Exhibition at Lok Virsa pulls big crowds

ISLAMABAD: The three day exhibition on traditional weaving craft is attracting a large number of craft lovers and buyers here at Lok Virsa complex.

National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage, Lok Virsahas organized the exhibition under joint institutional cooperation programme between Pakistan and Norway.

Over 30 master artisans and craftspeople in the specialized craft field of weaving have participated from all over Pakistan with their products like traditional carpet weaving from Balochistan,lungi, khes, farasi, loi and daree from Sindh, khaddar and carpetfrom Punjab, taghar, shawl, palisk and qaleen from KhyberPakhtunkhwa and patti weaving from Gilgit Baltistan.

Prominent among the artisans, is Sahib Dino Mallah of Khesweaving from Sindh belonging to a remote village Ranipur in Khairpur.

He learnt the art of weaving from his father at an early age and since then, he has given 36 years of his life to keep this centuries’ old traditional craft alive.

He has been demonstrating his skills at the Artisans-at-workfestival organized by Lok Virsa annually.

`Khes' is a patterned and bound double weave cloth as woven in certain areas of the Punjab and Sindh are popular all over Pakistan including bedcovers, curtains and floor covering.

Another artisan who catches the attraction of visitors is Shah Behram, a master craftsman in Taghar weaving displaying traditional woolen rug from Dera Ismail Khan.

His father was also an accomplished master craftsman of Taghar weaving who received Presidential Pride of Performance Award from the government of Pakistan.

Taghar is woven on a ground level handloom in bright colours like red, maroon, black, gray, white, etc. in 3 X 6 ft size.

It takes upto 64 hours to finish one piece, right from the spinning of the wool to the final knot, as informed by the artisan.

As far as the female artisans are concerned, Pari is 70 years old craftswoman in traditional Darree weaving from Badin, Sindh.

She learnt this art from her mother and is busy in transferring it to the coming generation to ensure continuity of the tradition.

The exhibition will continue till December 30 providing an opportunity to the residents of twin cities to buy artifacts belonging to different provinces and remote regions.