Uzbek Defence Minister Lt Gen Kabul Raimovich along with his entourage visited Lok Virsa (National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage) at Shakarparian on Thursday. He was accompanied by his Uzbek Ambassador to Pakistan Oybek Arif Usmonov. On his arrival, senior officials of Lok Virsa warmly received the distinguished guest. He was briefed on the functioning of the leading cultural institution under public sector of Pakistan, which deals with documentation, preservation and dissemination of cultural heritage of the country with an extensive network of community-based organisations, regional associations, NGOs, intellectuals, researchers, folk artists and craftspeople across the country.
Later, the Uzbek minister was taken around various three-dimensional creative displays at the Pakistan National Museum of Ethnology (Heritage Museum), spreading over an area of 60,000 square feet and portraying living cultural traditions and lifestyles of the people of Pakistan depicted in dioramas and cultural displays in the museum. Kabul was very much impressed to see the link passage on Central Asia, in particular the Uzbek corner created in cooperation with the Uzbek Embassy in Islamabad. He also took keen interest in the embroideries by the rural women of Tharparkar, displayed in the “Hall of Textiles”.
Sindh is famous for lavishly embroidered wedding shirts fully covered with intricate silk embroidery and mirror work. The costumes are always neatly and exquisitely embroidered. Thari women use precious stones and beads in various products. The greatest variety of Sindhi decorative styles and techniques are employed in embroidering shawls ornately embroidered with traditional circular motifs. Sindhi caps are fully covered with floral designs, with colourful thread and mirrors. He was equally amazed to see the wooden carved doors collected from havelis (old houses) from different localities in rural Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He greatly lauded Lok Virsa’s efforts in documenting and preserving the indigenous folk culture of Pakistan in a beautiful and systematic manner.
