My Famous Hometown

Allah Almighty has made this world beautiful full of charming scenes for the children of Adam. These scenes pave the way for us to glorify the Lord of the universe and also bring us closer to Allah. Similarly, my native area is also full of beautiful landscapes, from the southeast of Srinagar about one and a half miles away my hometown  Panderathan is located on the banks  of Jhelum River.

According to Kalhan’s book on the history of Kashmir, ‘Rajatrangi’, Panderathan is one of the historical capitals of Kashmir founded by King Pravarsena. in the 6th century AD. Its name is thus derived from Puranadishthana or ‘ Old Town’. There is  a temple built in this period known as Meruvardhanaswami temple. The general view of the temple, showing the collapsing state of the pyramidal masonry roof, is reproduced in Henry Hardy Cole’s Archaeological Survey of India report, ‘Illustrations of Ancient Buildings in Kashmir,’ (1869) in which he writes about the beautiful art work of temple and claims that it’s the perfect pieces of ancient carving that exists in Kashmir.

   

The Temple currently falls within the boundaries of the military camp Badami Bagh

I have spent my childhood in this area. I have heard from my father that our ancestors were originally from Gupkar Srinagar and during the Maharaja’s reign our ancestors were forcibly removed from there and settled in Panderathan.

The river Jhelum and the beautiful view of the mountains from behind, and then the heavy snow of winter creates a very beautiful landscape. And when the summer heat intensifies, the cold winds from the Jhelum River provide comfort. Most of the people here are involved in trade, and a good number of people are doing govt jobs and some are associated with the stone-mining trade.

The area is very good in terms of education. Many famous writers, intellectuals, professionals  illuminate the name of the area and the state, including the famous Kashmiri playwright, painter, cartoonist, theatre artist and poet Late Sajood Sailani.

The people of this area are sincere and sociable. They share each other’s joys and sorrows collectively. My grandfather,  Late Ahmad Akhun, used to enlighten children with the light of Qur’anic education and was also a famous sage of his time. The people here are also associated with the stone carving business which provides us  a lot of home decoration tools. 

Swimming in the river Jhelum in summer, going to school with friends, spending time with each other, starting the day by praying in mosques in the morning, it has become a memory of the past now.
 

As a child, we used to go for mountain climbing in our hometown and observe the Kashmir landscape at a very high level. There were a lot of resources for sightseeing and entertainment in our own area. Stepped on the threshold of youth, me and many of my friends hold good government positions today.

But as the population grew, many families migrated from here, which was a natural process and I also had to be a part of this migration against my will, which was not easy for me, but it also had the hidden wisdom of God. This is the only belief that calms my heart and calms me by remembering those beautiful moments of my life.

This is common to all gypsies 
Everyone looks back at their homes

Tell the people who are suffering from the pain of migration

Even if the shadow is visible, it looks like home

Aubaid Ahmed Akhoon

Aubaid Ahmed Akhoon, a resident of Panderathan Srinagar, works as Edp Head in DD Target PMT Parraypora

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