KARACHI:
To promote Pakistani lifestyle, the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) is travelling all the way to Delhi with more than 700 participants from September 10 till September 14. The project, titled Alishaan Pakistan 2014, will feature all things Pakistani — from food to furniture to fashion.
“Whenever I have gone to Delhi for work, people have admired the way we dress and eat,” says Rabya Javeri Agha, secretary for TDAP. “I feel we can showcase everything in Pakistan there and manage to accumulate 70 per cent of the cost through sales there.”
In 2012, the TDAP did a fashion show that was a raving success. In February this year, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) India exhibited their offerings in Lahore. “It is our turn again and we wish to go bigger and better,” Rabya says. With over 350 stalls and TDAP’s own stall designed by students of Asian Institute of Fashion Design, the festival is all set to get the ball rolling in Delhi.
Well-established designers such as Umar Sayeed, Warda Saleem, Sania Maskatiya, Maheen Karim, Deepak Perwani and Faiza Samee along with a few budding fashion designers will showcase their work at the fashion show at Taj Hotel on September 10. The next day, stalls will be set up for selling. “Our aim is simple: we showcase our products and sell them the next day,” says Javeri.
Textile houses such as Bareeze, Chen One, Lala Textiles, Kayseria and Khaadi will also be a part of the festival. Lawn manufacturers including Al Karam, Gul Ahmed, Asim Jofa and Sana Safinaz will also present their collections. “We will create hype through our fashion shows on the first day, so that our sales double.”
Interwood and other furniture houses will also exhibit and sell their pieces.
Some renowned chefs from local hotels such as Avari and restaurants such as Bundoo Khan will participate in the food festival at the ITC Moria Hotel.
“This is a very healthy exercise for the easing of the trade policy between the two countries and thankfully, both countries have been very supportive,” says Javeri.
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Shehzad Roy and Meesha Shafi are the brand ambassadors for the festival. Tehzeeb, an NGO based in Karachi, will provide the music at the events, while the Citizens Archive of Pakistan has recorded accounts of Pakistan’s history for the attendees to bridge the gap between India and Pakistan.
“We went quite big in 2012, but nobody in Pakistan noticed or cherished it. This time, we want to go bigger and also want the people to celebrate healthy interaction between the countries,” says Javeri. “This sure is a moment of pride for Pakistanis.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2014.
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@Hari Om: Then why exactly are you on a Pakistani website?!
I don't know If the condescending language of this irrelevant and incoherent story is intentional or simple ignorance (or even both!!) but be as it may, Pakistani delegates and the public should rest assured that India offers much better and bigger variety of products - be it food, fashion, films, IT, engineering products and capital goods. And if you want to act so pricey, why not try your luck with other neighbours. I believe Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other "brother" countries would give you the right impression of what they think of you. India and most India know very well that Pakistan has nothing else to offer except terrorism!
@Abdul Malik: Lucky you Abdul did not become Abdur. One of my friends Abdul became Abdur, when I asked if it was numerology he got offended and told me in Arabic it was Abdur. We live to learn.
@ Ahmed You are wrong and very ignorant!!!!
@Observer: It is not a mistake. It is the Pakistani way of denigrating all things Indian (except the Indian rupee of course). I have come across countless instances where Indian names including the name of the Indian Prime Minister is deliberately spelt wrongly. Little do they realize that this will do nothing except reveal the Pakistani ignorance of name spelling conventions. So when Pakistanis spell my name as Abdool Maalik from Hindoostan. I laugh.
@Ahmed: You must be living in a LaLa land. Afghanistan and Middle East don't give a rats azz to Pakistani culture. Pakistan has nothing in common with them beside religion.
So are these Pakistani designers also going to meet the Hurriyat leaders in Delhi?????
Seeing what is happening at the border, I wonder who is going to welcome these people in DELHI... Anyways Get ready for special treatment.
Change the typo in the title! It's Delhi, not Dehli.
Please correct the spelling in the headline. It is De-L-Hi not DeH-Li.
“Whenever I have gone to Delhi for work, people have admired the way we dress and eat,”
So will there be an exhibit where we can watch well-dressed Burgers eating?
Good luck!!!
Our cultural, religious affinity lies to the west with Afghanistan, Middle East. Why go to a Kufr country like India. We should showcase our Alishan-ness in these countries.