Sea Festival helps bring coastal communities' culture into the limelight

Craft stalls, folk music, boat rides featured at the festival

KARACHI: A three-day festival organised to highlight the culture of the coastal communities of Sindh started with a touch of folk music at Beach Luxury Hotel on Thursday.

The Sea Festival attracted hundreds of people from different backgrounds, who thoroughly enjoyed the variety of folk music being played at the event. More than a dozen stalls set up at the festival displayed traditional clothing, arts and antiquities related to coastal communities.

The festival was inaugurated by Culture Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah. "I wish the department could have arranged this festival at the beach but we couldn't get the security clearance," he lamented.

Baloch dancers perform to folk music known as Leva. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN

The visitors also enjoyed free boat rides in the steady waters between the mangroves and the hotel.

Craftsmen from Hala, Thar, Umerkot, Shikarpur, Khairpur and other parts of Sindh showcased art pieces at their stalls. "This festival helps craftsmen like us as it provides opportunity to us to showcase our works and meet potential buyers who can purchase items from us at nominal rates," said Allah Rakhyo who had come from Thar.



The items on display included Sindhi caps, gajj, handmade ajrak, block printed lawn covered with ajrak designs, calligraphic art and photo frames made of sea shells. Besides, stalls of pottery, including glazed pottery, also fascinated the visitors.

A stall had also been set up by the Sindh Tourism Development Corporation where visitors received information about tourist spots and historical sites in the province.

The visitors also enjoyed free boat rides in the steady waters between the mangroves and the hotel. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN

Razia Khan, a visitor who had come to the festival along with her friends, appreciated the festival for giving them an opportunity to appreciate traditional artwork. It could have been organised along coast on a larger scale, she said.

Murtaza Lashari, another visitor, said he was fond of folk and traditional music. I go to every event where folk musicians perform, he said, adding that such events should also be organised in other parts of the province where people normally do not have recreational events.

The festival is scheduled to end tomorrow (Saturday). Performances by traditional dancers and a concert of folk singers have also been planned at the festival.