PANINI was a Sanskrit grammarian. He lived in Pushkalavati, Gandhara, which is the present day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. He lived in the fifth or sixth century BC (circa). Sanskrit is an ancient Indo-Aryan language and it is also the official language of the Indian State of Uttarakhand. Sanskrit is as important to the Indian subcontinent as Greek and Latin are to Europe and the rest of the world.

One first came to know about Panini and his birthplace after reading the Indian Nobel Prize winner for Economics Amartya Sen’s ‘The Argumentative Indian.’ Sen wrote that Panini drafted the Sanskrit grammar and phonetics on the bank of River Kabul, as it passes through Gandhara.

Sen wrote many other things that should do a citizen of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa proud. There are frequent references to Ashoka’s rock inscriptions, which could be found in Mansehra and at Shahbazgarhi in Mardan district. The rock inscriptions at Shahbazgarhi offer a breathtaking view of the idyllic and immensely beautiful country life. The rocks are perched at a mound and are the objects of abject neglect. People who care little for heritage have scribbled bizarre graffiti all over the place.

But it was the so far little known Panini that kept nagging at one’s sense of curiosity. The curiosity was further stirred by an event at which some courageous and committed Korean tourists were entertained. After being profusely garlanded and having offered their customary bows and obeisance to the small assemblage, the head of the delegation, an elderly Korean Buddhist, briefly spoke with the help of his interpreter, an energetic and highly excited Islamabad based Korean lady.

Most of what the ecstatic Buddhist appeared to be focusing on was a persistent reminder to the audience that they were heirs to a grand past and heritage. Earlier in the day he had visited some of the archaeological sites and was scheduled to visit some more, including the grand Buddhist Monastery at Takht Bhai, on the following day to be witness to what this land contained. He could thus safely be relied upon as our Ambassador Volunteer, carrying our grand past far and wide.

One would have wished the audience to be more attentive. But it wasn’t to be. The noise that reverberated in the make shift venue under a canopy was quite disproportionate to the small size of the gathering, and hence when the lead delegate made a sad reference to our disregard to our heritage it was drowned in the unremitting hum of the incessant babble. A friend sitting nearby attributed the buzz to the gastronomical desires being inflamed by the rich aroma of the sizzling food being prepared.

“There are no signs on the roads indicating the directions of these great archaeological sites,” the Korean pointed out in his inimitable meek style. “I pray you may pay attention to this,” he went on to emphasize the point further. It appeared that the respectable tourist had hit where it would hurt the most. One saw the proof thereof a few days later.

It was a partially cloudy day. The air still appeared to be carrying palpable specks of the dust storm that had hit the region a few days ago. But one had to go to Chota Lahore in the district of Swabi to find traces of the place where Panini had lived. “There are none, do not strain yourself,” some people had tried to forewarn. But there was no harm in trying.

After years of neglect, the road to Chota Lahore has only recently been rebuilt. A few enquiries in the near about of Chota Lahore revealed that the locals had not heard of a village called ‘Paninai.’ A cheerful looking elderly man was spotted on the roadside relishing an orange. “You are perhaps referring to ‘Panai,’ which is on the other side of the river,” he pointed out while offering to share his orange. “Panai is a small hamlet but there is nothing remarkable about that,” he added while indicating in the westerly direction where he informed there was an old bungalow of archaeological importance.

Chota Lahore is no backwaters of Pakistan. It is located at approximately one and a half hour’s journey from Islamabad. It is known for producing the world’s best quality of tobacco, and is home to people who have excelled in varied fields of life. Why then so very few know that this place had once been home to a renowned grammarian?

The narrow streets of Chota Lahore, winding through which one comes across visible signs of something old and pristine, appear to be telling an ancient tale, as do the rest of the environs of Gandhara. Why would a Nobel laureate of the standing of Amartya Sen write of Panini drafting grammar on the bank of River Kabul, few seem to care and find out. It is indeed a bad sign of the times that Pakhtuns are living in that they take pride in being referred to as the martial race, but they endeavour little to explore their glorious past which is etched on the rocks all across their land.

Some analysts with a skewed perspective on the history and culture of the Pakhtuns attribute the bombing of schools in KP to the latter’s ingrained aversion to education. Nothing could be farther than truth than this grass perverted view. Pakhtuns must own Panini as one of their own and dig him out. He lived only 2,500 or so 2,600 years ago, whereas Pakhtuns trace their history to over 5,000 years ago. Is that mere rhetoric?

A few ramshackle boats could be seen anchored on the bank of River Kabul in the vicinity where Panini is said to have formulated 3,959 rules of Sanskrit morphology. The sole reason why Pakhtuns are still sailing in these rickety boats is none other than the fact that they have forgotten their true benefactors.The quest had to be halted briefly for a return journey to home. As if from nowhere, the evening brought heavy downpours to Peshawar and the surrounding districts; settling the dust.

Could that be the harbinger of hope; hope that tourists would come flocking back and that we would be educated enough in good time to put up signs for their convenience?