Slopes of Mushkpuri Hill

Slopes of Mushkpuri Hill, originally uploaded by !ShTiaQ aHmEd.

Only hours of drive from the twin city, there are places where one can get lost for a day or two to get out of daily routine to get rid of anxiety. Two hours of Drive and one can be at DungaGali, which is located at the slopes of Mushkpuri Hill, the second highest hill in Galiyar, above 9,000 feet above sea level. This may be one of the closest places where you can gain such height. Starting from Pines Hotel NathiaGali or Dewan House DungaGali, the trek passes upward through lush green forests. Beautiful Daisies dance and swing to greet the hiker and sets the romantic charm, specially in the rainy weather with hide and seek of the scenery is all around you.

This trek unveil the beauty of Ayubia National Park as well as the NathiaGali and MiranJani Top… The meadow hidden at a wonderful height from where one can overlook the areas of Azad Kashmir & Hazara Division on a clear day…

Taken: Approaching Mushkpuri Hilltop from DungaGali, Galyat Region, NWFP, Pakistan.

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Dance with Life

Dance with Life, originally uploaded by !ShTiaQ aHmEd.

What is it about this day that you love? What is it about this moment that you treasure?

There is something within your life that compels you to know and experience even more of life. What is it, at the heart of things, that drives you so?

What makes it so wonderful to float peacefully on a calm waters under the warm sun? Why does the beauty of a distant mountain peak touch your heart so profoundly?

There is a reason why you have opinions about a wide range of matters large, small and in between. There is a guiding purpose at the heart of each sincere choice you make.

As you dance with life each day, your steps follow a rhythm that stays true to the genuine person inside, no matter what else may or may not happen. Though you interact intimately with all that is around you, something within you is apart from it all, relishing the experience.

Breathe deeply the sweet, fresh air of being. And keep dancing, as each unfolding moment brings a brand new verse of the song you’ve always known.

Taken: Looking over the ocean of human kind before your eyes, with Nilor Valley at left, Simly Lake on right and above the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. A place between Mitti Na Tair & Naseerabad, on the Road to Ban Karoor.

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Urbanity

Urbanity, originally uploaded by !ShTiaQ aHmEd.

While the modern architecture and music thrives in the cities and urban areas, the artisans and craftsmen continue to produce marvels in their own way that are attractive and eye-catching. Each region in Pakistan has its own specialty and if given a choice, it really become an up hill task to choose from a wide variety.

In order to conserve our folk heritage "Lok Virsa" or the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage was established under the foothills of the "Shakarparrian Hills" near the Rose and Jasmine Garden. The basic purpose of the Institute is to find all artisans, craftsmen and even those who wish to contribute to the preservation of our folk heritage and provide them a platform to express themselves aesthetically.

This use to be an exit door to main domain hosting all history preserved in form of paintings, models, sculptures, daily used items, and books.

Taken: Corridor of Lok Virsa Museum, Islamabad.

There is no way one can view the details in this small view.. View is fine in Large

The Seat of the Soul

The Seat of the Soul, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd (Eid Vacations).

Our lifetimes are spent searching for the center of the maze, the center of ourselves. Unfortunately, a lot of what we’ve been taught by well-meaning parents, teachers and clergy, is not conducive to self-realization. We’ve been taught how to fit in, get by and do what we’re told. That’s fine for children. But there comes a time in everyone’s life when you have to start thinking for yourself.

The inner journey is the only authentic journey precisely because it’s yours. All real growth happens on the inside. Each person carries within themselves meaning and purpose. It’s only from inner explorations that you uncover meaning and purpose and can fulfill your potential.

We need to get away from the rat race for the time-being and make us sit on ridge, a view something like looking the snow capped mountain tops and deep valleys, it feels like sitting on the seat of the soul. This will ignite some deeper thoughts about the well known question; Who am I?

Seat of the Soul in Large

Taken: Sitting at one of the ridge over Paya Meadows, Over looking Sharan view of Kaghan Valley, Pakistan.

Limited View of Life

Limited View of Life, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

Let me start with a illustration from one of the most popular philosophers known as Alan Watts;

The smiling young man began proudly telling Watts about his girlfriend and how wonderful she was. Eventually, he pulled out his wallet and opened it to show Watts a photograph of his beloved. The young man smiled proudly and lovingly. "That looks just like her!" he said, pointing to the photo. "Really?" said Watts. "Is she that small?"

The matter of fact is we often see ourselves symbolically than seeing who and what we really are. We do the same thing with the world around us. Think of how many times we have found ourselves in beautiful natural surroundings, looking directly — in absolute awe — at something like the Hunza Valley, Biafo Glacier, or Kaghan Valley.

We are part of a whole. When we live in artificial, human-made, climate-controlled environments, we don’t learn to tune to the flow of nature. We don’t develop the capacity to understand our dependence on and interconnectedness with the natural world. In the absence of direct immersion in the natural world, we lose the awareness of our inherent connection with it.

With just a slight change in perception, just a slight adjustment, we always have the opportunity to see life differently. What is required is learning how to let go of the neurotic, shortsighted, culturally bound notions of who we are and what our lives are about. When we can do that, a vast new universe of possibilities for happiness and fulfillment opens up before us.

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Taken: Sunrise at Jalkhad camping site, Upper Kaghan Valley, Pakistan.

Reason for Isolation

Reason for Isolation, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

How many times does one hear others say, "I just need to get away from it all?" This phrase is one of great importance to most human beings. What is it saying? It is conveying a desire for privacy, isolation, and possibly quiet solitude. Solitude and silence are positive, precious life forces which every human needs and has the birthright to enjoy.

Where does this personal desire for isolation come from? It could range from any one of the common pressures of everyday life, stress from work, daily responsibilities, social pressures, weather; basically any kind of stressor that one experiences.

Human beings have the natural urge to distance themselves from others when they feel certain overwhelming emotions approaching. This can include crying, laughing, mourning, or just deep thinking.

The visual impact of nature, however, is one of the greatest reasons that one desires to isolate oneself away from the everyday urban world. As one stand over the mountain top, the air is clear and clean, the visibility goes for miles and miles. One just want to stop and take in the 360 degrees of pure grandeur before. The vastness of the natural mountain terrain is always incredible. There is a euphoric, drug-like high that one experiences at this point. Beholding a spectacle such as this, a person can interpret the beauty and appreciate it on a very personal level while contemplating their own existence.

At times like this , it can be a very spiritual moment. Each person has their own reason for isolation. The visual aspect of this physical removal from routine can be a very powerful and satisfying motive.

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Taken: Somewhere at Patriata Angori Road, Punjab, Pakistan.

Besian Sunrise

Besian Sunrise, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

After the area was hit with one of the worst earthquake in known history of Kaghan Valley, we could not keep us away from this wonderful and one of the most beautiful piece of land… This was a perfect time to be there, which leads us to leave for Mansehra on local transport one fine evening in summer 2006, reached there at 10:00 PM in the night hired a taxi to Balakot. Balakot was blocked due to one of the land-slide over the road and driver dropped us at Besian, around 8 km before Balakot, where one can have the first glimpse of River Kunhar beside the road.

It rained all night, with lots of mosquitoes all around in the Gas Station nearby where we stayed for a night… There was no news of the road conditions ahead and we were destined for Paya Meadows over the hill-station of Shogran. As usual my morning was outside to have a view of sunrise, as rain was slowing down. And that was what I saw just beside the road, a sunrise from Besian.

Taken: Sunrise over Besian, Start of Kaghan Valley, NWFP, Pakistan.

Nature and Spirituality

Nature and Spirituality, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

To me there has always been a correlation between nature and spirituality. When I was younger I didn’t understand this, all I knew is that I loved being in nature. But now, as I’ve gotten older and still love to be in nature, I’ve begun to realize that there is a natural correlation between the two.

For example, I love to walk in the woods, its always been a passion of mine. What has actually been going on for my entire life is that when I’m in nature, standing in woods, I’m also talking to God.

Nature and God are impossible to tell apart. In many respects the two are the same thing. It’s obvious that most of the great thinkers that have ever walked this planet noticed the correlation between nature and God.

It is impossible for a human being to take a walk in the woods alone and not feel the presence of God in my opinion. That undeniable presence from which we all originated. The easiest way to get back in touch with this presence is through the serenity of nature. For me, it’s always been most apparent while standing in a woods. For you, maybe it’s overlooking a mountain or lake. For someone else it might be a stroll in a nature park. The point is that nature and spirituality are forever linked.

Taken: Woods of Ban, Near Karoor, Punjab, Pakistan
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Academic Procrastination

Academic Procrastination, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

Is mobile phone a necessity or style symbol for youth? Different person will have different opinion on this. But whats the main objective of having a mobile phone? There are lot many task a mobile phone can perform, but do we really use the technology in right way.

Perpetually bored with little to do, the youth of Pakistan are going crazy over mobile phones. Cell phones are cheap and widely available in Pakistan, leading many to use them as a good way to kill time. This has given rise to virtual dating over the cellular networks, as guys and girls exchange mobile phone numbers with a view to chat or meet up later. Mobile numbers of girls in Pakistan are especially in great demand.

Second only to Internet hookups and cyber dating, cell phone number exchange is a popular dating or introduction method. Many young Pakistanis seek to get potential romantic partners subsequent to an exchange of phone numbers. Many girls and guys have actually met their boyfriends and girlfriends through this means, as a casual friendly interviews might often reveal.

If things remains the same, time is not far when mobile phone users would start facing a new type of mental disease called ‘mobile phone deficiency syndrome, affected people may get distracted easily and it would be difficult for them to focus their attention on work.

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Taken: Candid shots at University Corridors.

Blacksmith & Horseshoe

Blacksmith & Horseshoe, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

He smiled and nodded his head knowingly. There was a moment of silence between two of us. It was not an uncomfortable silence. It was a quiet exchange of recognition and understanding.

That was when I imagined a rusty old horseshoe, Lot’s of people hang them on their wall for good luck when the horse is done wearing them. That’s got to be pretty tough to get worn by a horse and hung on a wall.

You ever see a blacksmith make a horseshoe? He takes a piece of metal and sticks it right into the burning coals of a hot fire. That fire is over one thousand degrees and glowing red. Then he pulls that metal out of the fire and uses a huge hammer and an anvil to strike the metal. The blacksmith hammers and shapes the metal, sticks it in water just enough to cool, and then puts it back in the fire.

The blacksmith will repeat that process as many times as it takes until he gets that horseshoe in just the exact shape that he needs it. He will use fire, water and the power of his strength through that hammer until the piece of raw metal is shaped into a perfect horseshoe. That horseshoe is something he can use. It is strong enough to support the horse, and no matter how many times it gets stepped on, the horse can’t change the shape that the blacksmith made.

If you are at a point in life in which you are in the middle of your own struggle, remember the saying that ‘the things that don’t break us only make us stronger.’ So just be a Horse Shoe, don’t get broke, just be strong when you are beaten hard.

Taken: Blacksmith of a Village near Mandi Bhawaldin, Punjab, Pakistan.

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