#Pir Aga Mir

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Caravaggio

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We Are Contextual Beings By Pir Aga Mir Here is one of my central inquiries: If our spiritual and religious practices are not expanding our circle of empathy, compassion, love and care, what is their purpose? If they are not preparing us for our physical deaths, what ends are they serving? Part of the reason that institutional religions have lost their way in this regard is that the praxis of a once-enlightened human cannot be calcified and universalized. As humans, we are contextual beings. The context of Jerusalem 2100 years ago or Mecca 1500 years ago or India 4,000 years ago, or even the Amazon 100 years ago, does not translate into a relevant code-of-ethic or moral philosophy in the messy, entangled world of modernity. In fact, the context of Jesus or Mohammed (may peace be upon them) could not translate from the moment they left the material realm. This is not to say that practices and traditions and aspects of culture should not be preserved and perpetuated. Rather, they should be openly shared and discussed with a contemporary critical lens and the loving embrace of the evolutionary impulse that lies within all of us. Does your spiritual practice make you a better student of the impoverishment of your time? Does it allow you to be in deeper service to the transformations that are happening now? Does it connect you more deeply to the body you inhabit? Does it root you more profoundly to this generous planet that serves as your home and your mother? We have all chosen to incarnate in troubled times. You may describe our context as the Anthropocene or the Kali Yuga (the dark ages in the Vedic cycle) -- a context that rewards short-termism, greed, extraction. We must all be good students of our culture in order to be conscientious objectors. This is the path of the mystic. [...] Some may call that heretical, I would describe it as being contextually relevant.

Part of our spiritual practice is to study our cultures in order to understand the antidote logic. In our culture of modernity, the antidote is to cultivate reciprocal relationships, to live in dialogue with a living planet, to act in solidarity with all Life, to build power and oppose oppression, and to live in the gift, without usury, speculation or accumulation. We know that our souls will continue coming back to this planet until we create heaven on Earth. Non-dualistically, we also understand that heaven on Earth is already here. We source our political power from the simultaneous truths of multiple realities. This is divine will.

I can do no better than to borrow from our siblings who wrote the Talmud:

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, But neither are you free to abandon it.

(Ian Sanders)

[444namesplus]

aba abe abh abi abo abu acha ache achi acho achu ada ade adh adi ado adu afa afe afh afi afo afu aga age agh agi ago agu aha ahe ahi aho ahu aja aje aji ajo aju aka ake akh aki ako aku al ala ale alh ali alo alu am ama ame ami amo amu an ana ane ani ano anu apa ape aph api apo apu ar ara are arh ari aro aru asa ase ash asi aso asu ata ate ath ati ato atu ava ave avi avo avu az aza aze azh azi azo azu ba bal bam ban bar baz be bel bem ben ber bez bha bhe bhi bho bhu bi bil bim bin bir biz bo bol bom bon bor boz bu bul bum bun bur buz cha chal cham chan char chaz che chel chem chen cher chez chi chil chim chin chir chiz cho chol chom chon chor choz chu chul chum chun chur chuz da dal dam dan dar daz de del dem den der dez dha dhe dhi dho dhu di dil dim din dir diz do dol dom don dor doz du dul dum dun dur duz eba ebe ebh ebi ebo ebu echa eche echi echo echu eda ede edh edi edo edu efa efe efh efi efo efu ega ege egh egi ego egu eha ehe ehi eho ehu eja eje eji ejo eju eka eke ekh eki eko eku el ela ele elh eli elo elu em ema eme emi emo emu en ena ene eni eno enu epa epe eph epi epo epu er era ere erh eri ero eru esa ese esh esi eso esu eta ete eth eti eto etu eva eve evi evo evu ez eza eze ezh ezi ezo ezu fa fal fam fan far faz fe fel fem fen fer fez fha fhe fhi fho fhu fi fil fim fin fir fiz fo fol fom fon for foz fu ful fum fun fur fuz ga gal gam gan gar gaz ge gel gem gen ger gez gha ghe ghi gho ghu gi gil gim gin gir giz go gol gom gon gor goz gu gul gum gun gur guz ha hal ham han har haz he hel hem hen her hez hi hil him hin hir hiz ho hol hom hon hor hoz hu hul hum hun hur huz

iba ibe ibh ibi ibo ibu icha iche ichi icho ichu ida ide idh idi ido idu ifa ife ifh ifi ifo ifu iga ige igh igi igo igu iha ihe ihi iho ihu ija ije iji ijo iju ika ike ikh iki iko iku il ila ile ilh ili ilo ilu im ima ime imi imo imu in ina ine ini ino inu ipa ipe iph ipi ipo ipu ir ira ire irh iri iro iru isa ise ish isi iso isu ita ite ith iti ito itu iva ive ivi ivo ivu iz iza ize izh izi izo izu ja jal jam jan jar jaz je jel jem jen jer jez ji jil jim jin jir jiz jo jol jom jon jor joz ju jul jum jun jur juz ka kal kam kan kar kaz ke kel kem ken ker kez kha khe khi kho khu ki kil kim kin kir kiz ko kol kom kon kor koz ku kul kum kun kur kuz la lal lam lan lar laz le lel lem len ler lez lha lhe lhi lho lhu li lil lim lin lir liz lo lol lom lon lor loz lu lul lum lun lur luz ma mal mam man mar maz me mel mem men mer mez mi mil mim min mir miz mo mol mom mon mor moz mu mul mum mun mur muz na nal nam nan nar naz ne nel nem nen ner nez ni nil nim nin nir niz no nol nom non nor noz nu nul num nun nur nuz oba obe obh obi obo obu ocha oche ochi ocho ochu oda ode odh odi odo odu ofa ofe ofh ofi ofo ofu oga oge ogh ogi ogo ogu oha ohe ohi oho ohu oja oje oji ojo oju oka oke okh oki oko oku ol ola ole olh oli olo olu om oma ome omi omo omu on ona one oni ono onu opa ope oph opi opo opu or ora ore orh ori oro oru osa ose osh osi oso osu ota ote oth oti oto otu ova ove ovi ovo ovu oz oza oze ozh ozi ozo ozu pa pal pam pan par paz pe pel pem pen per pez pha phe phi pho phu pi pil pim pin pir piz po pol pom pon por poz pu pul pum pun pur puz ra ral ram ran rar raz re rel rem ren rer rez rha rhe rhi rho rhu ri ril rim rin rir riz ro rol rom ron ror roz ru rul rum run rur ruz sa sal sam san sar saz se sel sem sen ser sez sha she shi sho shu si sil sim sin sir siz so sol som son sor soz su sul sum sun sur suz ta tal tam tan tar taz te tel tem ten ter tez tha the thi tho thu ti til tim tin tir tiz to tol tom ton tor toz tu tul tum tun tur tuz uba ube ubh ubi ubo ubu ucha uche uchi ucho uchu uda ude udh udi udo udu ufa ufe ufh ufi ufo ufu uga uge ugh ugi ugo ugu uha uhe uhi uho uhu uja uje uji ujo uju uka uke ukh uki uko uku ul ula ule ulh uli ulo ulu um uma ume umi umo umu un una une uni uno unu upa upe uph upi upo upu ur ura ure urh uri uro uru usa use ush usi uso usu uta ute uth uti uto utu uva uve uvi uvo uvu uz uza uze uzh uzi uzo uzu va val vam van var vaz ve vel vem ven ver vez vi vil vim vin vir viz vo vol vom von vor voz vu vul vum vun vur vuz za zal zam zan zar zaz ze zel zem zen zer zez zha zhe zhi zho zhu zi zil zim zin zir ziz zo zol zom zon zor zoz zu zul zum zun zur zuz

[444names]

russian forenames but generated to be super short

Aba Abd Abda Abe Abema Aben Abich Abila Abna Abnt Abon Abr Abrim Abuly Acha Achav Ada Adana Adavs Adel Adiya Adr Ady Afa Afad Afap Afasn Afo Afor Aga Agad Agam Agar Agay Age Agel Agen Ageny Agera Agr Agul Agur Aia Ailav Aint Aisov Aitia Aiya Aklan Akte Akty Ala Ale Alel Aliis Allir Aly Alyo Amir Amiya Amur Amy Ana Anady Anakh Anien Anil Anim Anina Anir Anis Aniv Aniy Ankha Ann Ant Anta Antia Any Apa Apim Ara Aran Arill Arin Arire Ariy Art Arta Ary Asa Asem Asin Asl Asla Aslel Ast Asta Asy Ata Ataga Atana Atast Ate Atida Atisy Atja Aty Audah Ava Avara Avata Avd Avdm Avek Aveka Avela Avele Aver Avery Avesy Avey Avg Avga Avgav Avia Avin Avina Avkan Avks Avl Avlan Avler Avlet Avoma Avr Avrav Avron Avs Avur Avvr Avya Axiny Ayata Bomiy Bomya Borum Dabel Dabor Dadav Dal Dana Dap Dava Dil Disl Ditin Dma Dmas Dofa Don Dovda Dya Dyan Eky Ela Elera Elovd Ena Enn Esly Eyany Eyata Ežavy Gabey Gada Gafir Gana Gar Gato Gav Gavd Gavde Gavr Gelya Gey Gol Gudy Gula Gumin Gusom Gya Iap Iary Iavl Ily Iney Iny Irisv Isan Isim Itot Ivdra Iya Jad Jadm Jana Janar Jata Javga Jod Jusiy Kabor Kara Kasa Kavly Kia Kiv Kond Ksav Ksim Ksin Ksy Ktana Ktaph Kty Kusa Kya Kyora Ladin Lado Lagoy Lagy Lalan Lalo Lam Lark Lavks Lavra Lavva Ley Likh Lila Limia Lin Lir Liy Llesy Llosy Lom Lyud Mad Mag Mav Mavga Mela Midol Miksa Mim Min Mir Misen Misl Mita Miy Miyr Moda Mon Mora Mvir Nabey Nafan Nan Nanir Nap Nara Nda Ngey Nia Niap Niata Niena Nikav Nikl Niky Nim Nin Nira Nista Nkur Nrila Nsta Nta Ntel Nyeg Odmy Ola Omima Omy Ona Onar Onis Ora Origa Orky Orony Osara Osl Osta Ostrt Osy Ovem Oya Pad Paga Pana Par Pav Phava Phavd Phom Phona Pia Piaph Piava Piky Pinia Pir Poto Pyavr Pym Ratey Rav Rekla Relus Reya Rgath Ria Rim Rin Rinan Rir Rira Risik Ritiy Riy Riya Roda Rom Romim Rona Ror Roy Rta Rtav Rtona Rur Rya Sah Sefin Sel Sikia Sioma Sislg Sit Sitim Slan Slav Slgda Slim Sly Ssla Sta Stans Sten Stja Stry Sty Tager Tava Tavim Tikya Tin Tobem Tofa Tol Tont Tosl Trary Vagor Vav Vaxel Vda Vdap Vdevr Vdr Vel Vela Veles Vely Vero Vett Vey Vga Via Vikth Vimiy Vin Virin Vitja Vivga Vka Vkid Vky Vlam Vlga Vra Vshap Vta Vtin Vvey Yava Yavdm Yey Yonna Yosh Yudos Zel Zen Zety Zey Zhada Zhar Ziava Zich Zidat Ziem Zin Ziot Zivv Zodav Zom Zont Zov

[superdecade]

Levidromes

A levidrome is a word that when spelled backwards makes another word. Well, at least not yet. It is not in the Oxford English Dictionary. Levi Budd is a six-year-old boy from British Columbia in Canada who has coined the term 'levidrome' after spotting that the word 'STOP' spells 'POTS' backwards. After realising that there is no such word in English for this phenomena, a social media campaign has started to get this word in popular usage (hence this post). I wrote a short Python script this morning that will pull all of the levidromes from a dictionary file. The full list is copied below.

aa ab aba abac abba abo abos abut acca ad ado ados ae aga agar agas agenes ah aha ahs aia aider air airts ajar aka al ala alan alif alma alula am ama amahs amas amen amene amir amis amla amman an ana anal anan anana anes anew anger animal animes anna annat anon ante apod araara arak arb arbas are ares arf aril arret arris arum arval aryl assam asses at ataata ate ates aua auks ava aval avel avid avo awa ay ayahs ba bac bacs bad bag bal bals ban bans bard barf bark bas bat bats bed beef ben bens bib bid big bin bins bird bis blub bo bob bobac bobak bod bog boh bok bon bonk boob boord bor bos bots bows boy bra braced brad brag braw bro brod bros bru bub bud bug bulb bun bunk buns bur burd burg bus but buts cab caba cabob cam camus cap card cares cep ceps cire cires cis cit cite cito civic clat cod cor cos cot cram cran crem cur da dab dace dad dag dah dahs dal dam dap daraf darb darg dart darts das daud daw daws day de deb debut decaf decal decarb dedal deed deem deen deens deep deeps deer dees deet deets def defer deffer deffo deg degami degged deid deified deifier deil deke deked del deled delf delis deliver delos dels deman demit demits den denier denies denim denis denned dennets dens depart deport depot depots derat derats dere dered deres deros derris dessert desserts deus devas devil devils devots dew dewans dewed dexes deys di dial dialer dials diaper dib did died dif dig dim din dinar diol diols diram dit div diva do dob doc dod dog doh dohs dol dom don dons doom door dop dopa dops dor dorb dormin dorp dorps dort dorter dos doser dot doy drab drac drail dram drap draps draw drawer draws dray drey drib drier droob drool drow drows drub duad dual dub dud duel duo dup dups ea ean eas eat ecad ecce ed edile edit ee eel eels een ef eh ehs eke eked elide elides elutes em eme emes emir emit emits emmets emong emos en ene enema enes enol enows er era ere ered eres ergo eric eros ervil eses esnes espial esse et eta etas etat etats eten etic etna euk eve even evil eviler evils ewe exul eye faced farad fe fed feeb feer fen fer fet fid fier fig fila fir fires fled flog flor flow fool fra frab fret fro gab gad gag gal gals gam gan gans gaps gar garb gas gat gateman gater gats gay ged gel gelder gem gen get gib gid gif gig gins gip girt girts git gnar gnat gnats gnaw gnaws gnome gnus gob god golf gon gons goog gorp gorps gos got grad gram grub gu gub gul gulp guls gum gums guns gup gups gur gut guv guy ha habus had hadedah hah hahs hajjah halalah hales hallah hallan halos han hap haram hay he heh henry hep her hey ho hob hod hoh hon hoo hoop hop hos huh hup id ikat imaged io iris iron is it itas iwi jar kabob kaiak kak kam kara kat kay kayak keek keel keels keep keet keets ken keps kier kips kirks kis kiths knaps knar knit knits knob knop knot knots know knub knuts kob kook kor korat kow krab krans kue la lab laced lacer lad laded laer lag lager laid laipse lair lam lamina lana langer lap lares larum las laud lava lavra leat leben led lee leek leep leeps leer lees leet leets leg leir lemel leper les let leud leva level lever levins levo lez liar liard liart lias lied lies lin lion lira lit live lived livre lobo lod loges loid lone loof looks loom loons loop loops loord loos loot looter loots lop los lotos lug luxe lyra ma mac macs mad madam maes mag mak mal malam mallam mals mam man map maps mar marah marc marcs mard marg marid marram marrum mart mas massa mat maws may me meed mees meet meets meg mem merc meter mets mew mho mid milks mils mim mined minim mips mir mis mm mo mod mom mon moo mood mool mools moops moor moos moot mop mor mos mot moy mu mug mum mura mural mures murram mus mut muton muts na naan nab nae nag nah nala nallah nam named namer nametag namma nan nana nap napas nappas naps naras narc narcs narks nas nat naw ne neb nebel ned nee need neep nef neg nek neks nelis nema nemas nep net nete nets neve neves new nib nid nil nimrod nip nips nis nit no nob nod nog noh noil nolos nom non nona nonet noo noon noop noops nori nos not notes notum now noy nu nub nun nur nus nut nuts nys oat ob oba obey obo obol od oda odas offed offer ogre oh ohm oho ohos oi oiks om on ono oo ooh oohs oom oon oop oor oot op oppo orb orf os otic otto oud ova ovel ow owt oxo oy pac pacer pad pah pal palp pals pam pan pans pap par pard part parts pas pat pats paw paws pay pec peed peek peel peels peen peep pees peh pelas pen peons pep per perp perts pets pig pin pins pip pir pis pit plap plug po pod poh pol pols pom ponk poo pooh pool pools poon poons poop poor poort poos poots pop port ports pos pot pots pow pows prat prep prod prog pud pug puh pullup pup pupils puris pus put puy radar rag raga rager rages raggas rail rait raj raja ram ramis rang ranid rank rap raps ras rast rat rats raw ray re real reaps rebus rebut recal recap recaps reccos redder redes redia redips redleg redraw redrawer reed reef reeks reel reels reens rees ref refed refer reffed reffo reflet reflow regal regar regna regnal regos reh reif reified reifier reik reiks reined reird reknit reknits reknot reknots relaid relit relive reliver reman remeet remit renies rennet rep repaid repaper repel repins repot repots res resat resod retag retem retool retrod retros revel reviled reviler reviver reward rewarder rewets rexes ria rial rias ribas riel rif rim rima rime rims rip rits rob roc rod rok rolf rom rones roo rood room rooms roop roops roots rosies rot rotator rotavator rotor rub ruc rucs rug rums run sab sabir sabra sad sadis sado sados sae sag saga sagas sagenes saggar sail sair sakis sal salep salles sallets sam sama samas samen san sanes sap sapan sappan saps sar saran saros sarus sat sate sati sav saved saw saz scab scam scares scot scram scran scur seals seam seat secret seder sedes sedile seed seeks seel seem seems seep seer sees segar segol seil seined seiner seis seisor seities sekos sel selah selahs seles sellas selles seme sememes semes semina sena senas sene senega senegas sennet senor sense ser sera serac seracs seral sere sered seres seric serif serons serres serum sese sesey sessa sesses set seta seton setule seven sexed sexer sexes sey seys sha shad shah shahs shakos shales shama shay shaya she shod shoo shtik si sib sic sidas sies sik sikas siled silen sim sima simar simis sin sined sinnet sip siri siris sirra sirred sirs sirup sis sit six skat skeer skees skeets sken skeps skier skio skips sklim skool skran skrans skrik skua slab slaes slag slaid slam slap sled slee sleek sleep sleeps sleer sleet sleets slim slipup slit slive slived sloid sloom sloop sloops sloot sloots slop slug smart smees smew smir smits smoor smoot smug smur smut smuts snab snag snap snaps snark snarks snaw snawed snaws sneb sned sneed sneer snib snig snip sniper snips snirt snit snivel snod snoep snog snool snoop snoops snoot snores snort snot snow snub snug so sob soba soc soccer sod soda sodas sog soger soh soho sokahs sokes sol solah soled solon solos som some son sonnet sool soom soop sop soras sorb sore sored sorter sos sotol sow soy spacer spaer spag spam span spank spans spar spard spart sparts spas spat spats spaw spaws spay spaz spec speed speel speels spek speks spets spider spik spiks spim spin spins spirt spirts spit spod spool spools spoom spoon spoons spoor spoots sports spot spots sprat sprits sprod sprog spud spug sris stab stag stang stap staps star stared start stat state stats staw staws steed steek steeks steel steels steem stellas stem stemme sten stenned step steps stet stets stew stewer stime stimed stims stink stinker stir stirps stob stonk stonker stool stools stoop stoops stoor stop stoped stoper stops stot stots stoved stow stows strad strap straps straw strep stressed stria strig strips strop strops strow struts stub stum stums stun stunk sturts sub subah suber succus sued sulu sulus sum sumac sun sung sup suras sus susus swad swam swang swans swap swaps sward swat swats sway swey swob swone swop sword swot swots syed syes syn ta tab tae tael taes tag tak taki taks talc tallat tam tan tang tanna tao tap taps tar tared tarok tarp tarps tart tas taser tat tate tats tav taw taws te teed teek teel teels teem teemer tef teg tel telfer ten tenet tenner tennes tennis tennos tenon terces terf terra terret tes tet tets tew ti tiar tic tid tide tig til tiler tils time timed timer tin tink tinker tins tip tips tirrit tis tit toc tocs tod tog tom ton tonk tonker tons too tool tools toom tooms toons toot top toped toper tops tor torot tort tot tots tow tows trad trail tram trams trap traped traps trat trats tressed trew trig trins trips trod trons troop trop troped trot trow tsar tub tuba tubed tuber tug tum tums tun tup tut two ug ulu ulus um umu un urb utu vas vat vav vid vug wad wan wang wans wap waps war warb ward warder warts was wat wats waw way wed wem wems wen wena wert wet wets wey wo wok wolf wolfer won wonk wons wop word wort worts wos wot wots wow xis ya yad yag yah yahs yak yam yap yaps yar yard yaw yaws yay yebo yeh yerd yes yeses yew yews yo yob yod yom yon yos yrneh yug yup zaps zas zel ziz zuz zzz

It is interesting to note that some levidromes are also palindromes. I wonder whether we need a new word to describe this phenomenon also?  Furthermore, there is no word in English for "a word that you make up in order to make another word make sense". I suggest: "emordivel" ?

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[araibalibaigsblog]

Gilgit, the ‘gate to India’, served as the main hub interconnecting the north-south routes from China to the Punjab with the west-east routes between Iran and Kashmir and Ladakh, via Chitral.” He further claims, “The new Karakoram Highway (KKH), opened in 1978, more or less follows one of the main old north-south connections along part of the Indus and Hunza rivers.”

Also, epigraphic evidence from different parts of Gilgit-Baltistan testifies to the existence of Silk Route in the region. Historically, the Silk Road comprised different arteries connecting to main routes. Hunza, Chitral and Gilgit were one of the routes of the Silk Route. Jason Neeli’s paper ‘Hunza-Haldeikish Revisited: Epigraphical Evidence for Trans-regional History’ claims that “such networks of capillary routes connected the main arteries of the northwestern Indian subcontinent (sometimes called the Uttarapatha: ‘northern route’) with the silk routes of eastern Central Asia.”

There are thousands of names of ancient travellers and dates of travel inscribed on the thousands of rocks scattered from Haldikish in Hunza to Thalpan Das in Chilas. Irmtraud Stellrecht identifies primary and secondary routes nets between Central and South Asia in Gilgit, Hunza and Chitral. Among the secondary route-nets one was the easternmost link-route that connected Hunza and Gilgit to Pamirs in Kashgar.

Though the terrain of High Asia is harsh, it did not deter streams of caravans to traverse across Central and South Asia. The writings of travellers who travelled in the region almost one and half millennium ago bear testimony to connections of Gilgit, Hunza and Chitral with the Silk Road. Famous among these are descriptions of the region by Chinese travellers Fa Hsien, Songyun and Hiuen Tsang.

It is an established fact that Gilgit became the fulcrum of fight between Chinese and Tibetan states to control the Silk Road in the eighth century AD. Gilgit was called little Balur at that time. The queen of Gilgit was a Tibetan princess who got married to the king in 740. There are reports that many people from Balur were part of Tibetan army. Susan Whitfield in her book Life Along the Silk Road claims, “Tibetan had established their rule over the small valley kingdoms that controlled the route between the Silk Road and the Gilgit river valley which led to northern India.” She brilliantly shows the altercation between China and Tibet in 747 with special reference to the tale of a Tibetan soldier Seg Lhaton who was defeated by Chinese in Gilgit.

The Silk Road was a network that encompassed diverse cultures, regions, ethnicities and religions. There was not only trade of goods like silk, gems, brass, leather, opium, slaves, perfumery, spices etc., but also exchange of ideas, skills, cuisine, lifestyle and religions. Among the variety of exchanges, the state of Hunza was notorious for selling slaves in the markets of the Silk Road in Central Asia.

German geographer, Ferdinand von Richthofen termed the whole gamut of activities and networks of trade routes the ‘Silk Road’. Perhaps it is because of the heterogeneity of activities and exchanges at the level of trade and culture that Peter Frankopan divides chapters of his recent book The Silk Roads: A New History of the World into roads of faiths, a Christian East, revolution, concord, furs, slave road, heaven, hell, death and destruction, gold, silver, Northern Europe, empire, crisis, war, black gold, compromise, wheat road, genocide, cold warfare, etc.

Among the array of goods and exchanges on the Silk Road, the writer cherrypicks only silk to reject the entire history spanning over more than 1700 years.

There are Chinese annals, which show a relative of Mir of Hunza delivering gold dust to the Chinese as a tribute. According to Irmtraud Stellrecht, “in reciprocity the number and quality of Chinese gifts were fixed.” According to Susan Whitfield the numbers of Chinese and Tibetan soldiers who fought the famous war of mid eighth century in Gilgit were 10000 and 9000 respectively. She provides details of how logistic arrangements were made for the armies. Given the large number of soldiers traversing the then principalities in Gilgit-Baltistan, it is wrong to assume that they did not bring silk or other merchandise of the Silk Road with them.

Even the assertion of silk not being traded in Gilgit and Hunza does not hold true, if we analyse the folk tales, poetry, indigenous knowledge, culture, and more important agriculture, horticulture and livestock. In Brushashki and Shina languages raw silk is called chusi. The popular chusheay chapos (silk quilt) is made of raw silk. Silk cloth is called sikim. It was considered a precious gift, and used in royal ceremonies, public events and weddings. For silk yarn, silk worms are reared on mulberry trees.

Historically, mulberry tree played a crucial role in the settlement of new villages on barren lands in Gilgit-Baltistan. When the king of a principality wanted to irrigate a barren land and settle people there, the first thing people would do is to plant a sapling of mulberry tree for three reasons. First, it provides shade from the scorching sun during summer, secondly it provides mulberry as food and, lastly, and it provides fuel wood in winters.

It is probable that mulberry tree was imported from Eastern Turkistan. Old people in Hunza, Nagar and Gilgit still narrate how women used to tend silk worms to prepare silk yarn. Even if we surmise that those women from Kashgar settled in Gilgit and Hunza as brides, it still supports the claim that the region of Gilgit-Baltistan had cultural connections with major trade centres located along the Silk Route. When the cultural exchange was so extensive, it is improbable that people were not engaged in trade, however miniscule. It is possible that the practice of rearing silkworm in Gilgit disappeared with the decline of trade over the land routes of the Silk Road when the maritime trade increased phenomenally after the sixteenth century.

To this day, the old routes of the trade are surviving in the border areas of Brughal and Garam Chashma in Chitral, and Chipurson in Hunza. Until now, Muslims of Xinjiang use Gilgit route for haj pilgrimage. Indeed when the Chinese started the construction of Karakoram Highway, they had clear idea that it was like rejuvenating the old Silk Road. That is why the then Chinese Premier China Zhou Enlai in 1960s discussed with Pakistan to use the port city of Karachi as a trade conduit for China and agreed with the proposal that it would help rediscover “an ancient trade route but lost to modern times, not only for trade but for strategic purposes as well.”

According to historical documents, this was the genesis of Karakoram Highway (KKH). If Aga Khan Cultural Services Pakistan has erected the signboards of the old Silk Road along KKH, it did so because it can feel the pulse of history.

There are rich sources in the cultural domain to substantiate the arguments in favour of existence of the old Silk Road in Gilgit. The oral folk literature is studded with exquisite poetry, which profusely uses silk (sikim) as a metaphor for refined beauty and delicacy of the beloved. Ustad Abbas Hassanabadi in his Brushashki lyric goes lyrical about the beauty of silky hair of the coquette who spread her hair like a net to captivate his heart. Jan Ali, a populist poet of Shina language, in one of his songs wishes to be hanged on the refined silky hair of his beloved for whom he has abandoned all his kith and kin. A poet from Chilas sings of his yearnings for his beloved in these verses: “Arranging silky adoration for you as bride, You will leave your abode, Jingling the silver-made necklace over thine neck, I will surrender under your doorstep, When you would have been carried as bride.”

In olden times, silver and iron were meager in the region. Scarcity of these metals compelled the people to rely on raw material and sometimes skills imported from Kashgar and other areas of Xinjiang the erstwhile Eastern Turkistan and Central Asia. Even today the utensils of households include old samawars from Eastern Turkistan. Kashgar, being the hub of Silk Road, had close commercial and cultural connections with Hunza and Gilgit. These connections facilitated exchange of goods and skills typical of the Silk Route trade.

For example, the first consignment of guns in Hunza was delivered from Central Asia. When the king of Hunza faced threats from British and Dogras, he hired the services of Adina Baig from Yarkand to make a cannon. Owing to scarcity of iron, the then Mir of Hunza ordered to collect every item made of iron from all over Hunza. In response, every household contributed iron in the shape of utensils and other iron items. With the help of his handyman, Adina Baig made the famous canon of Hunza in 1862, which was later used in the Anglo Hunza-Nagar war in 1891.

The concept of culture not only encompasses humans but also covers animals as well. The kind of animals used in Gilgit and Hunza for travel and trade shows the nature of trade routes and commonalities with the Silk Road. Before the advent of road, packhorses, ponies, yak, camel and donkeys were used for trade on the Silk Road networks crisscrossing High Asia including Gilgit-Baltistan. Among all the animals the double humped Bactrian camel became the symbol of caravans on the Silk Road. It was the best-suited animal to navigate through rugged mountain terrain and harsh cold weather, and it can carry more than 450 kilos of load. Because of this it is called the workhorse of the Silk Roads.

This animal has become part of culture and agriculture of Gilgit. As a child I still remember caravans of Bactrian camels entering Gilgit city on Karakoram Highway in the early 1980s. With the increase in traffic on KKH, the Bactrian camel disappeared from the region. The former governor of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pir Karam Ali Shah, owned the last remaining Bactrian camel, the last of which was slaughtered in 2014.

The purpose of highlighting examples from the domains of culture and livestock is to show that Gilgit-Baltistan was part of the historical Silk Road. Like other spheres of life, the Silk Road has also undergone many changes. Today, the KKH has been transformed into a corridor, but it is not the end of the Silk Road; rather it’s an expansion and continuum of historical process in which regions of Inner and High Asia are experiencing expansion of local horizons into regional and global one.

It is high time to critically evaluate the knowledge about Gilgit-Baltistan that is produced either to serve the powers during colonial times or by impressionist ramblers who have assumed the charge of authority about the history of the region in the postcolonial period.

We are what we think. The collective cultural and historical memory testifies to the fact that the Silk Road did go through Gilgit-Baltistan.

#AzizAliDad