ISLAMABAD
More people are pouring in at ongoing Lok Mela, organised by the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) to witness the event with all of its festivities.
Enthusiasts, who are exhausted from their routine affairs, are thronging the festival grounds to get respite and enjoy the colourful ambiance, folk dances, rural music and hoards of artisan stalls.
The provinces and regions like Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan have set up pavilions presenting folk music, dance and traditional arts and crafts from their respective areas.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa pavilion has its own charm. The replica of Bab-e-Khyber as entrance to the pavilion stands tall with its grandeur.
The pavilion boasts of 25 diverse master craftsmen and craftswomen from different parts of the province.
Quite surprisingly, many artisan stalls have been allocated to female artisans, which create an atmosphere of freshness. Women artisans include Saira Parveen and Tasleem Bibi in Hazara Phulkari, Khadija Sardar in Chitral/Kalash costumes, Tanzila Yasmin, Ayesha Salim and Kiran Sahi in embroidery, Nasreen Nisar in Kohistani tanka, Rameem Naz in weaving, Hanfa Shah in Hazara Jasti work, Naheed Kousar in crochet and Zainab Bibi in cross stitch embroidery.
