Residents don ajrak and topis to celebrate Sindh Culture Day

The day was first marked in 2009

KARACHI: With ajrak, caps and other symbols of the culture of the province, Sindh Culture Day was celebrated with zeal across the province.

"It reminds us of our roots. We wait for this day all year the same way we wait for the religious festivals," said a middle-aged man, Shabbir Jagirani, who had come to Fawara Chowk near the Karachi Press Club along with his friends to celebrate the day.

Clad in white shalwar kameez with an ajrak on his shoulders and Sindhi cap on his head, Jagirani tried to preserve the joyous moment by taking a selfie. According to him, festivities of cultural day make him as jubilant as he is on Eid.

A large number of women participated in the festivities of the day. PHOTO: INP

"It's kind of a social gathering. We interact with our Sindhi brothers and get to know each other," Kamran Lashari, a friend of Jagirani, said.

A crowd of hundreds of people was seen advancing towards Fawara Chowk where others were already dancing to the beat of folk music. Many youngsters were also holding flags of various nationalist parties among which the red flag of the Jiye Sindh Qaumi Mahaz with a hatchet in the middle stood out prominently.

The day was first observed in 2009 in reaction to the criticism met by former president Asif Ali Zardari for wearing a Sindhi cap during an official visit to Afghanistan.

Men wore ajrak to mark the day. PHOTO: INP

A resident of Punjab Colony, Vijay Kumar, was wearing an ajrak. He had taken taken his four-month-old daughter to the venue. "It makes us proud that we belong to a culture which is many a millennium old," he proudly claimed, adding that the day instils feeling of brotherhood among the people of Sindh.

A young girl, who had come all the way from Gulistan-e-Jauhar along with her family to witness the festivities, said she felt blessed to be a Sindhi. "We come here every year to be a part of this day and encourage others join us as this day reminds us of our rich culture," she said.

However, she observed that people were not maintaining discipline while observing the day. "The celebrations should be held in a disciplined manned but it is difficult to maintain discipline when thousands of charged participants gather at one place," she asserted.

Children clad in traditional costumes also participated in the celebrations. PHOTO: ONLINE

People from other provinces were also present at the venue and enjoying the jovial atmosphere. A man, Ziaullah, who hailed from Peshawar, was selling Sindhi caps. According to him, he bought them from Lea Market in Lyari to sell them during the Sindhi Culture Day. "In addition to its cultural significance, this day has provides handsome livelihood of people like us."

Sindh Culture Day was observed across the province, with celebrations held in Hyderabad and Sukkur as well.