Colours of Punjab displayed at Lok Virsa

The first-ever Punjab Cultural Festival, organised by the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage in collaboration with National Cultural Development Foundation, concluded at the Lok Virsa on Sunday.

The concluding ceremony was followed by a Punjabi musical concert featuring folk artists and musicians such as Nadeem Abbas Lonewala, Sana Parvaiz, Muhammad Ali, Saghar, Zafar Lohar, Krishen Lal Bheel from Cholistan, Sadaf Ali and others.

A large number of the people from different walks of life witnessed the brilliant performances of these artists. Among them, Nadeem Abbas Lonewala and Zafar Lohar were the most prominent ones and received great applaud.

The festival included “Dastarbandi” of Abdur Rasheed Qureshi — who is an established craftsman from Multan — for the making efforts for reviving the dying art of bonework. When a ‘Dastar’ is placed on someone’s head, it is a gesture denoting honour and acknowledgement for the recipient’s work.

Federal Minister for Culture Pir Aftab Hussain Jilani, during his visit, termed the festival as a “true reflection of all beautiful aspects of Punjabi craft heritage, folklore and musical traditions”. He said, “Punjab is a land of fertile plains. It has a very vibrant and colourful culture. Every region in Punjab has its own distinct culture, traditional costumes and rituals connected with festivities, marriages, birth, funeral and harvesting.”

The four-day festival featured an artistically designed pavilion with typical Punjabi architecture, an artisans-at-work exhibition, folkloric songs and dance ensembles, exotic cultural performances, stalls by public organisations and non government organisations, craft bazaar as well as children’s amusements such as merry-go-round, boat swing along with other items.

The festival also exhibited work of 50 master artisans in the fields of bone work, lacquer art, Multani blue tiles along with embroidery from Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan. Hundreds of participants, including folk artists, rural performers, instrumentalists and dance groups attired in traditional colourful costumes, attended the festival and won recognition for their talents at a national level.

Executive Director of Lok Virsa Khalid Javaid said: “Lok Virsa is thankful to all stakeholders who contributed towards the success of the festival.”

Published in the Express Tribune, June 14th, 2010.