Travelogue by Farheen Ujjan Tomb of Seven Sisters

 Travelogue by Farheen Ujjan

M.A Previous  -  2k20/MMC/66 

Practical work carried under supervision of Sir Sohail Sangi

       A visit to the tomb of seven sisters

''Travel and change of place impart new vigour to the mind.''

Life is a journey and it is true that the way we travel and take this journey makes a difference in our lives. Life is full of adventures and a series of entertainment and we should enjoy it.

I was spending my holidays at home and was getting bored suddenly I got an idea to go for visit and explore some new things then I thought I should choose any historical place for visit so I just searched historical landmarks in Sindh on google and the first place that appeared in front of my eyes on the screen of my mobile phone was ''The tomb of seven sisters'' after watching that my curiosity increased and thoughts were roaming in my mind that what is the history behind it so I thought I must visit that place and know the history behind it.

So, I decided to go for a visit to the tombs of the seven sisters.

Waking up early on a Sunday is no easy feat, but the curiosity was enough to charge me up for the day.

So, the very next day I got ready and departed from home.

The tomb of the seven sisters is located in Sukkur and the distance between Sukkur and Shikarpur is only 32km.

While travelling from Shikarpur to Sukkur I started to go through the history of the place that I must have knowledge about the place where I am going.

The history I went through is as follows:

Sateen Jo Aastan or thaan is another name of the tomb of the seven sisters in Sindhi and it is located on the left bank of the Indus river near Rohri Sindh Pakistan.

There are many stories and myths regarding Sateen jo Aastan, Sati is a Hindu word means a widow who burns herself or along with her husband’s dead body by others.

Seven sisters used to live in a big house in Rohri on the bank of the river Indus.

Those seven sisters always observed parda from the beginning of their life.

A king (Raja) of that time came to know about the beauty of those seven sisters and ordered his people to bring them in front of him at any cost.

After hearing such news those seven sisters became frightened and prayed to Almighty Allah that we have protected ourselves from the eyes of any male, Oh Almighty keep us protected from the Raja we don't want to be in hands of that cruel Raja.

Suddenly the earth or that piece of the land turned down and those seven unmarried sisters died or rather disappeared. No one knows how the earth turned downward and all of a sudden those seven sisters disappeared when the people sent by Raja reached there they were astonished to see there was no house neither the seven sisters were present.

The tomb of the seven sisters was built by Mir Abu-al-Qasim in (961 A.H).

As I concluded the history I reached there and as I got out of the car I felt overwhelmed with all the history and it seemed to radiate.

As I walked and moved to the Astaan so on one turn I saw the Quranic verses were written on their tombs and the material was used similar to the material used in Makli Hill Graveyard, blue colour marble used in a tomb which is considered as the symbol of Sindhi culture.

On the other side of the graves there are coloured rooms which were the residence of seven sisters and now are being closed.

Then I walked into the cave where the graves of the seven sisters lie where neither men nor camera is allowed, only women can visit the graves and pray there to their heart’s content, as I moved into the cave, it was narrow and bats were slept on the roof of the cave, somehow with fear from bats I managed to reach to the graves where other women were present and were praying, I recited the verses of the holy Quran and came outside of the cave.

A small and beautiful mosque on the upper side and the western section was lavishly decorated with greenish blue tile work.

The area of the place is not too large in size, and there are rooms for the visitors to sit or relax on the main floor, the Indus River has made it so beautiful and peaceful. Visitors feel comfortable and can see the beautiful look of lance down bridge of Sukkur from the first floor and can see the blind dolphins in the Indus river.

There are the small hills that raises from the bank to the south and the name of Than Qasim Shah is given to the hill. However, it is best known as the hill of the seven virgins and there is the building on the south side of the hill is called Satbhain, which is made up of a series of shallow chambers connected to the outside with coloured tiles. These cells are said to have been occupied by the seven Sisters.

There are others graves located on the top of the cave including the governor of Sukkur, Bakhar Mir Abul Qasim Namkeen and around 25 stairs lead to the top of the cave. According to the caretaker, the other graves belong to family members of the governor and other Syeds.

This is a precious place with a great historical background, I enjoyed a lot and got to know about the history behind this historical landmark but got tired too, as sun sets, I returned to home and what I observed is that it needs to repair, its infrastructure is damaged due to floor water some of its areas are breaking. 

The government should look after these things because these places that reflect our culture, our religious and historical stories that happened in the past. And it is also our job to protect these areas from damage.