Daily Times

Director General Punjab Arts Council Syed Bilal Haider inaugurated the Punjab Pavilion at Lok Mela Islamabad here on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, he said that Punjab was the land of five rivers and had an attractive, beautiful and centuries-old culture. The scope of culture was infinite; the nations that stayed connected with their culture were the ones that developed in the world. Haider said that the purpose of culture was to connect the past with the present to realize one’s identity, its purpose was also to create the best society.

He further said that the promotion of regional culture was the guarantee of unity and solidarity. Art and culture was a prominent member of any country and played an important role in the development and prosperity of the country, and was also the most important heritage, he said and added that whether it was making clay pots on chalk or making khes yadaris on native sand, the art of gutaknari or soldering or the art of carving wood, stone, ivory, metal or cloth, and the art of making a tapestry, expert artisans of all fields were present in the Punjab Pavilion.

Around 50 stalls of artisans have been decorated in the Punjab Pavilion, in which around 100 skilled craftsmen were engaged in the work. Among the artisans were Hajran Bibi Chungir Sazi from Bahawalpur, Shahada Bibi Kishda Kari, Ibrahim Alam Pottery Work, Asma Zahoor Kishda Kari from Multan, Muhammad Ahmed Block Printing, Zeeshan Rashid Camal Bone Work, Shah Jahan Begum Moti Work, Surya Abdullah Chenri Making and Abdul Rehman Camel Skinwork, Muhammad Aslam Khasa Making from Faisalabad, Muhammad Riaz Lacquer Art, Kaneez Fatima Chhabi Making, Sarfraz Hussain Khadi from Gujranwala, Ghulam Abbas Desi Dari khas, Zulfikar Ali Blue Pottery from Lahore, Ziaul Haq Woodwork, Muhammad Afsar Khan Brass. Work, Fauzia Naheed’s doll-making from Rawalpindi, Hafeez Nasir Zari’s work, Zahida Sultana Crocia’s work and Ghulam Hussain’s stone carving were worth mentioning here.

At the festival, Shaukat Dholi, who made Pakistan famous at the international level, was also entertaining the fans. The Punjab Folk Dance Party was also showcasing her art. Regional traditional food stalls were also set up in the Punjab Pavilion, in which cornbread, greens, butter, and Chatti ki lassi were very popular. A large number of domestic and foreign tourists visited the Punjab pavilion on the opening day.