Many artefacts put on display by the artisans in Lok Virsa Mela 2020 were damaged due to heavy showers and lack of pre-emptive arrangements by festival management.
The closing day saw chaos due to an early spell of winter rain, which was not unexpected as the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had already issued a weather alert two days ago.
The artisans hailing from Sindh, Balochistan, and other parts of the country were flummoxed as the pavilions were inundated. They said that the weather forecast could be checked on the internet but the Lok Virsa management did not take any measures like provision of plastic sheets.
All pavilions were inundated with rainwater and equipment was damaged, they added.
The artisans expressed that the government had incurred damage by calling them at the festival. The stalls were funded by the cultural departments of all federating units.
However, an official of the administration, when contacted by The Express Tribune, said that they had no control over rain and weather phenomenon.
The 10-day Lok Mela that attracted hundreds and thousands of visitors from all over the province concluded on Sunday. Set in the picturesque Shakarparian, the visitors felt that the mela failed to fully represent the vast and diverse cultural heritage of the country.
Home to around 15 major ethnicities with different dress codes, music styles, cuisines and customs before its inception, Pakistan remained under the influence of various foreign elements such as Central Asia, Afghanistan and the Middle East.
The visitors shared that there was a greater need for more festivals like Lok Mela to promote national harmony and to project the real diversity of the country. They called for inclusion of more pavilions to showcase the cultural heritage in its entirety.
“There are separate pavilions for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh,” a resident of Rawalpindi, Usman, noted, pointing out the absence of cultures from south Punjab, Potohar and the Indus.
He said that more space should be allocated next year to display a full-spectrum of our cultural heritage, adding that dedicated stalls could have also been set up to promote truck art, blue pottery from Multan and Sindh, and calligraphy.
Another visitor, Sehrish who came with her children, said she has great appreciation for the Kalasha community, however, she was disappointed to learn that it was not represented at the mela this year.
An official from the K-P Culture and Tourism Authority agreed to set up multiple sub-pavillions to ensure greater inclusion of all regions from across the country. He cited financial constraints faced by the provincial departments as a major reason behind the lack of greater representation at this year’s Lok Mela.
Lok Virsa Executive Director Talha Ali Kushvaha contended that the mela was a success despite a surge in novel coronavirus cases in the country. “However, there is always room for improvement,” he added. He shared that the Lok Virsa management did not interfere in provincial departments and simply provided them the space to set up stalls to display their cultural traditions, food, arts and handicrafts.
He said now that the festival has concluded, the management would recommend the provincial departments to set up more organised pavilions to ensure representation of all regional cultures, traditions, cuisines, arts and crafts. Responding to a question, he maintained that the mega mela was arranged quite impressively with the addition of theatre performances and musical nights.
According to an official of Lok Virsa, a minimum of 0.7 million people visited the mela amid strict implementation of COVID-19 standard operating procedures. .
Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2020.
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