LAHORE: Despite its theme ‘Black Spring’, the Awami Art Collective managed to lighten up the mood of the people at Taxali Gate, and a web of criss-crossed red lights on rooftops cutting through the dark of the night was a sight to behold.

Saturday night marked the commemoration of Basant more than anything and locals were more than pleased with the reminder.

“It feels so good. I feel young again and those past years have come flying back when Basant was a day people so eagerly waited for,” said Afzal, a customer at a local hotel.

Madam Neeli Naz, whose house is one of the tallest buildings in the area with 114 steps and gives a full view of the Walled City, said Basant was an important heritage of “real Lahore” but now “the flowers of spring have turned black”.

On the rooftop of Fazl-i-Haq Dera, drumbeaters swirled and twirled in a dhamal as visitors watched intently.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2016