By
Lt Gen (R) Sardar Hasan Azhar Hayat
MD Pakistan Land Port Authority
Ex. MD Green Tourism Pvt. Ltd
On a beautiful spring morning, I requested Gandhara Resource Centre a local organization working for preservation & promotion of Gandhara heritage and culture, to visit and see art of sculpture making. It took me 25 minutes to reach Taxila museum our RV and can take anyone from Islamabad 45 minutes. Our host was already waiting for me and received me. Lately Taxila development by government of Punjab is much in limelight, making me inquisitive! I could see stone pitching / pavements being made, entrance gate and also other works. Of late there has been lot of voice on type of preservation of Stupas at Mora Maradu, as observed by UNESCO for not following preservation protocols. I don’t want to get into a discussion on that but would like to appreciate governments initiative but at same time one would like work to involve locals, tree plantation and actual archeological work other than optics which is also important. This place has such a huge huge potential and from Green tourism days have suggested so much on that. Heritage, preservation and aesthetic’s need special focus.
We hardly travelled 5-8 minutes on Dharmajaika Road and disembarked to foot into a kacha street in Tabian village, what surprised me was tall Cyprus tree on both sides in Tabian village most famous for stone art. Hardly we had walked 5-7 minutes again we knocked at the gate and entered an open compound on one side I could see big stones in black called Ceisth stones on opposite side was a so called workshop under the shade of vineyard and could see a man in mid-50’s with full gray hair busy carving a Buddha, along with two more people working independently.
Mr Ilyas the sculpturist greeted us busy sitting on a peeri (small local stool) and concentrating on his work, he offered us chairs. The place had nothing mud ground and shade of green grape creepers make shift with basic tools. My eye immediately caught on few of his work, was too good and what an art in this simple setting. My mind immediately went to high end Arts village in Taxila which I have visited number of times but no art can be compared with this small courtyard. My host Mr Riaz and Mam Sarah told me you can talk with Ilyas Sahib as he thinks we talk more whenever some visitor is around and don’t give him opportunity to put across his point. I think all artists are gifted people and blunt as they are proud of their work and don’t care about other worldly things and I like that.
I introduced him as an enthusiast and not a government machinery! He also said many people come but when walk out of this compound hardly do anything for this art. He tried working for Art village but could not as had multiple personality issue, though the facility is excellent. I slowly started to explore him as he lit his cigarette and sat on chair little distance from me, when I took permission to smoke and said all good people smoke made him easy and interactive 😃
His father had migrated from Manki Sharif from Nowshera to work in HIT and he was brought up here and is a multilingual. While doing his schooling at age 7 got inquisitive to sit on a sculptural kiosk by roadside and started learning art, it was only in 1982 he took up as a business. There are about 10-12 master artists left in Taxila and around 25 in all, as he puts it some are half artists . The youth here have natural skills as he puts across; a novice would hurt his fingers but boys and girls in Taxila can handle the tools well, even some girls are into it. My basic Q was so why this has not been picked as livelihood and how is business done? He explained that the old antiquities act 1972 does not allow this art to flourish and if he is caught outside his courtyard he can be charged and likewise they are dependent on middleman who buy art from people like him and smuggle or sell expensively, around a dozen exist in Taxila and some are like mafias who also sell not only replicas but actual artifacts. This reminded me of an Australian couple who had worked in embassy back in 1980’s in Islamabad and took away some rare artefacts from Taxila, only to return to our embassy in Canberra. I did make efforts to get them back to Pakistan, so an underworld does exist. But what is the fault of people like Ilyas khan. We need to review antiquates act and allow this industry to flourish. He had been to Vietnam & Thailand and said we don’t know what treasure art we have, I can make country earn in abundance of dollars. When asked were you invited for a seminar etc he said I was taken by middleman to introduce work.
My interaction became interesting I asked him where is his work sold and he said Italy, France, Germany other European countries and South East. Anyone who has travelled to Europe would find sculpture art around every corner in street. More interestingly the stone on which work is done is from Malakand, pointing at a big stone he said he bought it for 300k ! I remember when we indicated this to KP government that this stone is being smuggled to China. One is black ceisth, other is green and work is done on terracotta, while Taxila stone is hard and not used for sculpturing . I asked him what should be done! He said the government knows all but some stipend for learners as he has no money to give them till some work is done, I asked him how much time I will take if I want to learn he said if you have passion you will be able to make a basic sculpture in a month, his two sons were also around I asked him do you carry this legacy they said no ! one was working in PMO and other was doing some IT related work, basically I felt no money in this work.
I personally feel that special focus needs to be paid on this dying art, I think CM Punjab is the right person to save this art, some enacting some laws and incentives and putting right cause in art village will rejuvenate the art. This can be turned into a big industry. Only need some basic corrections things are in place. Private entrepreneurs is an other answer. At a skills level what this courtyard needs is a shed, a washroom a room, some infrastructure to do work easily along with marketing and commercial selling! Uff little investment and huge returns. He was a generous man offered us nice tea and presented me with a Buddhist sculpture. I gave him idea he should keep a ticket of at least Rs 500 for people like us to see your work. I ordered him two one morals which was excavated from lower Dir and was property of Guides in Mardan, later presented to Frontier Corps mess in Abbottabad and other Buddha statue lost some time back, I could not lay hand on picture of one presented by Ayoub Khan to king of Thailand if I am not wrong. I had a close look at the artifacts there asking price of best one was 100 K. I think peanuts for work or art.
I took permission from the host and since I was free early decided to visit Nicholson Monument at Margallah defile on GT road. I stopped at the Nicholson room such a nicely made place with beautiful stone work, but in obnoxious state with no focus, all trucks parked around. We crossed towards the Nicholson monument the place is all truck shops and excavators ! We walked on old Grand Trunk Road with a board mentioning Sher Shah Suris feat which mentioned the road had fruit tree all along when I compare to one now all gone with tucks & truck shops ! We climbed long stairs to reach base of monument ! What a beauty it is !! have to turn your head up 180 degree to see the top must be more then 100 feet. Made tremendously well with beautiful chiseled stone big at base and narrowing to top. No board or stairs but I tried my fitness to climb a visible door removed now. It was pity to see old writing in a smelly room used as toilet inside Monument the only room whose roof goes till top. I found only one person who told me yesterday some German tourists had visited I felt so ashamed. The distorted plaque inside mentioned of Gen John Nicholson and his four battle and equally capable administrator. I saw all around; the crush plants have ruined the place and colonies all around till you can see. I strongly feel no one has visited the place otherwise is not a big deal to make it serene, green and nice. Lost into history I returned back to pen my thoughts. My driver who has become use to me and my wondering asked me history and immediately said why can’t we bring school children, to make to learn our heritage. It needs immediate action of anyone responsible for it. A Sunday well spent.
