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'Journey to Lahoot LaMakan' written by munawar arbab

Lahoot Sharif is located in a village Vad, District Khuzdar, Baluchistan. It is at about 120 kms from Karachi via Hub Chowki. It is the citadel of all Sufi Saints belonging to various schools of thought. According to the local tradition even Adam landed here and lived there for some time. It is also believed that the Prophet Noah tied his boat at this place after the great deluge. There are "Chillagahs" (places of worship) of almost every prominent Sufi saint such as Hazrat Qalandar Lal Shahbaz, Khawaja Moeenuddin Chishti Ajmeri, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, etc. As legend goes, the place is called as Lahoot Lamakan as there is no (La) place (makan) seceneratic, spiritualismistic and mystic (Lahoot) like this in the world.Every year the people in thousands of different religious thoughts travel through difficult massages / roads to visit and pay homage to this Lahoot Lamakan place. The shrine of famous saint, Shah Bilawal Noorani is on way and near to it.

Way to Lahoot Lamakn If you start and reach Hub Chowki, take the Shah Noorani Road. 23 kilometer from Hub Chowki, you will pass the shrine of Baba Hussain Pir. Until this spot, the land is cultivated and green. Now you have to keep on driving straight but now, the land would become arid and you drove through a plateau followed by a short while an irrigation channel. After 35 kilometers, you will reach Lang Lohar where from the road descends and crosses a river. When you again drive through a plateau for 16 kilometers after Lang Lohar, a road taking from the right goes to Dureji where there is an ancient Himidan graveyard. Six kilometers further, there is another junction with a road leading west. 73 kilometers from Hub Chowki, the metal road ends and you will then proceed on a gravel road. During this travel you will interestingly notice the change from one culture to another, from an urban to a rural environment, from the educated folk to the less educated.

Now you will pass Hayan Pir, where from mazar of Mohabat Faqeer is at the distance of 18 km. Reaching there is called “first homage” to lahoot lamakan. Muhabat Faqir is said to be the devotee of Hazrat Ali. From here you reach a nearby place called “Qadam Mawla Ali”, said to be the footsteps of Hazral Ali. It is fully covered with silky frilled curtains. Here you will see a stone, which is said to have been brought from “Ghat mount” with Kalma visibly depicted on it. Ghat is a Sindhi word for woven bed with four carved legs. One of the legs is still with gadhi nashin of mazar of Mohabat Faqeer.

At some distance from here there is one masjid which is said to have come up from the ground, having been built by no human. Here you will find quite a few attractive pieces of stones. As you pick any stone in your hand, a near by peakcock (which are in abudance there) will yell and the stone will break in pieces in your hand and will go off swim like to its original place. It is said that no body can pick up and take away any thing fro there. Here from you reach Shah Noorani, 106 kilometers from Hub Chowki. Shah Noorani Village is located in a green vale watered by a stream, which contrasts greatly with the prevalent arid landscape of this region west of the Kirthar Range, a mountain range

A saintly man, Shah Noorani is buried there. His mazar is within a backyard which is called “Fairy garden”. There are numerous date and tamarind trees where on you can see “Allah” written on many of them. A little information is available about Shah Noorani. When he lived, what he did, what did he teach is little known but the legend goes that every single personality of Islamic history had been there to pay homage, starting with Adam and including Noah and Shah Abdul Latif.

However, the legend is that a monster used to live there, who was cruel and pitiless. The people became very fade up and prayed God to let them rid of him. A luminous person appeared from some where, who fought the monster and killed him. The signs of that fight like foot steps of monster and fighter man can still be made out on the nearby mountain. It is said that the man was no else but Shah Noorani. The saying about him goes as “O’ Luminous Noorani get away every evil; you are the symbol of truth and reality, O’ Shah Noorani”. Shah Noorani Village around the shrine is typical of all those places. The disciples always put dhammal till the namaz of Maghrib. From here, there are two ways which will take you to Lahoot Lamakan, the final destination. The first option is by foot through seven giant and lofty mountains; through which only strongly built people can travel.

The second option is bit easy and you travel by iron stairs which apparently seem very weedy but thousands pilgrims travel over it at one time. After leaving Shah Noorani you have to walk along a stream into a ravine with uneven terrain. You have to pass round large boulders detached from the flank of the mountain, hop over the stream, scale inclines. You reach a place where an iron ladder had been affixed to the rock having a cave. There hangs stalactites, and water is dripping from the top of the mountain. The air is moist there and the sun never reaches this recess of the mountain and therefore the place is a sort of damp even though you are in one of the driest region of the world.

Now you proceed to the cave, a few steps higher. An iron ladder, about five meters high, leads to the small and narrow entrance of the cave. An overweight person could not enter it. The tradition goes that if someone cannot pass the narrow entrance of the cave, he/she is not the child of his/her father. As you pass you will feel yourself into another world. With dark there, you will feel a sudden depression under your feet and at the same time you have to get hold of a thick rope acting as a lead. The ground is slippery, and soon your feet will bee in the water. Small candles are held by the visitors to perceive and discover the cave. People shout ‘Ya Ali’ both as part of their religious belief and part to reassure themselves. The muddy, murky water is first only a foot deep, but as you advance further to right, you will suddenly go into deeper water, half to the thigh, and so in the soft muddy bottom, it is always difficult to keep balance.

While you enter the cave your first step falls on a stone which is lion-shaped, said to be a “Guard” in duty of security of holy places of the area. You will also see a stone stature resembling a dangerous monster. Legend goes that this monster when alive used to take atleast one person along with maunds of other food daily. From here you reach a nearby place which was visited by Lal Qalandar Shahbaz and had 40 days chilla (mystic communion).

Then you will reach an end (20 meters to the right), a pseudo-religious spot with a chanda box by it. Wading up the pool, you reach the bank and go into a series of tunnels and rooms without the aid of light. You will have to use hands to recognize the way. The air will be becoming thicker and thicker. Just follow the rope groping in the intestine of the mountain.

Ultimately you reach the last room, a space of about 20 square meters which is the end of this speleological experiment. When you reach there you have to wash your face with a soap shaped stone. The water is dripping over the stone creating soap like foam to wash face. As you put foam on your face, you can see every thing clear now. People collect the dripping water (tastes fine) from the ceiling, which they hold holy or endowed with curative effect. By now your eyes will get used to the darkness and you come to the camel, a stalactite formation, covered with red and green chadors. You will also see a pillar like stone which is said to have emerged from ground of the hall and going up gradually toward roof. Legend goes that as soon as this stone-pillar touches the roof there will be doom’s day of the universe.

There you will find a window also. It is said to be a tryout. The devout and pious people can pass through it easily where as sinner can not. Then there is a stove made of stone, which is said to be stove of Bibi Fatema daughter of Prophet Mohammad. There is also a natural water spring usually called “Sabil” (free stall for drinking water). Below this spring is there is a big bowl shaped stone where in water is always dripping down from the upward mountain. Then there is another cave within this cave, where in a person can not walk straight. There is deep darkness in the cave; even battery torch can’t work. The ground of cave is very slippery, oxygen low, hardly to breath. Strangely you will see foot shaped hollow space over mountainous ground, each at one step distance, which makes you to walk other wise it is not possible to walk that slippery ground in deep darkness. At the end of the cave there is a place for mystic communion where Hazrat Shah Bilawal Noorani carried out the chilla. To one’s surprise there is also a water spring adjacent to it.

Now you reach Lahoot Lamakan, a mountain, a scary place just 2.50 meters broad. You will find stones of different animal shape such as dragon like security guard, a dragon with water dripping from its mouth or from eyes; lion, buffaloes from whose breasts milk is seemed coming, etc. You will see beautiful birds of different species in thousand melodying in their voice. There is a curious mountain in the shape of a sleeping dinosaur. It is said that the gap in the mountain- or an eye hole is the place where the prophet Noah anchored his ship. Thus you are stunt with is seceneratic, spiritualismistic and mystic view, where every body puts himself out of his mind about his folk background and call themselves only as “Lahooti”.