will be a journey of discovery and rediscovery about their own history and, most importantly, their own selves. It shall connect them closer to their nation and closer to all people of Pakistan.