Training workshop on intricate mirror work begins at Lok Virsa

Islamabad

As part of the ongoing ‘Craft of the Month’ programme of Lok Virsa, a five-day training programme in mirror work started here on Wednesday.

The series of programmes under ‘Craft of the Month’ initiative was started National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) in September 2015 with a popular slogan ‘Harnessing culture with education.’ The programme aims at focusing on a particular craft every month for a week with major emphasis to promote traditional crafts and provide an opportunity to the youth community, who has little or no exposure to the living cultural heritage of Pakistan, to interact with craftspeople and learn essential craft related techniques.

So far, nine programmes under this series including truck art, pottery making, doll making, weaving, block printing, Kashmiri folk crafts, ‘chunri’ and kite making, lacquer art and stone carving have already been successfully organised under this initiative.

Talking to the media, Lok Virsa Executive Director Dr. Fouzia Saeed said that they have launched this initiative mainly for young children. “Our Heritage Museum highlights one craft every month with artisans and experts available for children to engage and learn from them. These craft-persons not only display their crafts and make them in front of the people but also teach and have materials for them to experiment with the medium.  This, we hope, will give them hands on opportunity to become familiar with the folk crafts,” she said.

Lok Virsa chief executive further said this is an experiment of sowing the seeds of pluralistic society in our younger generation. “A generation that, we hope, will take care of our country in future and make it into a truly pluralistic society where people of all cultures, languages and traditions living in Pakistan will fully own each other as valued Pakistani citizens”.

Forty students and children (age: 6-14 years) studying in various schools and colleges working under the administrative control of Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) are participating in the mirror work training started today. 

Master artisans in mirror work from Hindu community of Sindh Lekh Raj and Chan are imparting training to the participants in an interactive manner. They are seen creatively preparing frames with artisans and doing embroidery and mirror work with a great deal of enthusiasm.

The training programme will continue till June 5, 2016 daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Apart from students from different schools/colleges, visiting children are also encouraged to learn craft making techniques from the artisans without any charges. The interested parents can contact Lok Virsa Museum Section on 9249200 or 0300-5204755 for registration.