ISLAMABAD: Maintaining its previous traditions, Lok Virsa (National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage) celebrated the Independence Day of Pakistan on Tuesday with a great enthusiasm, fervor and festivity at its complex here at Shakarparian.
The day started with a flag hoisting ceremony. A special exhibition of artisans-at-work featuring craftsmen/women in various specialized fields was displayed at Pakistan National Museum of Ethnology (popularly known as Heritage Museum) at Garden Avenue.
Master artisans who participated in the exhibition were Mst. Rubina Zulfiqar in Kashmiri embroidery, Taj Muhammad Tajal in Namda/Gabba making, Zulfiqar Ali Ghazi in papier mache art, Khaleer ur Rehman in traditional truck art, Zahid in wax printing, Matahir Bukhari in Multani embroidery, Mst. Fauzia Naheed in traditional doll making and Hafeez Nasir in Zari (needle) work.
Most prominent among them was Zulfiqar Ali Ghazi who specializes in the famous Kashmiri art of "papier mache".
He excels not only in the art of papier mache and miniature but is also an accomplished artist in stain glass, fabric designing and traditional furniture painting.
Ghazi paints nature, floral motifs, birds, animals, mughal monarchs in his paintings as well on papier mache artifacts.
With artistic skills and creativity running in his veins, Ghazi is determined to preserve and revive the golden era of Mughals. He has participated in scores of festivals, fairs and exhibitions at home & abroad and won cash prizes and certificates in recognition of his talent.
The other one who caught the visitor eye was Khaleer ur Rehman, creative artisan and painter in truck art from Rawalpindi. Explaining about truck art, Lok Virsa's executive director Khalid Javaid said "this colourful, sometimes dazzling, art work on vehicles and other means of transportation, which is found in abundance in Pakistan can hardly be seen anywhere else in the world.
Decorations are not done only on trucks and buses but on all kinds of vehicles like tankers, mini-buses, trucks, rickshaws, tongas and even donkey carts moving on the road throughout the country". Surprisingly, the artists and artisans involved in this art are not graduated from art schools or colleges, yet they carry out their incredible work skillfully, albeit in a na?ve style; using their imagination and inspiration to create fantasies and dreams, the colours and embellishments of which are deeply rooted in Pakistan's rich folklore, he added.
A group of traditional drummers (Dholis) attired in colourful costumes led by famous Shaukat Dholi also performed throughout the day and entertained the visitors with their thrilling performances.
Folk artists and musicians including junior Alan Faqir (Muhammad Bukhsh) also presented popular items and sung national & folk songs marking the celebrations, which were greatly applauded by the masses.
In order to attract maximum number of visitors/ public in the special activities arranged marking the occasion, Lok Virsa also granted a special rebate of fifty percent on entry tickets for Pakistani adults at the National Heritage Museum and Pakistan Monument Museum, adjacent to National Monument, Shakaparian.
Federal Minister for Capital Administration and Development, Nazar Muhammad Gondal also visited special programmes organized by Lok Virsa coinciding with independence day celebrations as well as the photographic exhibition on Bhutto family being displayed at National Heritage Museum.
The minister paid rich tributes to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto for their sacrifices and services to the nation and restoration of democracy in the country.
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