Tombstone Tuesday - N. Bi (?-?)

I obtained this photograph of my greatgrandmother's tombstone from my brother who took photos of some of our ancestors graves while he was in Pakistan (yes, he went too).

N. Bi is buried in our private family graveyard in Punjab. The writing on the stone isn't clearly visible but I can make out the Urdu script to read her name. Other information seems to have faded away such as when did she pass away. I haven't found out much information about her and missed out on seeing the grave for myself, which just goes to show if you have the chance to visit an ancestors grave, you should do it.

N. Bi was the mother of my grandfather, M Y.

Here is what it says:

"[First name] Bi
???
Wafaat ???" (Translation: Death)

Some day I hope to see it in real life..

Remembering our shaheed .. 13

I'm posting more announcements of our shaheed (martyred) who are fighting for our country, our people and our freedom.

However, since I've been away I may have missed some reports.

Thursday November 11th 2010

'Twelve persons, including nine militants and two security men, were killed in exchange of fire in Orakzai and Mohmand tribal regions on Thursday, sources said.

They said that six militants and a soldier were killed in a gunfight in Goak area of Orakzai Agency. According to officials militants attacked a convoy of security forces and killed a soldier.

In Mohmand Agency, three militants, a civilian and a khasadar were killed while three soldiers received injuries during a search operation.' (Dawn)


Note: I can only provide you with names if I find them in the news articles I browse. If you think something needs correcting, please do leave me a message. I try my best.

We should all pray for these men and their families and recognise their courage and sacrifice for their country.

Are you related to a soldier? Do you have memories of a loved one dying in a war? Do you have a message for the soldiers fighting? Leave me a comment.

Eid ul Adha 1431

Eid ul Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى ‘Īd al-’Aḍḥā) is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims and Druze worldwide as a commemoration of Ibrahim's (Abraham's) willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael for Allah. It is one of two Eid festivals that Muslims celebrate. Like Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha begins with a short prayer followed by a sermon (khuṭba). It is also called the bigger Eid because it lasts a day longer than Eid ul-Fitr.

Eid al-Adha is four days long and starts on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijja (ذو الحجة) of the lunar Islamic calendar. This is the day after the pilgrims in Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide, descend from Mount Arafat. It happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan.

Happy Eid everyone.

Pakistan Trip

As promised, here are the pictures from my trip to Pakistan:

Sitting in the plane watching the clouds..

..land from above..

Finally..after 7.5 hours, the information on-board the plane states we're now flying over Pakistan

Islamabad from above

The morning sun in my ancestral village

The road into my village




Fields


Family graveyard

I also have some photographs of some tombstones in our family graveyard which I will be hopefully uploading soon.

Please do leave a comment about any of the pics :)

Armistice Day

Today we remember those who lost their lives in World War I and II. I'm relisting the names of soldiers that were mentioned in a BBC programme last year called Muslim Tommies:

Amir Khan - 129th Baluchis, France 1915
Subedar Muhammed Agia - 57th Rifles, May 1915
Havildar Abdul Rahman - 59th Rifles, France 1915
Juma Khan - 40th Pathans, France 1915
Sepoy Abdul Ghani - 125th Napier's Rifles, France 1915
Naubet Khan - 107th Pioneers, France 1915
Mohamed Ali Bey - 20th Deccan Horses, France 1915
Abdul Jabar Khan, Sep 1917
Mahomed Mazafar Khan - 19th Lancers, France, Oct 1917
Jemadar Shamsher Ali Khan - 34th Poona Horse, France, April 1917
Dafadar Fazi Khan - 19th Lancers, France Oct 1916
Havildar Ghufran Khan - 129th Baluchis, Aug 1915
Abdul Ali Khan - 6th Cavalry, France Aug 1917
Rajwali Khan - Brighton, Sep 1915 (at hospital)
Raja Khan - 38th CIH, France Oct 1917
Jemadar Hasan Shah - Hodson's Horse, France 1916
Kesu Shah - Rouen, May 1916
Rahimdad Khan - 19th Lancers, France, May 1916
Fateh Ullah - June 1916

Someone, somewhere will have known these men...

I'm back!

Apologies for my being absent for so long but I've been to the Land of the Pure: Pakistan. My visit lasted 5 weeks which was spent with relatives, reimmersing myself into Pakistani culture and food. As usual the constant stream of guests to my home consisted of many close and distant relatives that I had not seen for years. Some guests were unknown to me so I was repeatedly asking 'who is that? and how are they related to me?' I had to stop myself from asking them 20 questions about themselves.

The weather was a happy change from miserable British weather even though it took some getting used to. I managed to stay alive in the first week by constantly using a fan and drinking lots of water. And yes, there were some ill effects of eating food from vendors which I would like to forget about (think sleepless nights and constant throwing up).

If you're wondering how much genealogy work I managed to do, then I can tell you it's probably 10% of what I had hoped. Most of my time was spent making family history rather than recording it. I do regret that I could have done more but I don't regret the happy moments that I made with my family.

I'll be posting pics in the following days so please do, pop back to take a look :)

One year on .. (6)

An unnamed soldier
was killed during clashes in various areas of the Bajaur Agency
on 8th November 2009

Four unnamed soldiers
embraced shahadat in Makeen
on 9th November 2009

Two unnamed soldiers
were killed in attacks at Chamarkand area in Safi Tehsil
on 9th Novmber 2009

Two unnamed soldiers
were killed in clashes at Manzari Khando
on 10th November 2009

Eight unnamed soldiers
were killed in an explosion Dwa Jungi
on 11th November 2009

Fifteen unnamed soldiers
were killed in fighting in Sararogha area further east
on 12th November 2009

Two unnamed soldiers
were killed in a roadside bomb in Sararogha area further east
on 12th November 2009

Burials: Unknown