Sunday, September 29, 2013


Rohtas Fort (Urdu: قلعہ روہتاس‎ Qila Rohtas) is a historical garrison fort built by king Farid Khan, located near the city of Jhelum Pakistan to subdue the warrior tribes of North Punjab. This fort is about 4 km in circumference. The Rohtas fort was built to crush the local tribes of Potohar who were fiercely independent and loyal to Emperor Humayun which include Awans, Janjuas, Abbasis, Kayanis, Minhas, Khokhars etc. These tribes were not holding back to take back their lost lands. It took 8 years to built the Rohtas fort but the Rohtas fort was recaptured by local tribes and it became the capital of Ghakkars. Ironically the very people it was designed to crush were actually became the sole owners of Rohtas fort and Afghans were not only defeated but they were forced to flee after accepting heavy defeat. As a consequence Afghans not only lost to local tribes of Northern Punjab but many people from Northern Punjab later inhabited Southern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who still live there especially in Hazara Division and are known as Hindkowans. As a consequence Afghans lost Attock and neighboring regions to Potohari tribes as well. Qila Rohtas is situated in a gorge approximately 16 km NW of Jhelum and 7 km from Dina. It was constructed on a hillock where the tiny Kahan river meets another rainy stream called Parnal Khas and turns east towards Tilla Jogian Range. The fort is about 300 feet (91 m) above its surroundings. It is 2660 feet (818 m) above sea level and covers an area of 12.63 acres (51,100 m2). Qila Rohtas is a garrison fort and could hold a force of up to 30,000 men. Due to its location, massive walls, trap gates and 3 Baolis (stepped wells) it could withstand a major siege although it was never besieged. Most of the fort was built with ashlar stones collected from its surrounding villages such as Tarraki village. Some parts of the fort were built with bricks. The fort is irregular in shape and follows the contours of the hill it was constructed on. The fort is exactly 5.2 km in circumference. A 533 metre long wall divides the citadel (for the Chieftain) from other parts of the fort. The fortification has 68 bastions (towers) at irregular intervals. Out of the 3 Baolis, one of them is in the citadel and the rest are in the other parts of the fort. One of the Gates (Langar Khani) opens into the citadel and is a trap gate because it is in the direct line of fire of the bastions.

Tilla Jogian (Punjabi: ٹِلّہ جوگیاں) is the highest peak in the Eastern Salt Range in Punjab, Pakistan. At 975 meters (3200 ft) above sea level, it is about 25 km to the west of Jhelum city and 10 km west of the model village of Khukha. The view from the top of Tilla is highly rewarding. Rohtas, Pakistan Fort is located to the east of Tilla Jogian at a distance of about 7 km from Dina, a rapidly expanding town on the Grand Trunk Road. Tilla Jogian can be seen from districts of Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Jhelum and Chakwal. It is situated on a commanding place near the Jhelum River. From its height of 3200 feet, you can see a panorama unparalleled in Pakistan. Hindu Mandir at Tilla Jogian For thousand of years it was a place of sun worship for the Hindus because the sun can be seen here earlier and sets here later due to its height. It became a place of worship for Hindus. Tilla Jogian in Punjabi means the Hill of Saints. Tradition holds that Tilla Jogian was founded 100 B.C. Tilla Jogian literally means Hill of the Yogis and lies about 50 kilometres North of Bhera. This is where the Kanphata Jogis, who pierced their earlobes and were an order founded by Guru Gorakhnath have left behind a monastery. Tilla Jogian also finds mention in the epic love poem Heer Ranjha of Waris Shah. Ranjha, the story's protagonist, who when spending his time on the rebound, sublimating his love & passion in the spiritual world, came here for consolation and got his ears ringed here as was the tradition of Guru Goraknath's followers. the tradition of Guru Goraknath's followers. For the Sikh Punjabis there is also another significance to Tilla Jogian as Guru Nanak Dev ji, the founder of Sikhism is said to have spent 40 days in quiet seclusion at Tilla Jogian. The Sikhs during the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh made a stone pond here in his memory. The Mughal Emperor Jahangir visited this place many times. The British made a road and a pond here for water. Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif visited Tilla Jogian and did some protective work for the safety of its pristine beauty. Tilla Jogian comprises a complex of Hindu mandirs housing at least three baths and a network of waterworks with at least two minor dams. There are number of ways to reach at the top: One from Rohtas Fort side and the other from Sanghoi / the Jhelum River side.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Gulzar was born in a Kalra Arora Sikh family, to Makhan Singh Kalra and Sujan Kaur, in Dina, Jhelum District, British India, in what is now Pakistan. Before becoming an established writer, Sampooran worked in Mumbai as a car mechanic in a garage. His father rebuked him from becoming a writer saying "As a writer you will have to depend on your brothers". He took the pen name Gulzar Deenvi after becoming an author.Gulzar was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2004 for his contribution to the arts and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002. He has won a number of National Film Awards and 20 Filmfare Awards. At the 81st Academy Awards, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Jai Ho" (shared with A.R.Rahman), for the film Slumdog Millionaire. On 31 January 2010, the same song won him a Grammy Award in the category of Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Gulzar's poetry is partly published in three compilations: Chand Pukhraaj Ka, Raat Pashminey Ki and Pandrah Paanch Pachattar (15-05-75). His short stories are published in Raavi-paar (also known as Dustkhat in Pakistan) and Dhuan (smoke). As a lyricist, Gulzar is best known for his association with the music directors Rahul Dev Burman, A. R. Rahman and Vishal Bhardwaj. He has also worked with other leading Bollywood music directors including Sachin Dev Burman, Salil Chowdhury, Shankar Jaikishan, Hemant Kumar, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Madan Mohan, Rajesh Roshan, Anu Malik, and Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. Along with lyrics, he has also contributed in many films as script, story and dialogue writer. Films directed by him have also won numerous awards and have been critically acclaimed. He also had worked on small screen by creating series Mirza Ghalib and Tahreer Munshi Premchand ki among others. He wrote lyrics for several Doordarshan serials including Hello Zindagi, Potli Baba ki and Jungle Book.

Mīān Muhammad Bakhsh (Punjabi: میاں محمد بخش ) was a Sufi saint and a Punjabi/Pahari poet. He belonged to the Qadri tariqah. He is especially renowned as the author of a book of poetry called Saif-ul-Malūk. He was born in a village called Khari Sharif, situated near Mirpur, Azad Kashmir. He was a fourth generation spiritual descendant of Damriyan Wali Sarkar, who is buried in Khari Sharif. Damriyan Wali Sarkar's khalīfah was Dīn Muhammad; and his khalīfah was Mīān Shamsuddīn, who had three sons: Mīān Bahāval Bakhsh, Mīān Muhammad Bakhsh and Mīān 'Alī Bakhsh. Mīān Muhammad Bakhsh's ancestors were gujjar originated in Gujrat he belonged to the Poswal tribe, but had later settled in the Mirpur District of Azad Jammu & Kashmir. He was a poet of Phari language (widely spoken in different parts of Kashmir.

Rohtas Fort (Urdu: قلعہ روہتاسQila Rohtas) is a historical garrison fort built by king Farid Khan, located near the city of Jhelum Pakistan to subdue the warrior tribes of North Punjab. This fort is about 4 km in circumference. The Rohtas fort was built to crush the local tribes of Potohar who were fiercely independent and loyal to Emperor Humayun which include Awans, Janjuas, Abbasis, Kayanis, Minhas, Khokhars etc. These tribes were not holding back to take back their lost lands. It took 8 years to built the Rohtas fort but the Rohtas fort was recaptured by local tribes and it became the capital of Ghakkars. Ironically the very people it was designed to crush were actually became the sole owners of Rohtas fort and Afghans were not only defeated but they were forced to flee after accepting heavy defeat. As a consequence Afghans not only lost to local tribes of Northern Punjab but many people from Northern Punjab later inhabited Southern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who still live there especially in Hazara Division and are known as Hindkowans. As a consequence Afghans lost Attock and neighboring regions to Potohari tribes as well.

Bucephalus or Bucephalas (/bjuːˈsɛfələs/; Ancient Greek: Βουκέφαλος or Βουκεφάλας, from βούς bous, "ox" and κεφαλή kephalē, "head" meaning "ox-head") (c. 355 BC – June 326 BC) was Alexander the Great's horse and one of the most famous actual horses of antiquity. Ancient accounts state that Bucephalus died after the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC, in what is now modern Pakistan, and is buried in Jalalpur Sharif outside of Jhelum, Pakistan. Another account states that Bucephalus is buried in Phalia, a town in Pakistan's Mandi Bahauddin District, which is named after him.


Jhelum /ˈləm/ (Urdu, Punjabi: جہلم) is a city on the right bank of the Jhelum River, in the district of the same name in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. Jhelum is known for providing a large number of soldiers to the British and later to the Pakistan armed forces due to which it is also known as city of soldiers or land of martyrs and warriors. Jhelum is a few miles upstream from the site of the Battle of the Hydaspes between the armies of Alexander the Great and Raja Porus. A city called Bucephala was founded nearby to commemorate the death of Alexander's horse, Sarosh. Other notable sites nearby include the 16th-century Rohtas Fort, the Tilla Jogian complex of ancient temples, and the 16th-century Grand Trunk Road which passes through the city. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the population of Jhelum was 145,647 and in 2012 its population is 188,803. The name of the city is derived from the words Jal (pure water) and Ham (snow), as the river that flows through the river originates in the Himalayas. There are a number of industries in and around Jhelum city, including a tobacco factory, wood, marble, glass and flour mills.