File photo of a scenic spot in KP.
There are two valleys in the central Hindu Kush which have no parallels in terms of their beauty. Both open into the extreme north of Pakistan: into Chitral and Gilgit. The one to the east is a bit longer and larger in area whereas the other in the west is shorter but more fertile.
Both the valleys are home to the indigenous Dardic people of the Indo Aryan race. The western one is now a bit more modern culturally as well as in terms of its infrastructure. Here modernization is faster, and change is accelerated while the other valley is still very closed socially and culturally – and very poor in its infrastructure, too. Here cultural change is awfully slow except language shift which has been so rigorous since the 80s while owing to cultural traits and traditional norms the valley still seems to be in the 90s.
Daily Times
Pakistan’s beautiful geography We compile a list of five interesting reads about Pakistan s beautiful Swat Valley, Sindh, Sufism and K2
May 11, 2021 SWAT THROUGH THE MILLENNIA: FROM PREHISTORY TO THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY BY SULTAN-I-ROME beginning with details of its nomenclature and geography, the book continues with covering and thoroughly examining and discussing the prehistory and protohistoric periods of Swat, different aspects of Alexander of Macedonia’s invasion, the period from the Mauryas to the Hindu Shahis, religious perspective of Swat, Muslims’ occupation and pre-Yusufzi’s period, the Yusufzi’s occupation, their social system and mode of ruling, the Mughals and Swat, Khushal Khan Khattak and Swat, the period from 1707 till 1915 ce, and the Kuhistan. There is very little about Swat, from the said perspectives, that cannot be learned from reading this book. The book is comprehensive, and systematic. Written in an analytical but simple styl