Thai princess visits Lok Virsa

Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited the Lok Virsa (National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage) on Wednesday.
She was accompanied by Prime Minister’s Special Assistant for Social Welfare Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali and Thai Ambassador Marwin Tah-Attanawin.
The visit was coordinated by the Foreign Office.
On arrival, the guest was received by Lok Virsa Executive Director Khalid Javaid and Deputy Director (museum) Anwaar-ul-Haq.
Javaid briefed the princess about Pakistan’s culture and the Lok Virsa’s role as a specialised cultural body that documents and preserves cultural heritage.
The director also informed that the Lok Virsa and other cultural organisations in Pakistan were created by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and were promoted by Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.
The princess was taken around various three-dimensional creative displays at the Pakistan National Museum of Ethnology, popularly known as the Heritage Museum.
The museum houses 25 large galleries and several link passages presenting Pakistan’s cultural history and influences derived from other neighbouring countries such as China, the Central Asian States and Iran.
The princess took keen interest in the displays of folk tales, Sufis and shrines, textiles, wedding rituals in the Cholistan desert and the hall of architecture.
Princess Sirindhorn said: “Pakistan has a very rich, diverse and beautiful culture which has been nicely presented in this museum.”
The Lok Virsa presented CDs and DVDs to the guest after her visit.
A live musical performance by folk artists and musicians was also a part of the programme organised for the princess.
Later, Princess Sirindhorn visited the Pakistan Monument Museum adjacent to the National Museum at Shakarparian.
Dedicated to those who sacrificed their lives in service to the country, the museum depicts the history, the freedom struggle, the emergence and development of Pakistan through dioramic displays.
The museum also presents key achievements of the country after independence, particularly in the field of culture, tourism, education, defence, communication, science and technology, sports, industry and other diverse sectors.