In the first week of February this year I received a phone call from Mr Mushtaq Bala, Editor Kashmir Pen that Mr. Nick Fielding from UK is planning to visit Kashmir in the first week of March-2023, and he wants to have an interaction with the descendants of Lone Brothers – noted explorers and Shikaris in the 20th century from Kashmir, Bandipora.
Mr Nick Fielding, (https://twitter.com/siberiansteppes) author, researcher & journalist from Oxford, England was in a hope to be able to find the identity of a mystery European hunter whose remarkable collection of magic lantern slides illustrates a groundbreaking journey from Kashmir to Siberia.
Mr Nick has written a number of important books, most of them on travels and expeditions, having international reputation, as he himself has travelled extensively in Central Asia, Siberia and other remote parts of the world. He wanted to speak to the family of the Shikari in particular Raheem Lone whose identity he had confirmed due to his participation in an expedition organized by the Roosevelt brothers to Central Asia.
A full page feature story titled “When Roosevelt Brothers met Lone Brothers” by Majid Maqbool was published in Greater Kashmir on 08-11-2013. After making some inquiries through a series of fortuitous connections with Mr Bala, Mr Nick had requested to arrange a meet with Shikari’s descendants. I conveyed Mr Bala to chalk out a program for his weeklong stay in Kashmir.
On 8th of March Mr Mushtaq Bala rang me for a time slot and at 10 O’clock they arrived in my office chamber. It was really a special moment for me to receive the duo. Mr Nick was also thrilled to meet me and we shared stories, insights and perspectives on lot of things about the expeditions in Kashmir and the contribution of Lone brothers.
He was surprised to see a large file of documents/recommendations and friendly letters of mostly westerners in my possession sent to Raheem Lone showing that he had taken on shooting expeditions into the mountains. The letters dated from 1896 to 1920s and included glowing references from the Roosevelts, Egyptian Prince Yousef Kamal and Viceroy’s shoot in Kashmir, as well as many others; most of them from British Army officers.
These are very important letters which throw a lot of light into the connections the Lone’s had with royal dignitaries. These letters would probably help Mr Nick to identify his mystery hunter.
We had a wonderful time catching up on old times and reminiscing about their shared experiences. In the evening of 10th March, the three of us had an interaction with Dr Qayoom Lone, the grandson of Raheem Lone at his residence at Sanat Nagar Srinagar who greeted us with warmth, love and appreciation. Dr Lone is a former Head Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care SKIMS Soura.
For nearly 3-hours Mr Nick had a lively and engaging discussions with Dr Qayoom. The discourse covered a range of things and gave Mr Nick more insights about Raheem Lone’s life and his expeditions. In between, we had a sumptuous feast, tea and juice and Mr Nick appreciated their hospitality.
On Saturday 11th March, I accompanied Mr Nick to Bandipora to interact with some of my relatives. We started at 7.30 am from Nehru Park and by 9 O’clock we were in Ayathmulla Bandipora at the residence of Dr Qayoom Lone. We visited the nearby bungalow that Rahim Lone built in the year 1352 (2-Dhu al-Hijja) as imprinted on its front door.
This 90-year old house was used by Raheem to entertain his guests although no one resides there at present. This two-story bungalow was built with stones/bricks in red cement with wooden windows, having a broad wooden balcony on its front, all in a traditional architectural style.
The distinctive and unique feature is its two big connected halls with archaic wall paintings that symbolize the traditional grace and splendor that Raheem Lone used to live his life. Members of the family, including Dr Umar Qayoom Lone, live in the nearby house.
Lot of discussions followed with Dr Umar and Mr Zahoor Ahmad Mir, another cousin who lives nearby. After few hours of stay in Ayathmulla we preceded towards Onagam – a village few kilometers away where Ghulam Ahmed Bhat resides.
His father Ghulam Hassan Bhat (Hassan Bhat as he was known) was also a famous Shikari and close friend of Raheem Lone. Ghulam Ahmed Bhat is now 94 and still remembers Raheem Lone, who died in the 1950s.
At Onagam we had a long chat of nearly 3-hours with Ghulam Ahmed Bhat and his two sons Ibraheem and Ummar. Hassan Bhat was familiar with the routes from Kashmir to Pamir Mountains, Kashgar and the Tien Shan Mountains in present-day Kazakhstan. He used to accompany westerners mostly English Army officers to shoot Ibex, maral deer, Marco Polo sheep and the other animal species of the region.
Like Raheem, Hassan Bhat was also an important name with the westerners as Shikari. Here again Mr Nick saw another folder of letters/recommendations of westerners addressed to Hassan Bhat who had accompanied them on shooting expeditions into the mountains.
For Mr Nick it was an amazing experience to have come to meet the descendants of Raheem and to connect the descendants of Hassan Bhat, both families are relatives and still live in Bandipora. Hassan Bhat who died in 1952 had built a 3-story large house in bricks/wood which shows a wonderful skilled craftsmanship that was an important part of our cultural heritage.
This house approximately 90-years old has now been plastered from outside which of course leads to the loss of historic details and unique features. At around 4o’clock we concluded our visit to Bandipora and by 5.30 pm we were back in Srinagar. During our travel to Bandipora Nick experienced sightseeing particularly the Wular Lake, fascinating landscapes, uphill winding roads. All in all, this trip was a treasure trove of memories which we shall always cherish.
Mr Nick Fielding took scanned copies of all the letters from me and on his return to England he examined them one by one. He (the mystery hunter) sent Raheema letters when he was a pilot fighting in World War-I against Germans.
He mentions in one letter that “The brave Indian troops have fought well … They are very brave and die like men and we are all very proud of the Indian Army…. My house, ‘Gorse Cliff’, where you (Raheema) came to when you were here in England is now full of Indian soldiers who have been wounded.” In one letter he says that “I often think of our journey across Central Asia. My heads are still at Rowland Ward’s shop”. Mr Nick Fielding finally concluded that the mystery hunter is William Ronald Read (1885-1972) whose journey to Central Asia with Raheem, took place in 1912 and he used to send him letters from Egypt, France and elsewhere.
The confirmation of the mystery hunter came from the Imperial War Museum in London where Mr Nick after researching his collection was able to track down a photograph of Read and compared it to the photo from the magic lantern slides that he had purchased. But without the letters particularly mentioning about Raheem’s trip to England and the mentioning of the trophies, he would not have known who Raheem’s client was? Read is a World War I flying ace, a war hero and highly decorated Royal Air Force (RAF) of World War I, who was awarded medals for gallantry.
He became a Wing Commander and the Commanding Officer at Boscombe Down-a very famous airbase in UK, in his influential and distinguished career.