Kharbochumik: A Pre-Partition Legend
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This tale hails from the time before the partition of India and Pakistan. In those days, the concept of watching movies, dramas, or using mobile phones didn't exist. People used to pass time by listening to fascinating stories. Our uncles, neighbors, and we three families used to gather during long winter nights to listen to such tales. There was a special storyteller in the village, whom we would invite to narrate these stories. One day, we were listening to a tale that I still remember vividly, and I would like to share it with you.
This is the tale of Kharbochumik whereby in Balti, chumik means spring or water source, and Kharbochumik is an essential part of the irrigation system for the entire Gamba Skardu area, stretching from Skardu Airport to Ranga, Zarsna, and Malakhor. Above Kharbochumik lies the village of Kharbo, and further up the hill is Tandal village. On the other side of the mountain is the Chunda Valley, a beautiful and vast area. In the British era, an elderly man from Chunda had heard that if a water snake were found in the sea, wherever it touched its head, a spring of water would emerge. Determined, the elderly man found a water snake in the sea, placed it in a leather bag, and carried it on foot from Lucknow and Ladakh, finally reaching Skardu. Above Skardu, near Gamba Skardu, where a CMH hospital now stands, there is Kharbochumik. Today, there is a road leading directly to Chunda, but back then, there was a water course known as Ghurghun, where water from a glacier, called gangsinghy in Balti, used to flow. Gang means ice in Balti, and singhy means lion, hence the name gangsinghy. This glacier is visible right in front of the mountain. Ghurghun's waters used to cause destruction and posed a threat to the land. The elderly man, upon reaching the grassy area near Kharbo, decided to rest for a while under the shade. He fell asleep, and the bag's strap accidentally loosened, letting the water snake escape. The snake burrowed into the hard moun-tain at several points, trying to find an escape route. Eventually, it managed to break through at one spot and disappeared. Wherever it had touched its head, springs began to flow.
Today, many villages rely on these springs for their irrigation. The marks left by the snake are still visible on the mountain, resembling a red line. This place became famous as Kharbochumik because "chumik" means spring in Balti and the village was named Kharbo. And thus, the name Kharbochumik became well-known.
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