Late night in Lala Musa

But now we were about to leave the GT road and head down another highway of the ages. The Upper Jhelum canal stretches from Jhelum across the Punjab and was built by the British in 150 years ago to irrigate the Punjab . Although a little thin, both mares were fine when I arrived in Gujrat city and I felt so happy to see them and I have no idea why. The idea of launching again into cold mornings, long days and nomadic life doesn’t exactly appeal. I had both with a local construction merchant called Zaman whom like most Pakistani’s have so far astounded me with their hospitality. It’s a sin to offer to pay for something as you are guaranteed to offend somebody whilst a guest in their home or out.

Riding along the canal was like riding through the Pakistan I’d always known existed. The canal was built by the British in 1915 and is one of the major irrigation canals of the Punjab . Horse and carriage ( tongas ) were the main form of transport, buffalos lazed in farms by the road side and there was that all encompassing silence that only rural life can bring. Yet rural travel meant slow travel and by 6pm there was still 20kms to reach the day’s destination at Kharian. To top it off locals began telling me about some bloke that had been mugged a few days earlier and I had to be in Jhelum the next day currently about 55kms away. It wasn’t a time for debating. Photo insert - Caption “Herding buffalo on horseback” Kindly turning down offers of rest at a nearby village, I grabbed both horses and headed back to the GT road along a cross country ’short cut’. Some locals kindly fed us before we left and even guided us by motorcycle “for the adventure.” The result was a night spent outside a hotel on a rope bed in the middle of a ghostly street in Lala Musa city centre. A night of little sleep as the shop behind me opened at 3am due to Ramadan and proceeded to pump up the volume for the next two hours. During Ramadan, Muslims take their first day meal before 0530 or sunrise, packing out street restaurants until the shop again closes at first light. This all made for a rather tiring 40 km next day ride into Jhelum .

Life on the road

Life on the Grand Trunk (GT) road can be both monotonous and exciting. Whenever I could I’d take sheep or cow tracks at the side but usually I was forced onto the hard shoulder. Your mind is free to wander and dwell on every issue but it’s not easy to concentrate with two mares and idiot trucks that blast their air horns as they pass. Having a TV crew accompany the ride has also taken some getting used to. Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) is making a documentary on this ride and a camera team of three has been following me in a white Toyota Hi-ace van for the past three weeks. The agreement was that PTV would screen reports every week but the Earthquake has understandably dominated the channel so far and nothing will be shown until after I’ve passed through Islamabad .

Both Sparks and Kabul have resettled back into the same routine. Since day one Sparks has rode up front. She absolutely never wants to be left behind. Whenever we start off from a fresh location she will always be in front and if she’s not she’ll rush ahead so I have to be extra careful with her. The unrelinquishing need of two horses is like having two children. Don’t feed them they will starve, don’t watch them and they might hurt themselves. Yet I am amazed by both horses adaptability and uncomplaining attitude to life on the road. With time so short and under a hectic schedule both animals have adjusted accordingly. Sparks has calmed down a lot since I first bought her although she is the worst affected by traffic despite being a tonga horse. Kabul on the other hand just plods away and eats. So far we’ve covered about 300kms from Lahore and she’s still just as fat as she was when we left. She is the ultimate pack-mare and acts as the perfect counterweight to the erratic Sparks. So far so good. It’s impossible to separate either from the other. Both have become reliant on the other for security in this constantly changing environment of life on the road.

Dedication in Jhelum

We were officially welcomed into Jhelum city by Abdul Majeed and Younas Akhtar of Al Qasim Institute for Mentally Retarded children, members of the Al Markaz institute, Jhelum District Council members and friends at the toll plaza which sees entrance to the city. Full thanks to all the individuals, institutions and the District Co-ordination office for a full two day programme and filming around Jhelum city.

Read about the full visit to Al Qasim Institute, Jhelum

Jhelum certainly has a heritage but for me it was the people here who individually made my journey from then on to Islamabad so interesting. In Jhelum I spent a few nights with the affable Chaudary Ismail Zafar (a landlord who has owned land in the area for 200 years). In Dina I stayed in the Haveli (old South Asian residence) of Sultan, a local money changer cum wannaby politican (who’d unfortunately only garnered 20 votes in the latest Nazim elections. “There’s always next year,” he told me. In Gujar Khan it was the house of Mr. Raja Zamir a champion tent pegger and then finally I spent Eid in the house of Shahid Ejaz. A stay with a family I shall always remember.

Eid Mubarak

Again it was through a connection that I ended up at Shahid Ejaz’s house, a Highway police officer who lived on the outskirts of Rawalpindi bordering the capital. His house was set back from the main road across a piece of vacant land used as a rubbish dump and overgrown in a jungle of grass. That was until two hungry mares arrived. Over the past week, Kabul and Sparks have reduced this piece of jungle to a desert. Their only food now coming from a nearby wholesaler who I’m buying from daily.

Since Jhelum I’ve have been pushing to reach Islamabad to make ready for the upcoming journey to Northern Pakistan and prepare to visit the sixth school on the campaign trail - Friendship House, Islamabad. In a credit to him, Mr. ‘Shahid’ has made sure I’ve had every chance to do so. Yet for him Eid-ul Fitr is an even more somber occasion this year.

” In life there is one god, one Koran, one muslim and one wife “
Haji Mohammad Ejaz

Eid-al Fitr is usally the most festive day of the year and the holiday can last for three days. It’s just like Christmas. Families travel from across the country to spend time with loved ones, children receive gifts and the whole Islamic world celebrates the achievement of Ramadan. But this year Allah has given a different message. One that even the skeptical are now saying has claimed 100,000 lives. There is nothing celebrate this Eid.

I attended Eid morning prayers with Shahid, his father Haji Mohammad Ejaz and the other male members of his family at the local Eid ghar - a meeting placed used only for Eid gatherings and funerals. The Mullah was in full flow when we arrived but he wasn’t ranting about the ‘War on terror’. The Mullah is simply the head of the clergy in the simple mosque at the heart of Islamic life just as the vicar is the head of the church in the West. As the people assembled the Mullah read his somber sermon. He asked that all those people who had observed Ramadan could claim two hundred rupees from the mosque and all those who hadn’t had to give two hundred to the poor. In this case the Earthquake victims . Across Pakistan the donations and sympathies of a nation lie with the affectees of the worst natural disaster in the country’s history. In a fateful speech, two US Chinooks whirred overhead as a reminder.

The sermon finished and everybody bowed in prayer, a thanks to Allah for providing the discipline to complete the fast. “Eid Mubarak.” Everyone hugged each other to wish a happy Eid and then attended the graveyard next door to respect those who couldn’t be there.

For Shahid and his family Eid is an especially sad time of year. Shahid was married only a week after Eid last year. His whole family was present. Whilst washing the dishes on the night of the wedding day , his mother collapsed and died of a brain hemorrhage whilst washing the dishes. The doctors couldn’t save her. Nobody in the family has recovered since.

As I was sat there in the graveyard with Shahid, his father and brothers, there was nothing I could say. Everyone was crying, kissing the grave and spreading rose petals across it. The most moving moment was witnessing Shahid’s brother Tariq reciting the central part of the Koran. This was the biggest gift that the family could present as these are the words, the prayers that would ensure she made it into heaven.

Now it is with a heavy heart that I finally leave and procede onto Muree. I’ve spent a good ten days in Rawalpindi, camping in the back garden, getting to know the whole family and temporarily settling into some sort of normal life. The Earthquake has affected everything about this campaign and it’s been necessary to restock on Winter equipment and think things through. The plan now is to head to Balakot and divert onto the Karakorum Highway to China . For revised itinerary please click here. This ride will talk to everybody that has been affected by the worst disaster in this country’s history (89,000 people killed, 4 million homeless). There are a lot of questions that are not being answered. How is education in the affected area? What are the direct feelings of the people? Now I am going to be passing through an area that has changed a nation, talking to the people and covering their story, their opinions and those of the people working round the clock to save them. Help is needed now. Not tomorrow. From the point of view of this ride, daily reports will be accessible in Earthquake section as I am able to upload them. Please click here.

On Eid day I rode through Islamabad collecting Eidee for families from Bagh in the Earthquake zone. They had just been shifted by the Government to a school across the city so nobody knew they were there and nobody was taking them gifts. The generosity of the people of Islamabad was amazing. In two hours I received (not asked for) a 1000 Rupees of 10 Rs donations, 45 packets of biscuits, socks, pens, balls and numerous apples and bananas to give each family something on Eid day. Everybody had something to give. I hope that you can to.