This festival is a great idea, best way to promote our culture, show we are the bearers of an ancient civilisation.
PHD, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, US: I managed to watch a live telecast of the Sindh Festival on television last weekend. The sight was magnificent to witness. The stage was set on the 5,000-years-old ruins. It was enchanting to see models displaying local designs, eminent singers weaving magic with their beautiful voices and musicians playing melodious tunes in the darkness of the night. People were dancing and enjoying the revival of cultural heritage in a fun environment dozens of miles away from the city. There were a plenty of foreigners present as well, clad in traditional Sindhi clothes and enjoying the artistic display of Pakistan’s rich culture. The opening ceremony served the purpose of the festival well, which was to celebrate the rich culture of Sindh and make people aware of the threat of extinction being faced by many historical sites in Pakistan.
That said, the festival came in for some heavy criticism because many people thought that the Moenjo Daro site should not have been used to host such an event. Then there were some other complaints: some did not like the logo, some did not like the advertisement starring Asifa and Bilawal Bhutto and some were not happy with the official song of the festival, sung by Asifa.
But in my opinion, this festival is a great idea, and the best way to promote our culture and show the world that we are the bearers of an ancient civilisation. In the current circumstances, the festival is also a clear message to everyone that we are not scared and will fight the forces trying to throw us back to the Stone Age. We have terrorism, we have poverty, we have polio; but we have hope, we have dreams and above all, we have a very strong culture and as long as we are able to keep our culture alive, the hope is there that we can stay united and one day, we will be able to overcome our tsunami of problems. Instead of being so negative and critical, we should try to enjoy the festival and make it a successful event. Let’s for once, enjoy something good which is being done by our politicians and portraying a positive image of our country to the whole world.
Dr Shabana Nisar
Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2014.
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