Nawab Follies

The set up "peace talks with the Taliban" has run into a dead end, literally, before the first talk could even start. More deadly attacks on security agencies, twenty three soldiers from the Frontier Corps beheaded and in Peshawar all cinemas closed for the time being, as two of them were hit by bombs which left at least eighteen visitors dead. The cinemas have no budget to install walkthrough gates  and detectors for explosives, the police understaffed and fighting militancy in the capital city of this area bordering Khyber Agency - hence, another one of the few and simple pleasures gone.
A suicide bomber in a police uniform targets the Iranian Consulate in Peshawar and many security persons lose their lives preventing him from entering the premise. Iranian border guards are abducted into Pakistan by the militant group Jaish-ul-Adl, the same group that killed fifteen guards in October last year, prompting the Iranian government to demand that Pakistan secured its borders.

The Army attacks several hideouts of militants in Khyber Agency, killing at least ninety suspected militants affiliated with different groups of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The ISPR (Inter Services Public Relation Offices) of the  Pakistan Armed Forces releases a statement according to which 460 people, including 152 security personnel, had been killed by the Taliban during the last five months only.
The Interior Ministry warns of serious terrorist threats - in Punjab from the TTP and LeJ, in Sindh from Al-Qaeda, TTP LeJ and crime syndicates, in Balochistan from Al-Qaeda, TTP, LeJ, Belochistan Liberation Army, in Gilgit-Baltistan from TTP and LeJ and adds that Islamabad had become an extremely dangerous city because of the presence of several banned organizations and groups with sleeper cells of Al-Qaeda, TTP and LeJ. But at least the city is full of wonderfully blooming marigolds.

The Prime Minister's Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, announces - for the first time publicly - that the launch of a  military operation in North Waziristan is being seriously discussed by the cabinet after the talks with the Taliban have collapsed.

All schools and universities in Islamabad have been put on high security alert, considering the danger of retaliation from the TTP as their hideouts in KP are being shelled by the armed forces.

And the journey through the desert continues, leaving the world of the hunting sheikhs I go back in time and enter the very different one of the Rajasthani royal houses of Jaisalmer and the Amirs of Bahawalpur who still own some of their once splendid properties.

The mild winter sun shines through the now airy roof and creates new patterns on the crumbling terra cotta floor, illuminating the once permanent semi darkness of the elaborately furnished and decorated rooms. A gentle breeze blows through the last shreds of mosquito nets in beautifully carved wooden window frames and evokes the image of waving curtains, women sipping honey sweetened tea and picking baked sweets, having lifted their veils in the intimacy of their private salons, chatting and whispering, sharing secrets on a hot summer afternoon. 

A group of teenage girls runs laughing through the hallway of the estate, flattering their scarves and balance skillfully in their sandals over the ruins, the rough terrain, the high steps.

Blue ceramics, as this area is still famous for the production of tiles and pottery, decorate the walls and floors of palaces, shrines and tombs. Whole tea services, plates and vases of every size and shape find their way in our luggage, slowly filling the trunk of the car, as we are generously gifted by every host we meet on this trip. During the visit of a small local factory in Multan, a photographer catches what seems at least a hundred photos as proof of our presence and I am wondering and tempted to ask, if he is on Facebook. No, it turns out, he is the "official photographer" of the shopkeeper and we will spend over an hour over tea admiring the several photo books about every single visit to this store - including a colleague from Great Britain who left a while ago... No hidden treasure, that store - I am afraid.

The ride on the small country road is peppered with rustic encounters, as the sugar cane harvesting season is in full swing and there must be a secret competition among the drivers, who manages to load the biggest amount of canes on their trucks. Quite impressive, the result. Not every waggon is sharing the enthusiasm of its driver and simply unloads the excessive load over board, every couple of hundred meters another one, blocking the passage for a considerable amount of time...

Why not use the unexpected break for a full treatment at the barber parlor right along the road?

Or a snack at the open rest area of an only too familiar provider of delightful refreshments??

The sun is setting, as Derawar Fort appears on the horizon, a major fort of the Nawabs, the Amirs of Bahawalpur. Keeping his autonomy under the Raj, the Nawab was the first of the princely rulers to join Pakistan, giving a substantial part of his fortune to several institutions of Punjab and creating a Refugee and Rehabilitation Fund in 1947 as a central organization for the relief of refugees during partition.

He died in 1966 and his nephew currently holds the title of Amir without any political or administrative power - and without his immense wealth as his ancestor was considered the second richest man on earth during his time.

Not only elephants had to suffer headaches as they would be forced by potential invaders to try to slam the doors of the fort, but British car dealers of the noblest kind. The story goes, that as the Nawab was disdainfully rejected as a potent customer by a Rolls Royce dealer in London, he simply sent his elegantly dressed valet to buy all the cars exhibited in the showroom - only to equip them back home with brooms at the front and use the prestigious symbol of British elegance as street cleaners and transportation of waste in the city of Bahawalpur. Photos of this special type of vehicle were provided to the press all over the world. 

The company immediately offered a Rolls Royce of his choice - for free! - in exchange for the promise to relieve the cars from their unusual duties.

The highly respected Nawab of Bahawalpur joined his antecedents at the site of family sarcophagus in Derawar Fort after a tenure of 59 years. 

 Sic transit gloria mundi…