Moenjo Daro ruins lit up ahead of the opening ceremony. PHOTO: APP/FILE
Spearheaded by Pakistan Peoples Party patron in chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the two-week festival is part of a campaign that claims to conserve the heritage of his home province of Sindh.
However, the opening ceremony was dominated with fashion shows, and music that was a far cry from that of traditional Sindh. Pop singer Ainee Khalid sang a rendition of popular Sindhi folk song about Lal Shabaz Qalander, a song made popular by veteran sufi singer Abida Parveen.
Made a joke of #Sindh Mohenjo Daro festival wth singing pop music,catwalks & English rap. Great way to promote the culture! @BBhuttoZardari
— Dr. Seema Zia (@DrSeemaSZia) February 1, 2014
Sufi-folk singer Sain Zahoor, who hails from Multan, sang a popular sufi number, but the track was accompanied by a modern hip hop electronic remix score and contemporary dances.
The #Sindhi singer Shaman Ali Mirali performing at Sindh Festival right now is the most popular singer of the language! Good choice :)
— Ravez Junejo (@ravezjunejo) February 1, 2014
I, as a sindhi condemns Sindh Festival because it is destroying sindhi culture @BBhuttoZardari @AseefaBZ @BakhtawarBZ
— Ali Raza (@AliRazaTweets) February 1, 2014
But experts warned the festival could put Moenjo Daro, a UNESCO World Heritage site built around 2,600 BC, in danger.
Large wooden and steel scaffolding has been erected over and around the ruin, which UNESCO describes as "the most ancient and best-preserved ruin on the Indian subcontinent", while heavy spotlights and lasers have been installed for a light show.
The site has been transformed into a high security facility, with hundreds of police commandos surrounding the ruins. Some even stood atop the stupa, a Buddhist shrine, as workers hammered nails into a stage, an AFP reporter at the site said.
"We have done all the work very much to international conservation standards," claimed Saqib Soomro, a top official at the culture department.
Zardari, clad in a black jacket over an off-white traditional shalwar qameez, arrived Saturday in a caravan of four vehicles.
A number of foreign visitors, some wearing traditional Sindhi Ajrak outfits, were also among the approximately 1,000 guests waiting for the grand gala to begin. Some of these had been specially flown to Moenjo Daro.
Sindh festival 2014!!!! Opening ceremony pic.twitter.com/WoTOL31XDt
— Dr. Sharmila sahibah faruqui (Phd) s.i (@sharmilafaruqi) February 1, 2014
Performers queued up to pass through security gates, with an equally large number of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) top leaders also waiting for entry.
The ruins, discovered in 1922 by British archaeologist Sir John Marshall, are 425 kilometres (265 miles) north of the port city of Karachi and are one of the largest settlements of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
They are one of Pakistan's six UNESCO World Heritage sites that are deemed places of special cultural significance.
But many of the country's historical sites are endangered by vandalism and urban encroachment, as well as a booming trade in illegally excavated treasures.
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Not many were aware of Mohenjo-Daro before this festival.
Mr Zardari Junior ! Culture is not the issue for common sindhi. Go to Lyari or any village in Larkana to see how a poor PPP voter is living, crushed by Feudal Lords that are on your right and left. You are proving that what your real vision is. Dont worry ! you will be our PM one day regardless of what tactics you use. Only God knows why Sindhi's are voting Bhutto's mausoleum after 37 years.
After Bilawal's attempt to bring out the culture of Sindh it is amazing that so many lovers of Mohenjodaro have suddenly appeared from the woodwork. These newborn lovers of our old heritage are free to take care of other heritage sites waiting for restoration. Why only one place became so imp after PPP's celebrations? Some hate the fact that Bilawal has come back to his homeland and roots instead of living in the safety and comfort of UK like many rich and powerful families do. Not everybody gives their families and kids to foreign religions and cultures. When can we learn to live with and respect the culture and religions of other Pakistanis?
i request zardari junior to spend this amount on a school in his mother's native village of garhi khuda baksh, larkana
Can someone please explain why tax payers money is being used for a political party promotion under the guise of a cultural festival? Also, why does our "free" press not question this? ET, please wake up. Being someone's sycophant is one thing but your ultimate commitment is still toward the public and not the land grabbing usurpers.
Funny how a corrupt brat gets to decide how to utilize money from the common man's taxes. Are we so blind? these people do not think twice before wasting OUR money and resources, for them they think they own everything. Rise against injustice Pakistan, speak out!
So who is getting all the revenue from this?
Sindh festival looks promising! Very happy and refreshing to see something positive happening in country. I hear rumours that PTI is planning a counter taliban festival in KPK.
Claps! What a show. In 1789, as revolution stood at the gates of Bastille, Marie Antoinette uttered the famous words: "why, why are they angry? If they want food, feed them cake." Some years later, Marie was not even around to share the 'cakes' being claimed by the common citizens of France as their rights, those who formerly made up the 'third estate' of commons in that long forgotten epoch of history. Today, the people of Sindh were also fed the cake. With illiteracy for girls standing at 77 %, 50 % of the children in the province stunted due to a dearth of caloric-intake, its industrial base less than 5 %, Sindh's roads, water systems and public works from Hala to Sanghar to Sukkur almost run down and dilapidated, the people of Sindh witnessed an event where the middle-class of the province was almost negligible, the haris were invisible and a show of rap, modelling and poorly orchestrated songs which had nothing to do with the native culture of Sindh. And all of this was happening while a former PM-aka-RPP blunder stood smiling in the center of the audience, as those very elites which are responsible for the province's utter slide to pandemonium swayed under the trance of 'Sufi' beats. Policies make political parties formidable and delivery on ground does matter; PPP proved the trend, Congress in India will only confirm it. Sadly, the current leadership of the PPP always misses the plot and is really clueless on how to bring a turnabout in the party.
Sad to see so much negativity around. I found the opening ceremony STUNNING.
It was lovely!
This is what happens when peoples party throws a party....dominated by a British born confused Waderas...(BBCW) Invitation to a party wearing shewani underneath a t shirt with Ajrak printed superman logo and ..a cat walk on tomb....ending with a Sufi song sung by a pop diva. This is not about sindh its about seeking attention.