PAKISTAN'S : ''CHAUKHANDI TOMBS LEGENDARY''

PAKISTAN is home to several historic monuments. There are a number of historical sites that represent the past civilisation.

Several historical remnants of great times are present in Pakistan. One of these monuments is  Chaukhandi Tombs present in Sindh, which are 29 kilometres east of Karachi near Landhi Town.

Chaukhandi tomb is an early Islamic cemetery.
These tombs impute the graves of Baloch, Jam and Jokhis which were constructed during 15 to 18 Century, mainly during the Mughal reign.

Jokhis tribe belong to the Samma tribe who are said to be direct descendants of Rajputs. The more influential a man, the higher his grave.

Chaukhandi literally means four corners and some believe that Chaukhandi is the name of a place and others take it in architectural term.

Jam Murid bin Hail tomb contains the word Chaukhandi which provides witness to the site.
The tombs are made up of yellow sand stones which were carried from Jung Shai, a railway station near near Thatta.

The tombs are famous for the structure and texture and adept stone carving techniques. The exquisite decoration and shapes are extraordinarily made, painstakingly carved with amazing drawings and patterns.

Graves in the cemetery, with coloured sandstones and the carved decorations indicates that craftsperson were professional level experts.
They are embellished with intricate design and motifs.

They are either constructed for one grave or as groups up to eight graves which are raised on a common platform.

The tombs are connected in a triangular shapes which are on raised platforms with decorative stone slabs.
A distinctive sarcophagus has six vertical slabs with two long slabs on each sides which shows the length of the body.

Another six vertical slabs are covered with second sarcophagus which is of smaller size as compared to the first one which gives a shape of a pyramid.

The upper box is further covered with four or five slabs carving it into a knob in the upper most construction.

The most imposing tombs are pyramidal structures, which are of four chieftains of those days, the rectangular structured which is generally 2.5 half feet, 5 to 8 feet long and 4 to 15 feet high.

The geometric design which covers the whole surface are amazing craft work which are found in pottery, textiles and jewelleries in Sindh and Balochistan in recent days.

The World Students Society thanks author Mahan Aslam.