Traditional wedding ceremony pulls crowd in Lower Dir

TIMERGARA: After decade-long suffering due to militancy and calamities like earthquakes and floods, people of Lower Dir district witnessed their rich Pashtun tradition of the past by attending a wedding ceremony.

A known figure of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the business of real estate, Jehan Alam Yousafzai, arranged the wedding ceremony of his two sons Muhammad Tanveer Alam Yousafzai and Muhammad Shehzad Alam Yousafzai on Saturday and Sunday by celebrating the wedding in old way of Pashtun culture at his native village Malak Abad Balambat in the district headquarters.

The wedding procession first walked for four kilometres from Khaima village in suburbs of Malakabad Balambat with the two bridegrooms riding in a bhagi (carriage) while the two brides were brought in two separate Dholis along with drum-beating wedding band ringing all the way to bridegroom's house in Malak Abad.

Earlier on Saturday night, a traditional Pashto musical show was arranged at their Hujra where thousands of lovers of Pashto music converged to enjoy the musical show.

Rising Pashto litterateur, singer, poet and compare Afsar Afghan, singers Shahid Malang, Mahnoor and others performed on the occasion and got applause from the audience. Happiness and joy was clearly visible on faces at the venue.

"We love our religion but at the same time we love our traditional Pashto music too,” said Murad Khan, a participant.

“Pashtun have been liberal and peace loving people for centuries,” said Akbar Khan Lala, another participant, adding that it was a pleasure that the twang of rabab that had been silenced for years by rattling gunfire and deafening explosions, was now staging a comeback.

“Dol Surna (music), Janj (wedding procession) and taking bride to the house of bridegroom in traditional Dholi was a part of our life for centuries and revival of this old Pakhtun culture is an appreciable step,” statetd Malik Ali Bakht, an elder of the village.

More than 10,000 people including bureaucrats, politicians, elders, and residents from various parts of the district and nearby villages were served the same food in Valeema. Talking to this scribe, Jehan Alam Yousafzai said the wedding ceremony was arranged in a traditional way to revive the Pashtun culture so that the younger generations may get a knowledge of their rich traditions and it was also meant to promote peace and instil a sense of security among the dwellers.