Notes from Islamabad: Lok Virsa wakes the city

Posted by Zunaira on 11 April 2005


Foot tapping music, great bargains and plenty of food...no Park Towers can rival the excitement you can find at the Lok Virsa Festival currently running at the Lok Virsa Museum in Islamabad.

There is no great mystery to the layout of the festival.

The shopping:
Consumers first! Well first up, is a sea of food stalls offering desi handis and snacks [including the famous paneer palak]. Once you've crossed this without biting into anything, you can pick a direction to explore the Sindh, Baluchistan, Punjab and Northern areas. Handicrafts range from run-of-the-mill wall hangings, cushions and bedspreads [standard Zainab Market affair], to some wonderful chaddars, stichted and unstiched garments [all ages] and of course,handmade wooden, clay, and marble furnishings. One of the more unusal stalls I spotted included a Swati salt lamp and stone crafted boxes. Depending on how well [or unwell] you dress, prices start anywhere from Rs.100 for a chappal to 1600 for an embroidered dress.

The music:
If you're not too distracted by the shopping around you, keep your eyes and ears open for the folk artists performing all over the arena for free. A special auditorium has been designated for performances but my friends had a little trouble finding a program scheduele. The best performances are spontaneous...weary old limbs dance to no end, the dancer holding a water-filled matka on a long pole first on the head and then in the mouth! Thanks to a friend's 'contact', I managed to sit right up on a stage where some Sariki artists were peforming with a chamta, carrying the sound of folklore mixed with life's little ironies in modern times. Magical, even if you don't follow the language entirely! Be wary of strangers reaching for their camphones and shoving it up in your face for a 'pictarre'.

Of sponsors:
Surprise, surprise! PTCL sponsored the festival so lo and behold, they also managed a phone-booth in the middle of an arts and crafts celebration. Decidedly odd!

When can I go:
The show is on until April 24 so if you're not too busy washing your socks and polishing your telly, the long drive in the evening starting at 7pm is worth it.

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Comments
(latest on top)


JK said: -
you can expect ptcl to do all it can with official resources, with telenor and all now active, and your right about it being odd
spock said: -
Lok Virsa Festival?!!!???
At last something for Isloos to celebrate. I have an inkling that it will rival Lahore's basant in the years to come( with all the backing of the Political Janta).


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