-Says Baltistan is “little Tibet” during a ceremony
From Our
Correspondent
Beijing: Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Her Excellency Ms. Nagmana Hashmi is near completion of her successful and incredibly fruitful tenure. During her tenure, Hashmi achieved immense success in bridging the cultural gap between China and Pakistan. Her efforts especially during the COVID-19 crisis in China are truly unmatched. She made great efforts and took effective measures for the safety and well-being for thousands of expats— especially stranded students.
She also reached many milestones in cultural exchanges—making King Gesar a bridge of cultural ties between the two countries. On the eve of the outbreak of the new crown virus, during the ceremony of the Sichuan Publishing Group presenting the complete set of epic “King Gesar” to Pakistan’s “Little Tibet” area at Tsinghua University she discussed the relationship between Little Tibet and Tibet. This is a very unique book donation event. It connects China’s Tibet with Pakistan instead of India. The epic “King Gesar” is an ancient legend that is respected by people in China and Pakistan. It has been circulating in China, Northern Pakistan and Central Asia for hundreds of years.
The Ambassador of Pakistan to China, Chairman of Sichuan Publishing Group, Luo Sang Daoji, Gaczot Living Buddha and more than 300 students from all countries participated in the book donation ceremony. The mainstream media of China and Pakistan made detailed reports on this. The media reports on the book-giving ceremony made the people of the two countries awed by those Gesar singers who linked the small Tibet to Tibet. “King Gesar” once again proved to be a great bridge for cultural exchange between China and Pakistan.
Although India occupied Ladakh and artificially cut off the geographical connection between the small Tibet and Tibet, King Gesar as the Silk Road the bridge of great tradition, culture and faith connects the people of China and Pakistan in a deeper level. Hashmi said that King Gesar inevitably evoked memories of the past, memories of the power of tradition and culture, and memories of the changes in culture connecting China and South Asia through the Himalayas. She praised how Buddhism spread to China from Swat (Wuzonga) and the little-known Tibetan valley of Little Tibet to China, and then became an important part of the core values of Chinese culture.
Hashmi said that the book-giving ceremony of King Gesar is a historic turning point, which paved the way for future interactions among nations, regions and cultures that have survived through the centuries for countries along the Belt and Road. Several versions of this oral story are preserved in the languages of Tibetans in China and Pakistan. In Baltistan in the Himalayas in northern Pakistan, King Gesar is still part of local folklore to date. Because Baltistan’s language and culture are similar to Tibet, it is often referred to as “little Tibet” where important Buddhist cultural relics are hidden. Through legends of generations, the legend of King Gesar became part of the oral history of Little Tibet.
Although King Gesar has sung differently in different villages in small Tibet, the story is about a brave Buddhist King Gesar facing countless obstacles on the road to glory. This story is about Buddhist monks, miracles and divinity, bravery and victory. It blends old and new together in a beautiful way, allowing the people of China and Pakistan to come back together culturally. The Chinese all know “Pakistan”, but few people remember the interaction and closeness between the people of the two countries in the cultural tradition. Tibetan Buddhists and Muslim-dominated small Tibet celebrated Gesar the same way hundreds of years ago. King Er, King Gesar is becoming the source of splendid cultural exchanges between the people of China and Pakistan.
