KALAM

 Kalam

It is said that in the village of Kenolam (Lamoti) in Dir Kohistan, a disagreement arose between Donish Dada and Khais Dada over some issue. Due to this, Khais Dada got upset and traveled via the Badgoy Pass to Swat Kohistan. Muhammad Zaman Sagar has mentioned this incident on page 30 of his book "Traditional History of Kalam Kohistan." He writes that Ken Dada's sons, Donish and Khais, lived in the Matol area of Kenolam. One day, a dispute broke out between them, and Khais, upset, left for Swat.

 

Before Khais, Kal Dada lived here with his family. Kal had come from Chitral and lived in Siri Kalam. One year, there was a heavy snowfall. One day, Kal informed his sons and neighbors that there would be more snowfall that night and advised them to stay awake and clear the snow from their roofs, or the weight of the snow might cause the roofs to collapse. On page 31, Zaman writes, "Kal and his sons slaughtered an animal and spent the whole night clearing snow from the roof. The women in the house kept roasting meat on the coals to keep them warm so that they wouldn't stop removing the snow due to the cold. In the morning, when Kal and his sons went outside, they saw the village was destroyed, and everyone had died." Kal had four sons, two of whom returned to Chitral, and two stayed with Kal, and they are now known as Kalam Khel. The sons who went back to Chitral were named Sadiq and Tai, whose descendants are now known as Kalam Khel near Brok and other adjacent areas of Laspur.

 

When Khais Dada found out that someone had already come to this paradise and was living here with his family, he became concerned. The issue was about ownership. Khais Dada thought there would be no human beings in this wilderness, but here was an entire family settled. After some deliberation, he came up with a plan and began observing Kal's movements. One day, Khais saw an opportunity and hid in a cave at the location of Roen Ghosh. When Kal passed by, Khais suddenly emerged from the cave and blocked Kal's path. Zaman beautifully describes the dialogue between Kal and Khais, writing:

 

Kal asked, "Who are you?"

Khais asked, "Who are you?"

Kal said, "My name is Kal, and I live here."

Khais replied, "I am the original inhabitant of this place because I emerged from this very soil before you."

 

After several days of discussion, they both realized that instead of fighting in this beautiful area, they could live in peace, so they accepted each other. The biggest question now was how to divide and name the area. After much thought, Khais Dada and Kal Dada agreed on an arrangement where Khais Dada would receive two parts of the land and forest, and Kal would receive one part. In return, the area would be named after Kal, thus becoming Kal's village, or Kal'an Lam, which eventually became Kalam over time. Today, the whole world knows it by the name of Kalam.