PAKISTAN -
Up The Khyber Pass
10'20''
March 2000
Voice-over: When spring-time flushes the desert grass, Our caravans wind through the Khyber Pass. Lean are the camels but fat the frails, Light are the purses but heavy the bales, As the snowbound trade of the North comes down, To the market-square of Peshawar town.
Corcoran: Adventure, mystery, tragedy the Khyber Pass has seen it all -- as have the smugglers, still plying their trade more than a century after Rudyard Kipling penned this verse.
The old Khyber rail line now serves as a footpath for an army of smugglers.On their backs, TVs and stereos, drugs and guns -- nearing the end of a long journey to Peshawar from Dubai and Afghanistan.
Music FX: Train whistle
Corcoran: But every so often the line clears - meaning only one thing -- the Khyber Steam Safari is on its way.
This ageing relic of the British Raj was used solely to carry troops up to the hotly contested frontier barely 40 kilometres away. Now , once a month, tourists fill the carriage for the day-trip of a lifetime.
Just out of Peshawar town, a hurdle inconceivable in the glory days of Empire. This is possibly the only train in the world under the direction of air traffic control, as it trundles across the main runway.The next barrier is political. As we enter the Tribal Areas - the autonomous border zone that is beyond Pakistan law. Here, we pick up our escort, a large party of armed tribal militia.Music
Corcoran: Like the British before them, Pakistans rulers accept that their control of the fierce tribes of this region is at best tenuous -- better to let them run their own affairs, in a society where carrying a gun is a birthright. Where the Kalashnakov has replaced the old muzzle loading jezail.
Voice over: A scrimmage in a Border Station, A canter down some dark defile, Two thousand pounds of education, Drops to a ten rupee jezail.ENGLISHMAN: I suppose the Khyber Pass is one of the few places you go to, where we think, this is where we got beat, this is where we spent most of our time running from.
Corcoran: Today that sense of adventure remains. The American and British embassies warn of terrorist attack by Islamic fundamentalists. A warning ignored by the passengers, many of them in fact, British and American diplomats, more worried about car accidents than kidnapping.
AMERICAN: I think the biggest problem for people in Pakistan or India is the driving - and I imagine people here will still be taking pot shots at the train like they did hundreds of years ago.Music
Corcoran: For the train buffs among you some obscure facts: The line was completed in the 1920s. There are 34 tunnels - more than five kilometres of darkness. Two engines are needed to push and pull the carriages up the steep hill. It was all guarded by a formidable network of forts.Thankfully theres not a belligerent tribesman in sight, as at this point, the wheels, quite literally, fall off our little adventure.Music
Corcoran: Every rock, every hill has its story, wrote a young newspaper correspondent, named Winston Churchill in 1897.You can still find the proud emblems of half-forgotten British regiments that endured the long lonely years up here. The allure of the Khyber has long proved irresistible to the adventurers of history.Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and many others marched through the Khyber pass - the strategic gateway to India. The gap in a mountain range called the Hindu Kush - meaning Hindu Killer.
But even the Hindu Kush cant kill the Khyber Steam Safari. Were soon back on track - with only one engine.Young boys display that universal fascination for noise and speed.As we climb towards our final destination - Landi Kotal - home of the legendary Khyber Rifles.
Music - bagpipes
Corcoran: So captain, how important is the heritage of the Khyber Rifles? CAPTAIN BADR: The Khyber Rifles is the oldest unit of the civil armed forces of the subcontinent. This unit was raised in 1878 from local tribes during the second British Afghan War.
Corcoran: Apparently the whole macho frontier fighter thing has been largely consigned to history. Our escort, Captain Badr, happily admits hes more of a tour guide.Corcoran: How much pride do you have in serving in the Khyber Rifles?
Badr: A lot, a lot - my father was a soldier here in the Khyber rifles.Corcoran: And you followed in his footsteps?
Badr: Thats right.
MusicCorcoran: Outside, Captain Badrs men perform traditional dances with more than a touch of Broadway flourish. This is boutique tourism, carefully crafted for the cameras.You wonder what the hard men of history would have made of it all.
FX: Applause
Corcoran: But just beyond the heavily guarded rear gate lies a world thats changed very little in the past century.Landi Kotal - home to the fierce Pashtun tribesmen. These people still live and die by their ancient code of honour -- Pashtunwali.They demand respect for their land, their faith and their women -- who are kept largely under wraps behind closed doors.As guests, were perfectly safe, insists Muzzafar Khan Wazir -- tribesman turned government official.
MUZZAFAR: They are of peculiar nature - they are more democratic - they are the best friends, and the best enemies.
They sacrifice their own lives and their property - just for the sake of their friends. But when somebody betrays him he is the best enemy. He will never forgive a person he takes the revenge even after centuries for his grandsons also.
Music
Corcoran: The railway line ends a few kilometres out of town, but for us its off limits. This was the very edge of the British Raj and is the boundary of modern Pakistan. Just beyond the guards, lies the madness and bloodshed of Afghanistan.
Conflict it seems, is never far from the Khyber.
The Railway - conceived in war - is that rare legacy that can be enjoyed in peace. Only forty kilometres long, yet right up there as one of the great train journeys of the world. A journey through an unforgettable blend of legend and landscape.
Up The Khyber Pass
10'20''
March 2000
Voice-over: When spring-time flushes the desert grass, Our caravans wind through the Khyber Pass. Lean are the camels but fat the frails, Light are the purses but heavy the bales, As the snowbound trade of the North comes down, To the market-square of Peshawar town.
Corcoran: Adventure, mystery, tragedy the Khyber Pass has seen it all -- as have the smugglers, still plying their trade more than a century after Rudyard Kipling penned this verse.
The old Khyber rail line now serves as a footpath for an army of smugglers.On their backs, TVs and stereos, drugs and guns -- nearing the end of a long journey to Peshawar from Dubai and Afghanistan.
Music FX: Train whistle
Corcoran: But every so often the line clears - meaning only one thing -- the Khyber Steam Safari is on its way.
This ageing relic of the British Raj was used solely to carry troops up to the hotly contested frontier barely 40 kilometres away. Now , once a month, tourists fill the carriage for the day-trip of a lifetime.
Just out of Peshawar town, a hurdle inconceivable in the glory days of Empire. This is possibly the only train in the world under the direction of air traffic control, as it trundles across the main runway.The next barrier is political. As we enter the Tribal Areas - the autonomous border zone that is beyond Pakistan law. Here, we pick up our escort, a large party of armed tribal militia.Music
Corcoran: Like the British before them, Pakistans rulers accept that their control of the fierce tribes of this region is at best tenuous -- better to let them run their own affairs, in a society where carrying a gun is a birthright. Where the Kalashnakov has replaced the old muzzle loading jezail.
Voice over: A scrimmage in a Border Station, A canter down some dark defile, Two thousand pounds of education, Drops to a ten rupee jezail.ENGLISHMAN: I suppose the Khyber Pass is one of the few places you go to, where we think, this is where we got beat, this is where we spent most of our time running from.
Corcoran: Today that sense of adventure remains. The American and British embassies warn of terrorist attack by Islamic fundamentalists. A warning ignored by the passengers, many of them in fact, British and American diplomats, more worried about car accidents than kidnapping.
AMERICAN: I think the biggest problem for people in Pakistan or India is the driving - and I imagine people here will still be taking pot shots at the train like they did hundreds of years ago.Music
Corcoran: For the train buffs among you some obscure facts: The line was completed in the 1920s. There are 34 tunnels - more than five kilometres of darkness. Two engines are needed to push and pull the carriages up the steep hill. It was all guarded by a formidable network of forts.Thankfully theres not a belligerent tribesman in sight, as at this point, the wheels, quite literally, fall off our little adventure.Music
Corcoran: Every rock, every hill has its story, wrote a young newspaper correspondent, named Winston Churchill in 1897.You can still find the proud emblems of half-forgotten British regiments that endured the long lonely years up here. The allure of the Khyber has long proved irresistible to the adventurers of history.Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and many others marched through the Khyber pass - the strategic gateway to India. The gap in a mountain range called the Hindu Kush - meaning Hindu Killer.
But even the Hindu Kush cant kill the Khyber Steam Safari. Were soon back on track - with only one engine.Young boys display that universal fascination for noise and speed.As we climb towards our final destination - Landi Kotal - home of the legendary Khyber Rifles.
Music - bagpipes
Corcoran: So captain, how important is the heritage of the Khyber Rifles? CAPTAIN BADR: The Khyber Rifles is the oldest unit of the civil armed forces of the subcontinent. This unit was raised in 1878 from local tribes during the second British Afghan War.
Corcoran: Apparently the whole macho frontier fighter thing has been largely consigned to history. Our escort, Captain Badr, happily admits hes more of a tour guide.Corcoran: How much pride do you have in serving in the Khyber Rifles?
Badr: A lot, a lot - my father was a soldier here in the Khyber rifles.Corcoran: And you followed in his footsteps?
Badr: Thats right.
MusicCorcoran: Outside, Captain Badrs men perform traditional dances with more than a touch of Broadway flourish. This is boutique tourism, carefully crafted for the cameras.You wonder what the hard men of history would have made of it all.
FX: Applause
Corcoran: But just beyond the heavily guarded rear gate lies a world thats changed very little in the past century.Landi Kotal - home to the fierce Pashtun tribesmen. These people still live and die by their ancient code of honour -- Pashtunwali.They demand respect for their land, their faith and their women -- who are kept largely under wraps behind closed doors.As guests, were perfectly safe, insists Muzzafar Khan Wazir -- tribesman turned government official.
MUZZAFAR: They are of peculiar nature - they are more democratic - they are the best friends, and the best enemies.
They sacrifice their own lives and their property - just for the sake of their friends. But when somebody betrays him he is the best enemy. He will never forgive a person he takes the revenge even after centuries for his grandsons also.
Music
Corcoran: The railway line ends a few kilometres out of town, but for us its off limits. This was the very edge of the British Raj and is the boundary of modern Pakistan. Just beyond the guards, lies the madness and bloodshed of Afghanistan.
Conflict it seems, is never far from the Khyber.
The Railway - conceived in war - is that rare legacy that can be enjoyed in peace. Only forty kilometres long, yet right up there as one of the great train journeys of the world. A journey through an unforgettable blend of legend and landscape.