Pashto: A Code, A Language and A Life-long Quest!

Yusuf Khan and Sherbano  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Yusuf Khan and Sherbano is a famous Pashtun folktale on par with Romeo and Juliet . Story The story, written by the Pashtun poet from Ismaila , Ali Haider Joshi , goes as follows: Yousaf Khan was a handsome young man. The people of Turlandi claim their village to have been his home. His father Mahmud Shah had died and left young Yousaf Khan with the responsibility of supporting his mother and his sister Boolanda. He would hunt and bring home fresh meat for them every other day. Yousaf Khan would go hunting in the Kharamar hills. Now nearly barren, the hills are said to have been thickly covered in trees and thorny thickets, with lots of wild olive trees, and among this forest roamed dear, partridges, rabbits and hares. He would take his father's hunting dogs, head to the hills and bring back what he had hunted. These dogs were very loyal and, being his fathers', Yousaf Khan took great care of...

Darra Adam Khel (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Darra Adam Khel ( Urdu / Pashto : درہ آدم خیل‎ ) is a town in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan , located between Peshawar and Kohat , very close to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas . It is inhabited by Pashtuns of the Afridi clan, the Adam Khel . The town consists of one main street lined with shops, with some alleys and side streets containing workshops. Darra Adam Khel is devoted entirely to the production of ordnance . Economy Located in between Kohat and Peshawar, a wide variety of firearms are produced in the town, from anti-aircraft guns to pen-guns. Weapons are handmade by individual craftsmen using traditional manufacturing techniques, usually handed down father-to-son. The quality of the guns is generally high and craftsman are able to produce replicas of almost any gun. Guns are regularly tested by test-firing into the air.Darra is controlled by the local tribesmen.Darra Adam Khel is an unkempt villa...

Swat is  Paradise in the world. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan Swat, the land of abundant water, plants, small and big mysterious mountains have a long, rich and remarkable history. This land fused various civilizations and cultures, such as, the Aryans, the Greeks and the Buddhists and for most of its known history retained its separate entity. The Italian Archeological Mission (IsMEO) has been trying to search the historical findings and archaeological relics of these ancient people in the Valley. The history of the earliest settlements in the Valley has been traced back to 3000 B.C. Aryans in Valley Swat Aryan mentioned Swat River with the name Suvastu and to that effect the land. The mention of Suvastu in Reg-veda testifies the Aryan settlements in this beautiful valley. The Aryan migrations towards eastern Afghanistan and northwest India traced back to 2500 B.C. They were absorbed in consolidating their power in these parts of India and Afghanistan.The Aryans migrate...

Flavours of Pashto Music Dr. Raj Wali Shah Khattak If we look through ages the Pashtuns have promoted music indirectly by generously spending on it rather lavishly by giving too much money to the musicians for their performance. This way the Pashto music has developed. The Pashto music has very rich traditions though so far not written in notation locally, but by tradition it transfers from one generation to the other. Very little is written about it in the past. However, some of the notations and symphonies have survived, other are created and being transferred practically. Before the coming of radio, the mullahs sternly opposed the music but Pashtoon would carryon their musical ceremonies. Apart from the professionals the staunch Pashtoon would practice music in his hujras and love to play 'Rabab' or 'Sitar' with the beating of 'Mangay' (water pot) as a drum. He would like to sing folk songs but not as profession. So the Pashto music has not written b...

Dara-e-Khyber Peshawar Pakistan Khyber Pass, mountain pass in western Asia, the most important pass connecting Afghanistan and Pakistan, controlled by Pakistan. The Khyber Pass winds northwest through the Safed Koh near Peshāwar, Pakistan, for about 48 km (about 30 mi) to Kābul, Afghanistan, varying in width from 5 to 137 m (15 to 450 ft). The mountains on either side can be climbed only in a few places. The pass is walled by precipitous cliffs that vary in height from about 180 to 300 m (about 600 to 1000 ft).      The pass reaches its highest elevation (1,072 m/3,517 ft) at the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. For centuries the Khyber Pass was used by invaders to enter India. During the Afghan Wars the pass was the scene of numerous skirmishes between Anglo-Indian soldiers and native Afghans. Particularly well known is the battle of January 1842, in which about 16,000 British and Indian troops were killed. The Britis...

Pashtun culture engagement,weddings. Wadah (marriage) as a general rule, is arranged by parents in Pashtun society and the boy and the girl themselves do not play any role in the negotiations. This is because of the fact that Pashtuns are conservative by nature. Their conservatism coupled with strict segregation of sexes makes it impossible for a suitor to select a girl of his own choice even though they may have soft feelings for each other. The Pashtun author Ghani Khan wrote: "The Pathans, in sentiment, will sympathies with lovers in poetry and fiction, but lovers in real life pay for it with their lives". The Pashtun society frowns upon any one, who expresses his likeness for any particular girl. But now this trend is gradually undergoing a change. In the 19th and early 20th centuries several peculiar customs were prevalent among the Pashtunss, particularly the Afridis,  about betrothals. Some of them are:- 1. Laman Shlawal: (literally tearing skir...

A great pashtun cricketer Shahid Afridi. Shahid Afridi born Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi on 1 March 1980, is a Pakistani cricketer. About Shahid Afridi Shahid Afridi is a professional cricket player who was born on March 1, 1980 in Khyber Agency, Pakistan. His parents are of the Afridi tribe in Kohat; he is married to Nadia and has two daughters, Aqsa and Ansha. Nicknamed ‘Boom Boom Afridi’ for his aggressive batting style, Shahid Afridi is a brilliant all-rounder, as he is also a right-arm leg-spin or medium-paced bowler. In October 1998, he made his Test debut for the Pakistan team against Australia and became a reliable member of his side. Shahid Afridi scored five Test centuries in his career, as of the year 2008; three times against India (1999 and twice in 2006) and twice against the West Indies (2002 and 2005). His first appearance in an One Day International (ODI) came on October 2, 1996 at Nairobi in a match played against the Kenya cricket team. He rose to bec...