Thar (Sindh, Pakistan) [Images visible now]

riz_sat

Hello everyone,
I hope you all are doing good. I would like to share the photos that I took on my journey to a place called Thar. Although I made this journey in 2014 but I edited these photos in 2015 & 2016 on Adobe Photoshop.

Thar is a stretch of India's Rajasthan desert which is now part of Pakistan's Sindh province. It is located in the southeast region of the province and it is perhaps the only district in Pakistan where the Muslims are in minority and the Hindus in the majority.

So here in this thread, I would like to share the photos that I took in Thar during my two days trip in December 2014. This trip was specially organized by a group of photographers who frequently travel around the country.

We set off from Karachi before 12:00 am. Thar is not very well connected by railway lines (Although a train service was started between India & Pakistan via Thar but it has been stopped) nor is there any airport in Thar. Hence, the only feasible option left is by road. A branch of the National Highway links Thar with other districts of Sindh. The road in many parts was bumpy and required proper carpeting. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of it because we were traveling at night and the National Highway which leads to Thar is not flanked by any lighting poles so one has to drive in the pitch darkness of night. However, we made our first stop in Thar when a tire of our bus got stuck in the desert sand which had accumulated over the road by the desert wind.

The full moon was shining with all its might over the desert unlike in cities where the moon usually gets obscured by the city lights and colossal buildings. It took us quite some time to push our vehicle out of the sand and by that time the moon was already beginning to set and a new day was about to start. There I got to see the most mesmerizing sunrise over the desert and after some time we resumed our journey toward Mithi, the district capital, and the largest city of Thar district for breakfast and refreshment.

The current government has built very nice roads in the Tharparkar & developmental work was still in progress.

We had our breakfast at a government owned guest house and a troupe of talented local musicians who perform in the ensemble was hired for a little concert. Later on, we decided to have their show atop the highest point in the city called Gaadi Bhit from where one gets to have a complete view of Mithi.

Once when we were through their splendid performance, we left for other parts of Thar district. Our first stop was a village outside the city of Mithi. The village had typical houses which are a specialty of Thar. These houses are constructed in a circular fashion and covered over with a thatched roof with no door.

After that, we left for Islamkot, a small town which is located near the Indian border. We had our lunch at Islamkot rather late in the evening and we resumed our journey toward Nagarparker, a very small town located at the Indian border. We directly went to a plateau over the mountain of Karonjhar and also got to see India for the first time but due to security issues, we were not allowed to take photos there. Over the plateau of Karonjar, another troupe of highly talented local musicians was also arranged for an open air concert.

Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the vocalist but I am compelled to say that this ensemble performed beautifully under the starry desert night and later on I got to know that the vocalist was a blind man. By that time, I was suffering from a terrible stomachache and it had begin to take a toll on me so much so that I finally had to resort to my bus for rest and missed out night time desert trekking which my other group mates fully enjoyed and I also missed out a Hindu temple which was somewhere deep in the mountain range and somewhere very close to the Indian border. I remember I was only woken up for dinner and then we spent a night at a government owned guesthouse which was located a few miles away.

riz_sat

Next day, a tragedy before we left for the Jain temples which were constructed long ago, i.e. my best buddy 18-55mm fell on the ground and slightly got damaged hence, there is some distortion in below pictures. The Jains are almost non-existent in Pakistan and the temples were sadly in a very dilapidated condition. We had to make a very long walk to reach these temples and cross a rainwater reservoir at the foot of Kanronjhar mountains which to my surprise was heavily dried up because during those days Thar was receiving very little rainfall and there was famine in the district too. Consequently, the cattle in that region were also somewhat emaciated.

It is very interesting to know that perhaps Thar is the only fertile desert and most of the place turns green after a few rainfalls in series.

This was the last leg of my journey after that we got on to leave for Karachi and got to capture some interesting photos.

A note which I would like to make here for typical Thari ladies called Kohli ladies. They are very camera shy and do not interact with the outsiders which obviously particularly include the males who are not related to them. These ladies wear bangles at full-length of their arms are married women and most of them have their faces covered.

The bulk of people who reside outside Mithi don't have gas connections and they rely on dry wood to cook their food.

In the end, I would like to say that of all places I have been to thus far, Tharparkar occupies a special place in my heart. I will visit this beautiful land once again and visit those places which I missed out.

Thank you for viewing.

riz_sat

I wonder why images aren't appearing but URLs

torags

Try clicking the page icon to the upper right

Then paste the image url where it's requested then hit enter

riz_sat

@torags said:
Try clicking the page icon to the upper right

Then paste the image url where it's requested then hit enter

Thank you for your help

David_S85

Beautiful photos. That read as an epic and strenuous adventure that you all had. Sorry to hear of your friend's injury. I hope he recovered OK.

Side note: Thank you for writing up the thoughtful stories behind all the numerous photos. That's what the Journeys sub-forum is all about!

torags

Well done Rizwan

Nice conversions, well composed... good work

Awais Yaqub

Great set, what a place would love to go there again with you

travelways

@riz_sat

Gorgeous trip, stories and documentary photos!

El Gato

Wonderful images of a beautiful country, people and part of the world.
I'd too love to get back to Pakistan, the first time was too short and I could not venture to far out into the more remote and out-of-the-way places within the country as I had wanted.

Your narratives help greatly to put your travels and the accompanying images into greater perspective and lend a deeper insight into your experiences during this trip. Thank you for being so detailed and for including images taken with a "practiced eye" and demonstrating a more personal touch.

riz_sat

@David_S85 said:
Beautiful photos. That read as an epic and strenuous adventure that you all had. Sorry to hear of your friend's injury. I hope he recovered OK.

Side note: Thank you for writing up the thoughtful stories behind all the numerous photos. That's what the Journeys sub-forum is all about!

Thank you. Well my poor fella isn't well still so I will get another one!

riz_sat

@torags said:
Well done Rizwan

Nice conversions, well composed... good work

Thank you so much

riz_sat

@Awais Yaqub said:
Great set, what a place would love to go there again with you

Thank you Awais bhai your appreciation means a lot. Sure, you're most welcome

riz_sat

@travelways said:

@riz_sat

Gorgeous trip, stories and documentary photos!

Thank you so much

riz_sat

@El Gato said:
Wonderful images of a beautiful country, people and part of the world.
I'd too love to get back to Pakistan, the first time was too short and I could not venture to far out into the more remote and out-of-the-way places within the country as I had wanted.

Your narratives help greatly to put your travels and the accompanying images into greater perspective and lend a deeper insight into your experiences during this trip. Thank you for being so detailed and for including images taken with a "practiced eye" and demonstrating a more personal touch.

Thank you so much for your reply. Which cities did you visit on your first visit to Pakistan?

El Gato

Rizwan....

I had the fortunate opportunity to visit Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Murree. Look forward to the opportunity to return and visit additional areas. I would someday love to go to Gilgit and be able to spend some time there just meeting the people, listening to their stories of the area, wandering the hillside and valleys...maybe some day.

Thank you again for posting your images!