a trip to shahdra

8/3/2019 A Trip to Shahdra

1/10

Shahdra: Here we come again! Page 1

Shahdra: Here we come again!

(Coordinates: 3346'48''N 7310'17''E)

(Shaikh Muhammad Ali)

3D Google Map of the Shahdra Picnic spot: Elevation 2,415 Feet

I hike mountains to travel, to experiment, toreconnect with God Almighty, people and the

world. I like to travel on a journey throughtime and space, through past and present,sometimes in search of myself and mostly

GodPaulo Coelho


2/10


Overview:

On my date of birth i.e. 25.12.1964, I was the 3,301,364,653rd person on the

planet earth. This population data is based on estimates by the UN Population

Division where all calculations are provided by theUN Population Fund.

Although this is definitely not the subject of my article today but I just felt like

mentioning it to show that we need to somehow arrest the population explosion

since the world has recently seen the birth of the 7 billionth child who was born a

few weeks ago inPhilippines.

Although I have been 5 times in four years to the Shahdra Picnic point but

somehow never got to write about it. When I went there again yesterday i.e. 10th

Dec. 2011, I decided that it was high time that I should write about it and share

the details of the trip with my lovely international audience which has grown to

some 27,734 people all across the five continents.

I logged onto theInternetto see as to what has been written about it but was

hurt to see that although there are some pictures available onFlickretc. on this

picnic spot but the NET is generally silent on the subject and even there is no

reference onWikipediaon the same. This has forced me more to write about this

beautiful valley tucked away in theMargalla Hillsin the vicinity of Kot Hatyal

Village inIslamabadclose to theQuad-e-Azam Universityon the way to Bara

Kahu en-route toMurreeRoad.

(An indicator on the Murree Road which guides you towards the Picnic spot)
http://www.unfpa.org/public/http://www.unfpa.org/public/http://www.unfpa.org/public/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickrhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickrhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickrhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margalla_Hillshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margalla_Hillshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margalla_Hillshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamabadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamabadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamabadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaid-i-Azam_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaid-i-Azam_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaid-i-Azam_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murreehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murreehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murreehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murreehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaid-i-Azam_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamabadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margalla_Hillshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickrhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippineshttp://www.unfpa.org/public/


3/10


The first time I learnt about this spot was in March 2007 from some friends and

askedIqbal Hussaina colleague and a family friend atHECto accompany us to

the place on 18.03.2007.

(Picture taken in Dec 2011 which shows a lot of development in the area)

Iqbal being single at that time loved to join us on such expeditions and was a

wonderful company.

(Iqbal playing with little Ayesha on 18.03.2007)

He cared about my children as if he was their real uncle and to date he does

not forget to call them off and on and especially on their birthdays while being

on a study leave from work in Birmingham, UK. He is married now and has a cute

little son of his own.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000418875643&ref=tshttp://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000418875643&ref=tshttp://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000418875643&ref=tshttp://www.hec.gov.pk/Pages/main.aspxhttp://www.hec.gov.pk/Pages/main.aspxhttp://www.hec.gov.pk/Pages/main.aspxhttp://www.hec.gov.pk/Pages/main.aspxhttp://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000418875643&ref=ts


4/10


(WhenMirza Ghalibwas much younger in March 2007)

We went there after having a late breakfast on a sleepy Sunday and enjoyed

the serenity of this yet another beautiful valley in the mysteriousMargalla Hills.

(My little ones enjoying with Baal Uncle)

The specialty of the place isChaiandPakoraswhich we had as brunch and

thoroughly enjoyed the gushing stream of water which is the main source of

attraction of this picnic spot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirza_Ghalibhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirza_Ghalibhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirza_Ghalibhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margalla_Hillshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margalla_Hillshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margalla_Hillshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakorahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakorahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakorahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakorahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margalla_Hillshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirza_Ghalib


5/10


(Mr. and Mrs. Shaikh with Ayesha and Mohsin at the back)

The second time I visited the place was on 27.06.2008 when I took my sisters

family there who was on a trip fromKarachi.

(With my younger sister and her three children)

Since the car could not house the entire battalion of my family and her children,

my wife stayed back and I brought my Sister, her children and mine to the

picnic spot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karachihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karachihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karachihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karachi


6/10


(A new Tuck shop which has recently opened)

The next time around that I was here was on the 25th of July 2008 with my out-

laws (Oops In-laws) I mean. Sabeens eldest sister, her family and her brother i.e.

Syed Farhan Hussain Qadriwere visiting and thus they rented cars and I brought

the entire battalion to the same picnic spot.

(Sabeen with her sister and brothers family enjoying the evening in the stream)

This time around the stream was in full swing and the water was gushing at its full

splendor. On top of that, within a short while that we were here, it started raining

and we had to move out of the stream since the water level was rising fast and

because of the young children with us and the chill in the weather, we had to

take refuge under the shades of the nearby kiosk and then decided to leave for

home early since the rain just refused to behave.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/Capt.SyedFarhanHussainhttp://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/Capt.SyedFarhanHussainhttp://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/Capt.SyedFarhanHussain


7/10


(A new marker which has been erected since our last trip here)

The 4th time around when we came here was on 23rd July 2011. Surprisingly,

whenever we visit here, the level of water changes and this is indeed the beautyof the spot.

(Sabeen and myself waiting for our order while the children are out frolicking)

We have also noticed that the rush of visitors to this place is increasing

exponentially. Although there is no mention of this picnic spot on the Internet but

it seems word of mouth marketing is doing the trick. For some strange reason

Capital Development Authority(CDA) had turned a blind eye to develop thisbeautiful resort and had hardly done anything to uplift this picnic spot till July

2011.

Luckily, the 5th time that we visited the place i.e. on 10th Dec. 2011; I was relieved

to see this new marker which seems to have just been erected by CDA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Development_Authorityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Development_Authorityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Development_Authority


8/10


(A marker that has recently been placed by CDA)

Since the weather had turned slightly chilly in December, the stream also hadslowed down while there were hardly any visitors; we thus had the place almost

to ourselves.

(Mohsin & Ayesha with their usual mischief)

The children got a lot of space to frolic around while Sabeen had cooked her

famous Chicken Karahi and we feasted on the late lunch next to the stream.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karahihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karahihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karahihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karahi


9/10


(Adil and Mamma enjoying their late lunch)

After having lunch and enjoying thePakoras, we ended up having tea while thechildren got some half hour to play since it was getting chilly and we had to

move back since the children also had to prepare for their monthly exam.

(Adilposing for his Facebook profile)

As soon as we got done with the tea ceremony, we called it a day and the

children were asked to get their act together so that we could have rushed

home. The children were in no mood to quit so early but they were not givenmuch choice and were asked to pack up on the premise that of course we will

come here for the 6th time probably in next spring.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakorahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakorahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakorahttp://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100001283393997http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100001283393997http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100001283393997http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100001283393997http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakora


10/10


(The parting picture)

Sabeen packed the picnic basket and we started our return journey around4:30 p.m. and were safely home before the Maghreb prayers which take place

around 5:07 p.m. these days.

Shaikh Muhammed Ali

The Wandering DervishE-mail:[email protected]

Cell: +00-92-321-5072996

11th December 2011, 10:23 p.m. (PST)
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=554425819http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=554425819mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=554425819

a trip to shahdra

Documents