It was 2007 and I was standing on the rooftop balcony looking over the rural fields and hills of the Northern Punjab, where I was with my hero aka my late Father.
“Dad” I said leaning over sideways, glancing towards where he was sat sharing my view; “I’m going to the Swat Valley!’.
“Why the blinking heck do you want to go there for? it’s bandit country!” he said with his usual frankness.
“Ah don’t believe all that nonsense dad, it’s just propaganda there to scare people and give the impression that there’s all this terrorism malarky going on”.
Anyway, I called a mate of mine, planned the trip and gathered my stuff together, enough for 3 nights and off we went – by car!
18 hours later after a long arduous drive North up the Grand Trunk Road (built by Sher Shah Suri in the C16th) through Rawalpindi, Hasan Abdal (site of Gurdwara Panja Sahib – the most sacred site in Sikhism) then Attock, passing the old Fort (1581 by Emperor Akbar) Into the North West Frontier, land of Afridi and Pashtun tribesmen, through the old Gandharan City of Mardan then off into the Hindu Kush – up and up we went.
We arrived at Swat, named after the Swat River and centre of the ancient Buddhist Gandharan civilization. A beautiful lush green valley, with snow peaks (dominated by Falak Sar 19,544 feet)and an Alpine air of being somewhere far far away from the Afghan Border. We were in Malam Jabba – a tourist resort which was once popular, with ski lifts and a piste. Most people are either Pashtuns (or Pathans) from various tribes, or Kohistani folk (an Indo Aryan people who live further north between Swat, Dir and Chitral)
This lad was hanging around at the ski slope, saw me and came trotting over. There were no tourists – all of whom had been scared off by stories of terrorists and civil war. So the locals usually working in the tourist trade flocked around me as the only obvious tourist there! He was trying his best to flog me some snacks – I think he ended up giving me a pack for free. I felt sorry for him as he was a nice and cheerful sort so bought a few packs of biscuits.
The light was diffused, and quite beautiful with the sun (occluded slightly) low in the sky – he was rabbiting on and on so I set the aperture to f2.8 (the best for this lens) lifted and shot – the meter and focus was nailed – after developing I really liked the slide.
Showing it to people, they like it even more than I do.
And I didn’t see a single terrorist! If I did I would’ve taken a few portraits!
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Dave Powell on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Salim Hafejee on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Kai Lietz on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Anyway, it is a beautiful picture. The boy (young man?) is looking friendly an natural, the colors have a certain warmth to it and the background is just adding to the overall scene. Great shot!
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Gary Smith on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Bradley Newman on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Paul on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Murray Leshner on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Always interesting to hear about the history of places I have not been to and would surely get lost trying to find.
Nice photo as well.
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Ibraar Hussain on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Alan on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
grain_frame on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Geoff Chaplin on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Eric on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 28/02/2024
Comment posted: 28/02/2024
Paul Quellin on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 28/02/2024
Comment posted: 28/02/2024
Daniel Castelli on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 29/02/2024
At first, I was ambivalent toward the portrait. Reading the positive comments made me go back and give it a second look. It’s a subtle image, but I take away from it a feeling of innocence and humanity. This photo just would not have the same impact in B&W. It needed to be in color. I’m glad I went back to look.
Comment posted: 29/02/2024
Comment posted: 29/02/2024
Jeffery Luhn on Terrorists in the Swat Valley – A One Shot Story
Comment posted: 04/04/2024
That is a great photo! All the travelers among us can recall being approached by kids in various countries selling sweets, chewing gum, flowers, etc. Innocent kids contributing to their family economies. That's what your photo says to me. Is there any way to get a copy of that photo to the boy?
Comment posted: 04/04/2024