Traditional cuisines attract visitors at Lok Mela

Visitors dismayed at hike in price of entry ticket

ISLAMABAD:

The ticket price at Lok Mela has been increased to Rs100 from Rs50 which has disappointed visitors.

The 5th day of the festival will be dedicated to the folk singers from Sindh who will perform at a musical concert at 7 pm on Friday.

Like other provinces, the Sindh pavilion has been beautified with the colours of indigenous culture.
The Sindh Department of Culture has been participating in the Lok Mela festival every year.

The Sindh department is known to be the first among the provinces for arriving at the festival before its commencement for decoration and construction of its pavilion.

Dozens of handicraft stalls have been set up in the Sindh pavilion where Sindh artisans are busy making various handicrafts in their respective fields. Among the famous handicrafts of the province is Ajrak, which is made in many designs and colours used as chador as well as for dresses by women.

Sindh is famous for a wide range of folk crafts like lacquer art, farasi weaving, blue pottery, Sindhi embroidery, Ajrak, block-printing, traditional carpet weaving, appliqué work, tie-dye, khes weaving, woodworks, Thari embroidery, and several others, which all have been showcased at the mela.
The famous blue pottery of Hala, Lungi and Woven Cotton Coverlet (Khes) have also gained the attraction of the visitors.

A variety of food dishes from every corner of the provinces of the country, including Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Sindh, Balochistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir are being served at various stalls.

A stallholder, Ishtiaq Fazal, from K-P said, “Our specialty Tikka Kabab with economical rate attracted many people with their families to enjoy the pleasant weather.” He added that traditional tastes and culture are best reflected in the food like mouth-watering Sajji, Biryani, Chappli Kabab, Saag, Qorma. Peshawari Kebabs are delicious and full of aromatic spices.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2021.