SALLAM:
well a family trip was due and also a tour of punjab so i planned a trip to Narowal to c the wheat harvesting there but there were a few surprises for me in this trip... my frien and old travel companion Malhi told me of the existence of old havelis in his village Badomalhi which actually belong to his family and were constructed by his great grandfather... they now lie in ruins. so i decied to include this in my travel plan. it was a journey that spanned 1000+ kms of driving.
on Friday morning on may 1 i left home with my family and Malhi bhai on this memorable journey. we reached Badomalhi at around 9.30 am via Kala shah Kaku- shahdara route.... we visited the havelis and stayed a couple of hours and left for Natho Malhi village where our hosts (malhi bhai's Uncle and aunt) greeted us. we had a taste of village life there on there farmhouse and had desi food like "pure" milk ... and desi ghee items for a change.... had kheer made from pure milk which was a treat..... we strolled around in the wheat fields and dipped our feet in icy cold river water.... it was not that hot either and we had a lot of fun.... my childhood memories of life in my own village in Burewala and sahiwal were refreshed...
after natho malhi we left for narowal in the evening.... next morning we hit our other main target that was the famous Kartarpur sharif Gurdwara....
this gurdwara has a unique importance for both the Sikhs and Muslims.. this is the place of death of Guru Nanak and here he spent the last 18 years of his life... the gurdwara had been renovated and a complete compound developed for visitors from across the border. it was a fun experience. nice place for photography as well.
next we had a unique experience of visiting the Pak India border at Jassar Cantt as Malhi's Father was with us and he is in army... we saw a bridge on ravi river that was destroyed in 1965 war... on the pillar of this bridge was the blood stain of a Saheed of the war... after all these years that stain is still there and is not washed by the water of the river as well.... wah kia baat hai... we cudnt photograph that place ofcorse... next we climbed a watch tower on the border... yar bht he uncha hota hai wo it is terrifying.... windy as well... an we cud c across the border..... the fields and view around was amazing..... not something u get to experience every day.....
that night we returned to narowal and had Bar BQ dinner....
next morning returned to islamabad ....on sunday 3 may....