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Rhododendron for Zalzala...a reflection of nature and birth.

It was a perfect day today, after some unusual roller coaster weather with bitter cold days in the month of spring. My eldest son and I went for a little stroll along my street in the eastern outskirts of London. Chatty and curious as usual, my son's topic of discovery was about plants and flowers when he spotted bunches of showy lilac pink flowers. 

''Mum, look, pink flower. What is his name?'' my two-year old asked. 

I said, ''Rhododendron.''

''Rhododendron?!'' he repeated with much amused tone and exclaimed, ''Oh, its so pretty! It's my favourite now.'' 

Indeed, it is one of the prettiest flowers of the ornamental shrub and I remember noting down in my book some years ago as state flower of Azad-Jammu and Kashmir. Today, these large trusses of bell-shaped flowers reminded me of 'Zalzala', the baby girl whom I carried and rocked to sleep.

Rhododendron Ponticum: State Flower of Azad-Jammu and Kashmir
On 8 October 2005, she was born 8 months pre-mature. When I saw her, she was only two weeks old. I still remember her smile  in slumber in the midst of the rubble. Just as the colour of Rhododendron, her skin was pink,soft and serene. 

The 5 minutes I spent with her at Balakot camp was the most precious time of my two weeks assignment following a relief mission from Malaysia to Kashmir, the site of a prolonged and violent border dispute between India and Pakistan, which has already beleaguered enough; the massive earthquake only added to the province's woes.

Measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, the quake killed 87, 350 as shown in the Pakistani government's record on November 2005, although it is estimated that the death toll could reach over 100,000. Approximately 38,000 were injured and over 3.5 million rendered homeless. 


 My notebook pages has recorded a long list of death toll and destructions from farm animals to buildings and lifeline facilities.

 Witnessing entire towns and villages were completely wiped out in the remote, mountainous terrain in Northern Pakistan, with other surrounding areas also suffering severe damage is a terrifying grief. 

 However, amidst the rubble of sorrow and force of humanitarian efforts, Zalzala was a happy story. Her mother told me, she was named- after the quake in Arabic, Zalzala, as she was born in the wake of the quake. 
Later, I learnt that Sūrat Al-Zalzalah (Arabic"The Quake") is the 99th sura of the Qu'ran composed of 8 verses Through the inspiration of God, the Earth will bear witness to the actions of men it has witnessed. According to one scholar, the earth opening up and bearing forth her secrets in this sura is indicative of a birth metaphor. 

 The earth al-'Ard in the feminine gender bears forth of how her lord revealed the final secret to her. Human beings will then realize that the moment of accountability has arrived. This meticulous accountability will reflect good and evil deeds that might have seemed insignificant at the time.

 By 27 October 2015, more than 1,000 aftershocks had been recorded but more than that today Pakistanis' have seen and are seeing and experiencing massive aftershocks of political earthquakes, violence and terror.   

That day, in the fasting month of Ramadhan, as Himalayan winter was approaching, Zalzala reminded me of the relationship between nature and birth; the quake taught me about mankind and survival.  

 She will be turning 8 years old this October and I hope somewhere there in the Northern Province of Pakistan she will be running and giggling; singing and picking bunches of Rhododendron.



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