Muzzammil's Travels: (Part 8) Pilgrimage to the Buddhist Ruins in Sharda, Kashmir

The Rocket Bus - Pride of Neelum Velley

This is Neelum Valley Travelogue Part 8
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Day 13: Saturday, August 30, 2014

Retreating Back to Keran and Kutton after Taobat and Arang Kel Adventures

We had spent 10 days in the remotest parts of the Neelum Valley; Taobat and Arang Kel and were fully exhausted by then; our legs were worn out due to the most extensive trekking and hiking of our life while the backbone was complaining of the tumultuous jeep rides we had undertaken in the past two weeks. The day before, I was assuring my better half – and myself also – that the hard times were almost over. We had already abandoned the Shounter Valley visit as we did not want to further test the endurance limits of the kids’ duo – who had done reasonably well till then – shifted the gear to the relaxation mode. For the splurge, Keran and Kutton – located in the relatively lower parts of the Neelum Valley provide enough with modern lodging facilities.

Rocket Bus to Keran

Last night we already completed our packing so that we could hit the road with the first ‘Rocket Bus’ of the day. The plan was to make it to Keran, where we wanted to stay for a few days, after having an enroute breakfast and sightseeing stopover at Sharda. As opposed to the preceding evening, it was a clear sky and the sun had started peeking when I was going to the booking office to reserve seats for the next logistic adventure – the Rocket Bus.

That mammoth capsule looking structure, elaborated with the florescent patterns from all sides, cannot be ignored while traveling around the picturesque Neelum Valley. Don’t get confused with its amazingly obsolete outlook! The way it runs on the difficult Neelum Valley road, where even the four-wheelers find it difficult at times, is remarkable. Defying all the odds and doubts, it provides the inhabitants with the cheapest yet reliable transportation option, connecting innumerable towns and localities between Muzaffarabad and Kel. No surprise that locals nicknamed it as the “Rocket Bus” and throng it to the full capacity, at times not even sparing the roof.

Probably because it was the earliest departure of the day, the bus was not fully packed so we all could seat comfortably. Although plying between the remote parts of the country, it looked adequately furnished from the inside and was less inconvenient than the public transport in Karachi! The journey started with a lot of hue and cry from the coughing old engine which had to eventually give up in front of the Ústaad and woke up despite all its protests and emitting a lot of dense smoke. I had mounted the backpacks on the luggage carrier located on the top of it. Soon the messy Kel became a chapter of our travel book and we were once again in the middle of the green landscape.

The Rooftop Adventure

Without riding it from the top it would have been an incomplete experience for me. So I dared climbing on the steel ladder fixed on the rear, while the heavy metallic chassis had been striding like a drunken monster. Somehow I managed to summit it and squeezed myself in the luggage compartment only to realize that it was not a child’s play! The ride was not steady as the bus was constantly wobbling and tilting; sometimes to the right hand side towards the pointed rocks and other times to the left towards the gorge! It was such a shear force that I feared being thrown down directly to the river flowing alongside the bumpy trek. A couple of times, I had to save my life by lying down upside down as the hanging rocks got too close to the structure. Had I not shown the knee-jerk reaction then, it was enough to make a mash out of me!

I was not even able to raise a voice as my vocal cords had already got silent due to the allergy I was having from last couple of days. The aromatic smoke of the bonfire wood was the main culprit which infected my ENT system so much so that I was not able to speak! Even though, in between those life saving maneuvers, I did not miss any opportunity to benefit from the surrounding scenery; which was simply out of the world. The river gained more strength as compared to the Taobat-Kel trek while the ravine got wider. Coming down every so often, each gush of water from the side stream was more powerful than the previous one, and noisier. I was like placed right in the middle of an action filled thrilling drama. The bus eventually stopped after half an hour to accommodate a waving lady, giving me the much needed chance to get down in one piece. For the rest of the journey, I seated inside peacefully enjoying the outside views and resolving to myself not to repeat the same mistake ever again!

Running After a Criminal!

It took the Rocket Bus more than two hours to reach Sharda from Kel, where we dislodged and settled at a roadside restaurant for the brunch. Back home, our gatekeeper Ayyub who also belonged to the Neelum Valley especially requested me to convey his greetings to his fellows in Sharda. I searched around the bazaar for Mutiullah, Ayyub's supposed relative, who was out of town for his routine. Nobody else recognized Ayyub but they directed me to Mutiullah’s son who was also not in the know. Later on, one of the persons at the restaurant confided to me that locals were afraid that Ayyub might have done some crime in Karachi and I was after him – the reason why they were reluctant in recognizing him!

Pilgrimming to the Buddhist Ruins

Out of courtesy, Mutiullah’s son guided me to the remains of the Buddhist Monastery, the town of Sharda is famous for. Leaving behind the family at the restaurant I accompanied him for the brisk walk to the ruins which were located on the other side of the river adjacent to, or in fact inside, an army deployment. I had to surrender my CNIC once again to enter into the camp before ascending ~60 extra large size stairs. The ancient looking staircase ended up at an elevated rectangular arena in the middle of which standing the tall cubical structure dubbed as the Buddhist University in the tourist information brochures. Overlooking the Sharda town, it was an impressive and authentic archeological site, providing rare insights to the largely obscure history of the region. The arches and the pillars of this heritage site must have witnessed the transformation in the human civilization while surviving somehow to the vagaries of war and weather. While paying homage to the genius, I was trying to decipher the echoing breeze to listen any of the lessons delivered then!

Before the trip, I also read about the Sharda Peeth, a Hindu pilgrimage discontinued after the Partition but could not dig that out due to the time factor. We had to reach to Keran in the daylight so that we could find a suitable accommodation without losing the bargaining power which usually goes down with the sun. So after exchanging goodbye greetings with the guide, we boarded on the next Rocket Bus which looked relatively fuller as opposed to the morning one. This time I silently opted to sit inside for the whole two hours of the smooth journey rather than venturing again to the roof of the bus.

The Treat Started

Amid the drizzling, the bus had a midway stopover at a roadside restaurant and then dropped us right in front of the Keran Resort; one of the most lavish places to stay in the whole Neelum Valley. I believe it must have been a unique instance, or maybe the first time, that the guests had arrived at the Resort through a ‘Rocket Bus’! For the negotiation with the hotel manager I used the ‘season ending’ excuse and our commitment to stay for at-least three nights. The haggling went successful consequently the attendant shifted our backpacks to the premium ground floor ensuite which one could only dream about a couple of weeks back because of the high demand.

Bitter End of a Yielding Day

While settling in, Urooba reported a missing pouch from one of the backpacks containing her cosmetics. The zip was closed so it was definitely a case of theft. Our first suspicion was about the staff at Sardar Sarhad Hotel, as we left the bag in their custody while exploring Arang Kel. We were not happy with the overall attitude of people both at Kel and Arang Kel so it was not that surprising. But I still gave them the benefit of doubt and did not report the Sarhad Hotel’s management mostly because the bag was also lying unprotected on the roof during our Rocket Bus journey. Thankfully, that was the only bad taste experience of the whole trip.

Continue Reading Part 7