A thread : “ حجرہ عبداللہ ملک “
Hujra is the most vital institution in Pukhtoon culture, holding the whole of community togather.
The Hujra was build in a small village of “ تحصیل کبل “ - swat back in 1935-1938 by
“ عبداللہ ملک عرف گالوچ ملک “ and
“ خان بخت بلند خان ”

Hujra touches various aspects of the social life of Pakhtun society – from resolving community disputes to wedding ceremonies, celebrations to condolences, normal day to day gatherings to tang-takor and they say “ we have both Jaye-namaz & Rabab altogether in our Hujra.

My great-grandfather “ عبداللہ ملک “ started it back in 1935 when my grandfather خان بخت بلند خان - مشر خان” was just 20. Managing all the work, having all the courage and dedication it needed - He made this happen in the presence of all the possible odds existed back then

Strongest thick walls, tons of stones, sand and clay & wood.
The tough part of the Hujra was bringing this finest Deodar wood from far end mountains.
The mesmerising woodwork done in the absence of any automated machine & all of the mesmerising wood craft shows their dedication

It would be unfair if I don’t mention a leading carpenter “ استاد عمرا خان” of “ ملوچ “ (a small village in “ تحصیل کبل) who’s years of dedication in designing the finest mesmerising woodcraft for this Hujra bless this old architecture with a touch of glory of the old times

The Hujra constructed that time had contribution from the whole community - everyone would come to the place and play their part on daily basis and go - every single inch of the Hujra holds that dedication of these people & their love & commitment to the oneness of the community

The Hujra holds a greatest sentimental value for my Respected father “ ملک امیر زیب خان “ as it was closest to my Respected Dada Jan “ خان بخت بلند خان - مشر خان “ He took care of the place since a very young age and kept it alive even after passing of my Dada Jan in late 90s

He never compromised on this place which holds the whole family & community together. He always kept it a symbol of oneness & kept all its glory and legacy alive even at hardest times. It’s safety from talibanization catastrophe was a blessing when they targeted the rest of them

I was in the middle of my research work for my masters - when I visited swat on a weekend and felt the Hujra need some major renovation before the cruel rainy fall hit the 85 yo building - put a pause to the research work, thinking I’ll be able to do the work in 2 weeks at max

The Hujra belongs to whole community, my family just make sure the place stay preserved.
Took all the stakeholders ( My Baba & 5 paternal uncle’s) on one page & asked them to allow me doing the major renovation work.
May Almighty have peace upon them all for allowing me

First day when Baba was super excited but worried as well thinking if anything went wrong while renovating, people will blame you my son. sometimes it’s really hard to follow your heart even when you want to contribute something for betterment of the family and your people

I promised him I’ll never let him down - no matter what, I’ll stick to what you’ve always wished to do all your life - just remember that you mean everything to me & I am doing this “ for this place is closest to your heart & soul “ and so it is to mine. He smiled & hugged me

Day 1 - when gave support to the whole old building through fillers - this practice of taking loads off the walls is called “ چل کول “ in Pashto, it was a hardest part because I couldn’t find any carpanters who can opt to do it as modern cpts have no idea about such techniques

Plus the building was old enough so none of the 4 carpanters I showed the Hujra to , opted to put their hands on the work bcs of criticality. Luckily the 5th one who came opt & we started right away the same day. This is how the Hujra looked when we took the load off the walls

Took whole of the old roof down very precisely and with all the patience & technicalities it needed. In order to reconstruct it in a way to make it more & more lighter - so that the old walls doesn’t have to bear too much of the unnecessary pressure for a giant heavy roof

The idea was to cut some old trees for making the wood slices, which have been used in the old architecture of the Hujra’s roof - tried to preserve everything just the way it was - tried to use the old ones which were used 85 yrs ago, to keep the old touch alive

Reconstructed the roof just according to the old architecture keeping very low pressure on the old walls, the old traditional sand roof will ensure that heat doesn’t makes it way to the building - the rooms stay super cool in summers & vise versa in winters which is its specialty

The extensive use of the stones in the walls - one of the stone’s wall with its old traditional touch - it’s mesmerising to see how did they managed to build walls as thick as almost 2.5-3 ft - the amount of stones brought to the middle of a village shows the level of commitment

after reconstruction of the roof and a wall in its original shape - it was time to protect the old traditional sand’s roof from rain - a perfect strong frame for roofing sheets was intended. & it came out really well - strong, simple and serving the purpose perfectly

The fine wood work - locally called “ پنجالې “ is the heart of this old architecture & its makes this old architecture more special & mesmerising - washed & cleaned it so do something about preserving the finest of the woodwork. There were giant nails for AK-47 to be hung by

The door “ صدر دروازہ “ will be 100 years old in 2020 - preserved this wall, A memory of
Respected “ محمد نوشاد خان “ father of “ عبدالرشید خان - ڈھیرئ خان “
Giving some new touch made it look more special and it has a sentimental value for elders who knows history behind it

That’s what makes this Old Hujra of ours more and more special & critical, as its the only one keeping that’s tradition & old architecture alive - there was a mentality which wanted to deprive pukhtoons with their vital institution “ Hujra “ but they’re defeated Alhamdulellah

some finest of woodcraft on windows, doors and every part of the wood used. It’s mesmerising to see the class to those carpenters making it all happen with all the simplest manual tools they had

With the major renovation work done - it’s safe to say that the Old Hujra is preserved for almost 200 coming years Insha Allah. May Almighty keep this symbol of oneness and unity alive and may He always give us courage & sensibility to play our parts whenever this Hujra needs

To complete a long overdue work my Respected father always wanted to do all his life - it’s everything I could’ve ever want from life.
He’s a true inspiration, an epitome of strength & courage for me.
He’s a teacher, a writer, a poet, a historian, a researcher, a nationalist.

He drew “ خوشحال بابا “ when he was in 8th grade, wrote stories & a novel in his college life, elected as president of student union in early 80s.
He shares love for “ پشتو “ & “ فارسی “ poetry & his legends are :
“ غنۍ خان بابا “ ,
“ رحمان بابا “ ,
“ حمزه خان شینواری ”

He’ve always played his part, he plays and vows to play his part in making pukhtoon society a progressive and educationally driven society. He’ve served as a teacher for almost 30 yrs.
He taught us to be there for our people & to serve them and country with all our heart & soul

Taking time out of my busy routine, my research work in critical time - puting a pause to “ what I could’ve wanted for myself “ - I am the happiest son to be able to do for my Respected father - what he always wanted to do for his father & he always did it the best ways possible

“ Nothing comes without a price “ they say - well said , you always pay for what you do, but doing something which you hold close to yourself, your heart & your soul - WORTH IT ALL - trust me on this.
I know I’ll need to and I already am paying but like I said - it worth it all

I’ll never ever ask anyone of you to leave your careers behind & but if your attention, energy & time is needed where it’s needed the most for family - you can always put a pause into “what you’re doing” - do whats needed the most & then get back to your own works & commitments

It took my 3 months instead of the 14 days I was planing - because of the criticality of the work and the efforts to preserve every single thing the same way it was - now when it rains, He never worries what is gonna happen to a place he hold so close to his heart & me too

Both of us enjoy the rain and it’s sound when it hits the metallic sheets roof and when the water flows down - we sit in silence and listen to the sound of rain, stay quit and enjoy the quietness and calmness of the moments we spend together & the smell of the sand, rianing

With passing years like everything else, the institution of Hujra surviving all kinds of raises & falls is now on the verge of extinction. It’s the need of the hour to come forward and play our part and give our coming generations a sacred institution which is teaching them unity

Here’s the old version of the Hujra & I tried to preserve the old touch as much as I possibly can.
We all have a part to play, I vow to play mine.
Together we all can keep our identity and traditions alive.
Thank you for your precious time stay blessed https://mobile.twitter.com/enn_safe/status/1076515974306766848