Islamabad: A day-long Kashmir Cultural Festival was held here at Shakarparian under the aegis of the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) in collaboration with the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Federal Directorate of Education to express solidarity with the people of the India-held Kashmir fighting for freedom through a cultural perspective.
Special programmes organised on the occasion included a Kashmiri Artisans at work featuring Kashmiri master artisans in different specialized craft fields like papier mache, embroidery, namda, gabba, jewellery, etc. who demonstrated their skills before the visitors throughout the day; Congregation of Kashmiri community where immigrant Kashmiri people dressed in authentic Kashmiri attire joined and expressed solidarity with the Kashmiris; live folkloric performances by young folk artists, musicians and instrumentalists who sung inspirational and national songs to project the Kashmir cause; Arts and Crafts Bazaar with special arts & crafts offering a variety of knick-knacks, gemstones, folk arts, crafts, trinkets, etc.
The Lok Virsa premises were also decorated with colourful buntings and banners bearing slogans in support of Kashmir cause. The Lok Khaba on the Lok Virsa premises at Garden Avenue also provided visitors with various traditional Kashmir dishes, which enjoyed them a lot.
In short, Lok Virsa complex remained hub of Kashmiri cultural activities throughout the day from 10 am to 6 pm. Both the national museums working under Lok Virsa, i.e. Heritage Museum and Pakistan Monument Museum also remained opened on the Kashmir Solidarity Day and entertained hundreds of visitors including families, children, and youth.
Earlier, the day long celebrations formally opened with a prestigious ceremony with exotic colourful performances based on popular milli naghmas, Kahsmiri patriotic songs, Kashmiri folk songs and Kashmiri folk dances, all presented by youth with the beat of drums and thrilling performances, which swept the audience off their feet. Ms. Ambar Sultana, Director (Colleges), Federal Directorate of Education was the chief guest on the occasion.
In her address, Ambar Sultana shed light on the historic perspective of Kashmir issue and the atrocities committed by the Indian forces on the innocent Kashmiri people. She also commended the efforts of Lok Virsa in highlighting the Kashmir cause through a culturalperspective. A large number of people including resident Kashmiri community and youth, specially students of the colleges working under the FDE attended the ceremony and paid rich tributes to the innocent Kashmiri people struggling for their right of self-determination in the Indian occupied Kashmir.
The master artisans who took part in the Kashmiri artisans at work were Shaikh Muhammad Yousuf, Muneer Ahmad Shaikh and Gul-e-Zehra in Kashmiri embroidery and Kashmiri shawl, Irfan Ghulam Nabi in Kashmiri wood carving, Mukhtar Ahmad Dar in Kashmiri namda and gabba (floor rug & wall hanging), Liaquat Ali in Kashmiri jewellery and Asifa in Kashmiri papier mache art.
All these artisans were possessing a vast knowledge and experience of association with their respective professions. Shaikh Muhammad Yousuf, 70, said he hailed from Srinagar, while most of his family members still lived there.
"My family is facing a lot of hardships at the hands of the Indian Army. The Lok Virsa deserves appreciation for projecting the cause of Kashmiri in such an effective manner," he said. Another Kashmiri artisan, Gul-e-Zehra, said culture was the only way to create a better understanding in the people of Pakistan about the importance of Kashmir issue.
The Lok Virsa is doing an excellent effort to create such a much needed awareness, especially in the youth community of Pakistan. The today's ceremony provided a detailed overview of the Kashmir cause not only to the people at home but also abroad as a number of TV channels were there to cover the event.
A student, Romaisa, said "I attended a training program at Lok Virsa last year and enjoyed learning beautiful Kashmiri crafts papier mache and jewellery from my trainer. He was very nice and loving in providing details. I asked my mother to buy some material for me so that I can practice these crafts at home."
The venue of Lok Virsa Heritage Museum was decorated with beautiful traditional Kashmiri craft items and related accessories, which looked nice. The accompanying teachers with youth also seemed happy with this different style of demonstration of cultural heritage by Lok Virsa management.