The story of Pir Ki Gali
It had been a long-cherished desire of mine to visit Pir Ki Gali, the Pir Panjal Pass on one of these days from our Hawal village's Prasad Khan Heart Centre. It is a mountainous pass which has also become a tourist destination during summers. It is located in the mountainous Pir Panjal range in Jammu and Kashmir.
The day finally arrived last week when our OPD work at Hawal (PJKHC) finished well in time around 3 pm. All our staff members, eight in number, got into two vehicles and left for Shopian which is just 8 kms from the centre towards the start of the Mughal Road. This road connects Bufliaz, a town of Poonch district to the Shopian district via the Pir Ki Gali which is the highest point on the road at a height of 11,450 ft . It is much higher than the Banihal pass, the other entry point to the valley (Height 9,290 ft). Passing through the Shopian town which was bustling with business activities we found our way to Hirpora the starting point of Mughal Road.
Historical Aspects of Pir Panjal Pass
It is an ancient and very historical place, mentioned in the Rajatarangini as Panchaladeva. Panchala is a kingdom mentioned in the Mahabharata. Scholar M A Stein who translated Kalhana’s Rajatarangini into English states that the high mountain passes were always regarded as deities, or deities were associated with them. These customs continued from generation to generation and after Kashmir was Islamised the prefix Deva was substituted by Pir (Muslim Saint). Although originally the name was tied to the whole Pir Panjal Range which is situated across the line of control (LOC) extending southeast ward for more than 320 Kms from the Nilam (Kishanganga) River in the western part of the occupied Kashmir. It is also called “Azad Kashmir” (Pakistan administered part of Kashmir). The ranges extend on the southwestern part of Jammu and Kashmir to the upper Beas River in northwestern Himachal Pradesh. At present, the term "Panjal" has become restricted to the mountain range, and the pass is called simply Pir Ki Gali.
Historian Mohibul Hasan states that the Pir Panjal pass was one of the very historic main passes into the Kashmir valley. This route linking Hirapur (now called Hirpora) to Rajouri was used in the period of Sultans and used to extend up to Bhimber a town in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. After conquering Kashmir, the emperor Akbar strengthened the route into an imperial Road stretching from Lahore to Kashmir.
The Sikh emperor, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, launched an invasion of the Afghan (Durranis) controlled Kashmir Valley in 1814, partly via the Pir Panjal Pass. He divided the forces into two parts, one attacking via the Pir Panjal Pass under the command of Dewan Ram Dayal and the other led by himself via the Tosa Maidan. Ram Dayal forced through the Pir Panjal pass, reached Baramulla and fortified himself. Ranjit Singh could not break through the Durrani defences at Tosa Madian, and was forced to retreat. However, in a second invasion in 1819, all the forces were sent via the Tosa Maidan, and conquered the Afghan forces.
Our Journey to Pir ki Gali:
The winding hilly road from Hirpur with mountains on the left side passed through meadows with lofty pine trees to a vast meadow Dubjan overlooking the mighty Pir Panchal with hot springs. The top of Dubjan is called "Seem Koar", and the spot provides the most enchanting view of districts like Kulgam, Shopain, Pulwama, and Srinagar. At Dubjan one crosses a bridge over a rivulet. There are two hot springs named “Tata Pani”. These have high quantities of silica which softens skin and also sulphur helps in skin conditions like acne, psoriasis etc. there were lot of visitors seen putting their arms and legs in the springs.
After crossing this mesmerizing area while going uphill towards Pir ki Gali we met with a head on collision with a speeding car coming from Poonch, the driver apparently lost control and banged into our jeep which was slowly going uphill on the opposite side of the road. There was a very forceful impact on my side of the jeep. Fortunately, all of us escaped any injury but were left dazed with the vehicle severely damaged and in no condition to move on. Our three other partners who were following us helped us to move the vehicle which had struck us to the other side of the road. The offending car also had 4 passengers who too were shell shocked. To add to our woes there was no phone connectivity. We went down to Dubjan and got a weak phone which enabled us to ask for a recovery vehicle to come up and tow the jeep to Srinagar. It would take at least 4 hours for it to reach from Hyderpora. We therefore decided to go to Pir Ki Gali which was 20 kms away in the other vehicle which was following us. The route had lot of waterfalls and rivulets on the way before we went past the Aliabad Sarai, a rest house on way to the top of Pir Panjal. It was constructed by Emperor Jahangir towards the end of the 16th century. Ali Mardan Khan an Iranian was the chief engineer of this project. We saw it covered by green plants and creepers. Its maintenance as a heritage place is poor with the result local shepherds use it as a shed for their goat and cattle. The current road passes behind the Aliabad Sarai at a higher elevation. It is said that in the Moghul times there were 12 such rest houses between Kashmir and Lahore on this route.
Finally, we reached the top. The Pir ki Gali is a flat large space full of visitors mostly from Shopian area and a few from other parts of Kashmir and also main land India. There is a spacious car parking space there. Around the parking area there were many hawkers selling Kebabs, chutney and Lawasa. Corn (Makaiewatt or Bhutta) smoked on charcoal was also available in plenty. A few make shift tea stalls doing good business were also there. There are no permanent structures there because of a very hostile weather during the winter months. All the eating stuff is brought from Shopian area.
A shrine built on an elevated platform is the main attraction there. The local tradition associates Saint Mir Sayyid Ali Hamdani with the Pir Ki Gali. Written records note a Pir called Sheikh Ahmed Karim lived and meditated in the Pir Ki Gali during the time of emperor Jahangir. He had converted to Islam from Hinduism, and regarded the Pir Ki Gali as a place of God and insisted all the passersby’s treat it with reverence. The records also state that emperor Jahangir disregarded his commandments, but Shahjahan and Aurangzeb followed them. The shrine which was the Pir’s meditating place is believed to have a stone with his hand print. It is locked and locals come and pay their obeisance by coming up to this platform and in front of the shrine. There are lot of strings tied around it by visitors who pray and ask for something close to their heart (“Dashie” in Kashmiri). Traditionally once the wish is fulfilled the string needs to be untied and taken back.
Having completed a round, we headed back to the accident site and waited for the recovery vehicle to come to take our jeep to workshop in Srinagar. Around 8 pm it arrived and towed our vehicle. Finally, we went back all huddled in one vehicle and dropped all the colleagues sequentially at their homes. Their worried parents were eagerly waiting for them. Thus ended an eventful day which will last in our memories for a long long period.
Prof Upendra Kaul, Founder Director Gauri Kaul Foundation
