"THE OTHER PUNJAB, WE DON'T KNOW"

 "THE OTHER PUNJAB, WE DON'T KNOW"

When we think of Punjab, images of colourfulness, agricultural fields, Lassi, Bhangra, food, festivities, Sardar, fertile lands, etc nab our mind. This is we know about the Punjab, which lies in the domain of India. Even most of the people of India, who haven't been to Punjab, get a picture of Punjab in some form or the other: courtesy Hindi movies and songs.

But, in this section, I would like to touch the aspect of Punjab which lies on the other side: Pakistan. I would not like to dwell  on the historical aspect. Punjab in Pakistan, is similar to our Punjab, in terms of culture, food, festivities, language, tradition, ethnicity, etc. But, the Punjab from Wagah to Mianwali, and Rawalpindi to Rahim Yar Khan is quiet different from the Punjab, from Chandigarh to Attari, and Gurdaspur to Bhatinda. Punjab is the most populous province and second largest province by area in the country(after Balochistan). Punjabi in Pakistan is written with the Shahmukhi alphabet, which is very much like Urdu inscriptions. (In India, it is written with the Gurumukhi script). They speak Punjabi language with a touch of Urdu, while people of our Punjab speak Punjabi with a touch of Hindi. People in South Punjab(Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, etc) speak Saraiki, which is believed to be a sub-dialect of Punjabi language and people in Northen Punjab(Rawalpindi, Attock) speak Hindko, which is also believed to be a sub-dialect of Punjabi. Pakistan's Punjab is huge, it has plains, plateaus, mountains, deserts. While Indian Punjab is just another of the many states in India, while Pakistani Punjab(referred to as other Punjab, henceforth) is much more than a province to them. The other Punjabis dominate in most of the aspects of their nation's functioning. However, the Indian Punjabis are more conscious for their culture and heritage than Punjabis of their counterpart. The Indian Punjab is dominated by Sikhs(over 60%) and Hindus. Their is a sense of inherent insecurity for preserving their minority culture and protect it from getting diluted. The other Punjabis have no such concern.

In other Punjab, there are 36 districts, with 9 divisions(Indian Punjab has 22 districts, with 5 divisions). Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi-Islamabad, Multan, Gujranwala are major cities of their Punjab. Agriculture continues to be the dominant factor in other Punjab as well. This province has the largest economy in the country and contributes for the highest GDP in the nation.

The province has deposits of minerals like coal, petrol, rock-salt, gypsum and dolomite, silica-sand.  In terms of food, we oberve that the other Punjab relies heavily on red-meat. But the seasoning preferences, the type of oil, the styles of daal and vegetable preparations are much similar. The other Punjab on daily basis prefers meat dishes like Aloo Gosht, Bhuna Gosht, Daal Gosht, etc. Our Punjab on daily basis prefers Paneer Kadhai/Paneer-do-Pyaaza, Daal Tadka, Chana Masala, Sarson da Saag, Bhindi Masala, etc.  Like our Punjab, other Punjab also eats Chole-Kulche, Rajma-Chawal, Aalo ki Bhujia, Poori, Halwa, Lassi, etc. In their breakfasts, they also have Sheermal, Qeema, Shami-kabab, fresh seasonal fruits, nuts. They also enjoy snacks like Samose, Panipuri, Aaloo-Tikki, Bhelpuri, Egg-rolls, etc, and traditional deserts like Ras-Malai, Kulfi, etc, and relish beverages as Sharbat, Gola Ganda, Lassi, Kahwa, etc. In clothing,  Shalwar -Kameez, Kurta, Lungi, Dhoti, Tehmat(Men)  and Pothohari Shalwar, the Patiala Shalwar, the Laacha, Kurti, Ghagra, Lehenga, Phulkari(Women) dominate their attire. The other Punjab has also a rich tradition of ballads, folk tales, folk music and dance. The folklore of the Potohar Plateau of the north shows a local variant, while the lush green irrigated agriculture of the central plains is home to more sophisticated forms of folklore. The oldest living urban centre of Multan in the south and Saraiki region is home to gentler forms of music and dance. Bhangra dance and Dhol(Punjabi) are also evident in the other Punjab. The traditional Bhangra has originated from the other Punjab itself.  The folk dance of Majha has also roots there.

The other Punjab is also very passionate, cheerful, open-hearted, crazy, vibrant, colourful as ours. They enjoy cricket and hindi movies to the fullest. It has given birth to legends like national poet Sir Muhammad Iqbal(Allama-E-Iqbal), politicians like Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, Muhammad Sarwar, poet like  Faiz-Ahmad-Faiz, singers and actors as Noor Jehan(Mallika-e-Tarannum),  Ghulam Ali, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Arif Lohar, Nazia Hassan, Junaid Jamshed, Shazia Manzoor, Ali Azmat, Ali Zafar, Adnan Sami, Shafaqat Amanat Ali, Abrar-ul-Haq, Atif Aslam, Fawad  Khan, etc sportspersons like Imran Khan(international personality), Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Inzamam-Ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdul Khaliq, Shahnaz Sheikh, etc, intellectual like , Chaudhri Niaz Ali Khan, etc. It is also the birthplace of Sikh founder Guru Nank Dev and revolutionary  Bhagat Singh. .