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TRAVALOGUE
A Trip To Lake Saifful Malook
By
Maj.
(Retd) Saeed Z.Janjuah
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my telephone rang one fine evening I had then no idea what soever
about the wonderful surprise I was about to get. It was from a very
dear friend of mine, working in advertising business and he was
asking me if I would be interested to go along with him and his
crew to visit the famous saiful Malook lake up in the north where
he was to shoot a commercial film. A visit to saifual Malook and
that to with all expenses paid! I could not believe my ears for
that was one trip I had been planning for so many years but somehow
or the other it never materialized. The timing, the weather and
the company was now most ideal and suited me a lot and so without
any hesitation my answer to him was” I would love it!” |
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And so I saw myself standing early morning
with my dear friend Asim and his film crew of about more than
40 people at the Karachi airport for the first leg of the journey
to Islamabad. Outside the Islamabad airport two air - conditioned
coaches were waiting for us and after all of us were comfortably
seated we set fourth for the second leg of the journey towards
the leke.the coaches traveled to Abbotabad a town a town about
150 kilometers away where we stopped to have our lunch. The next
stop was a small town called blackot where we spent the nigh at
the PTDC motel. The rooms were of good standard and the night
stay was quite comfortable except for the mosquitoes the size
of fly which were quite in abundance. Blackot is situated on the
both sides of a small river with a bridge connecting both the
sides. One came across quite a lager number of hotels and restaurants
with a bazaar, which seemed to be very busy and active.
Early next morning we found ourselves driving
towards the next leg of the journey which would take us to a place
called Naran, a holiday resort about 10 kilometers short of Lake
Saiful Malook. And so through the narrow winding road, climbing,
descending and zig zagging with spectacular green valleys dotted
with pine, juniper trees and thick forests, with houses and mud
huts perched at high altitudes over many peaks and mountains and
the winding river which kept playing hide and seek we finally
reached our next stop at Naran. It was now afternoon and we all
settled down in the PTD hotel situated at the bank of river, which
we kept eyeing, on the way. Here too pine and juniper trees adorned
the whole hotel and the view was just enchanting. Naran we had
our lunch. The food was quite tasty and the rooms of the hotel
were very comfortable and of good standard. The crew which consisted
of cameramen, technicians, models and of course my friend Asim
the Director, got together in the evening to plan for the shooting
of the commercial next day at Saiful Malook lake. Because of the
altitude and the season, the weather was quite chilly and the
water coming out of the taps was freezing cold. There was however
the provision of hot water but the rooms were so cold that the
two quits just barely managed to keep me warm. The night was still
and pitch dark. The noise of the nearby river water making its
way through its snake like flow made the whole atmosphere quite
scary. Next morning that everyone was ready to leave for the film
shooting at Saiful Malook. The approach to the lake from Naran
is about 10 kilometers or so is only by jeep through some very
narrow winding gravel and rock road with lots of twists and turns
ups and downs. We reached the lake after
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about 45 minutes ride in about five
jeeps. The weather was terribly cold perhaps below zero
degree but when my eyes fell on the stunning, enchanting,
spectacular, delightful, captivating scenery and beauty
of the lake, I at least forgot everything else and stood
stupefied and amazed at what I was seeing in front of my
eyes.
To see Saiful Malook Lake on
a picture post card and to see it by your own naked eyes
is like being transformed into a dream, which is difficult
to believe. Had I not seen the lake with my own eyes, no
amount of its praise or admiration would have made me believe
so. And now I was standing in front of it trying to devour
every inch of it with my eyes. I felt an inner sense of
happiness and joy and like a conqueror that had captured
a part of history for I shall never forget this event as
long as I live. High snowcapped mountains whose reflections
can be seen in the lake itself and whose beauty cannot be
described in words surrounded the lake, which is about 11,000
feet above sea level. The lake is said to be about 800 meters
long and 458 meters wide.
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There
is a fairy tale connected with this lake. The lake is said
to have been named after a prince called Saiful Malook who
being captivated by the serenity of the area used to come
here every day. One day when he was visiting the lake, he
happened to see a very beautiful fairy with her companions
at the bank of the lake. It was love at first sight and both
feel in love with each other. They thus kept meeting each
other regularly at the lake. Their love, romance and stories
of their meetings spread far and wide. But suddenly one day
the fairy stopped coming to the lake. The prince became crestfallen
and sad and could not bear the pain and suffering of this
separation. While searching for her around the lake one day
he chances to spot the same companions of his love at a different
location. He thus begs them to inform him about the whereabouts
of his fairy. Instead all of them laugh away at his condition
except one of them who takes pity on him and tells him that
his love has been confined far away within a palace at a place
called Caucasus. The prince thus sets forth the search of
his fairy and against many odds and dangers finally succeeds
in finding and marrying her at last.
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While my friend
was busy shooting his commercial film keeping the lake in the background,
I lost no time in taking photographs of the lake from all different
angles with my automatic camera that I had brought along. The weather
of course was freezing cold especially very early morning but soon
enough when the sun crossed over the nearby mountain peaks and shone
over us, it became a little warmer. During the stay here of about
eight hours or so, Saiful Malook Lake underwent many transformations.
One moment you could see the reflections of the Snowcapped Mountain
peaks in the lake and the next moment it was gone. At one time the
colour of the water was green and soon it became blue. At one point
a little wind started blowing across the lake and one could see
crystals of ice forming on its water surface. When the wind stopped
the crystals of ice also disappeared. When the sun was on top or
our heads and shone into the lake, the rays of the sun reflecting
in the lake made it difficult to see it. Later in the afternoon
when the sun was about to disappear behind the lofty peaks, dark
shadows could be seen approaching like a blanket covering the whole
lake. It again became very cool and breeze started blowing prompting
us to keep jumping on our feet in order to keep ourselves a little
warm. After lunch, hot tea and coffee was served from time to time
and by the time the shooting was completed it had started becoming
dark. Finally bidding farewell to Saiful Malook Lake we returned
via the same route to the warm and hospitable environment of the
PTDC hotel at Naran. Dinner was served early and then we all hit
for our beds a little tired but happy with the adventure at Saiful
Malook Lake.
The next day after lunch we strolled out to Naran bazaar. The atmosphere
was so pleasant, wonderful and peaceful as compared to the busy
and hectic life of Karachi that I was wondering whether heaven would
be something like this. The ladies had a feast buying shawls, assorted
earrings and bangles of all kinds and shapes, purses, ready made
chaddars etc. etc.
For me this visit would remain as one of the most enjoyable trips
that I have ever had in my life and its memory of the lovely time
spent in these five days that I shall never forget. |
Pope
urges US to shun more violence
Pope John Paul
said he was "heartbroken by the terror attacks
in the United States but urged the American people
to shun the temptation to respond with hatred and
more violence. The Pope made his appeal, the latest
in a series since the devastating attacks on Tuesday,
after a mass in the city of Frosinone, south of Rome.
Although the Pope has expressed condemnation and condolences
since the attack, it was the first time he personally
spoke of the concern about a possible US military
response.
"May (the Madonna) give comfort and hope to those
who are suffering as a result of the tragic terrorist
attack which has deeply wounded our beloved American
people in these last few days, he said, speaking in
a clear but sad voice. "I direct my heartbroken
thoughts to all the children of that great nation.
May Mary welcome the dead, console the survivors and
sustain the families that have been particularly hit,
he told some 40,000 people. "I pray that the
virgin Mary might help them not to fall into the temptation
of hatred and violence but rather to commit themselves
to justice and peace, he said. The Pope, visiting
Frosinone to celebrate the building of a new church,
wove his homily around the theme of forgiveness.
"(God) feeds the human heart with the hope
of forgiveness and the joy of reconciliation, he
said.
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