( Shadipora confluence of Vitasta and Sindhu )
SUYYA, SOPORE AND ALI MOHAMMAD LONE( 1927-1987)
Ali Mohammad Lone was a skilled craftsman of radio plays . Very impressive dramas with emotions , romance ,history. and idealism . Some of his plays that I remember are : Agar Gaash Soree ( If lights go out ) ,Aadam Havaa Taa Iblees ( Adam , Hawa and Iblees ), Kaend Sehraav Ta Vajood ( Thorns , Desert and Existence ), Viz Chhaa Saaen ( This Moment Is Ours ) , Taqdeer Saaz ( Maker of our Fate ) Myaani Jigreik daai Voth ( Arise o the Pain Of My Heart ) and Suyya . His radio serial “Ts Vyeth Rooz Pakaan” (And quiet flows the Vitasta) was a landmark in Kashmiri drama history.
Out of all these plays and many other plays that Lone wrote , Suyya alone can put the playwright in the category of master of his craft. Inspite of many handicaps like lack of working knowledge of Sanskrit language ( that opens doors of the old and classical literature of the country) , the playwright has really laboured hard to create this drama . For this drama , he appears to have mainly relied on Stein’s English translation of Kalhana’s Rajtarangini . Some characters have been mentioned by Kalhana while others have been created by the playwright to fill up various loose ends in creating the Impressive character of Suyya. He wrote the play in 1964. The main characters created by Ali Mohammad Lone for this play are as under
1 Suyya
2 King Awantivarman
3 Chandaal
4 Chandaalini
5 Chanderkaanta
6 Pandit
5 Minister
6 Jaideva
These characters are supported by some women, Brahmins , labourers ,girls , boys , drum beater and some courtiers of King Awantivarman. Kalhana informs us that Suyya is born in the family of Chandaals . He is not believed when he says that he shall stop the havoc of floods in Vitasta river .Finally King Awantivarman takes a chance and Suyya does the impossible.
Awantipora was once capital of King Awantivarman (855-883 A D) who laid the foundation of this town during his reign. The town still exists in the name of Awantivarman as Awantipora. The town has two important monuments In the shape of ruins of two majestic temple complexes built by Awantivarman which at present stand as an attraction for the visitors/tourists . Though not equal in size to Lalitadittya 's structures especially the Martand Sun Temple , yet these rank among the most imposing monuments of ancient Kashmir architecture.The reign of this king is considered as the peaceful period in the history of Kashmir.With the help of Suyya , the engineer in his Kingdom , Awantivarman removed the recurrent havoc in Kashmir caused due to floods in River Vitasta by building bunds and an extensive drainage system changing the very course of the River near Baramulla town . He also built flood channels in Srinagar city. As per Kalhana ( Taranga V 125 ) , Awantivarman died at the mountain of Tripuresvara ( modern Triphar ) . He did not indulge much in territorial conquests but laid the foundation of a very good adminstration and governance .
SUYYA AND SOPORE
“ On the Bank of Vitasta where she emerges from the waters of the Maha-Padma , he founded a town comparable to the paradise to bear his own name.”
This is how Kalhana describes the birth of Sopore, the town founded by Suyya on the bank of Vitasta where it emerges out from Wular ( Maha-Padma ) Lake . This lake finds mention repeatedly in Taranga 5th of Rajtarangini. Approximately 1100 years ago, Suyya ensured that the bed of the river is lower than the bed of wular lake at the place where it emerges out from this lake .That made the water to rush out else the lake would have engulfed entire area upto Manasbal and the havoc of floods in Vitasta would have made life miserable for the entire population of the Kashmir valley.
Suyyapore or present day Sopore was founded (in later part of 9th century ) by Suyya the engineer in the court of King Avantivarman (855-883 AD) after he dredged River Vitasta near Baramulla to save Kashmir from the fury of recurring floods.
In 'Asian Agri. History Vol.13' , we read this :-
"Sindh stream used to meet Vitasta at Trigam but Suyya shifted the confluence point of Vtasta and Sindh stream to present day Shadipora ( Prayaag ) and also regulated the flow of Vitasta to wular Lake . Suyya had thus many villages reclaimed near Trigam area which would otherwise always remain inundated due to floods . Paddy cultivation was extensively undertaken in these large tracts of reclaimed land . Due to Suyya 's extensive irrigation system , one kharwar of rice came down from 200 Dinnars to 36 Dinnars in the reign of Avantivarman."
There is an interesting story narrated by Kalhana in Rajtaringini as to how Suyya dredged the river at many points.He took pots full of gold coins in boats and threw them into Vitasta waters at present day Khannabal , Shadipora , Baramulla and at all places where its choked currents overflowed its banks . People jumped into the river at all places and dug its bed for months to find the coins . Many boulders and heaps of silt were thrown on the banks of the river . Through this process he ensured the dredging of the river.
Born at Drogjan, a locality
in Srinagar city, Lone started his career as assistant editor of the Khidmat
newspaper published from Srinagar. He also served the state’s Militia (now
known as JAKLI) for a brief period .Thereafter, he joined Radio Kashmir. He
resigned from Radio Kashmir in 1965 to join the J&K Academy of Art,
Culture, and Languages, wherefrom he
retired as deputy secretary in 1981.He wrote about 200 radio plays, several short stories, a good
number of stage dramas, and two noteworthy novels titled “EassTe Che Insaan”
(in Kashmiri) and “Shahid Hai Teri Aarzoo” (in Urdu). He also wrote the
screenplay and dialogues writer for the Kashmiri feature film “Maenz-Raath. Lone also wrote novels
and short stories. "Aeiss Ti Chhi Insaan" (We Too Are Humans) is
his famous prose work in Kashmiri. He authored a novel in Urdu titled “Shahid
Hai Teri Arzoo. He died of a tragic road accident in 1987.
( Avtar Mota )
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