ISLAMABAD: A heritage fair was held on Saturday to celebrate the cultural diversity of Pakistan. The fair included food from across the country, live music and dances as well as other events.

Instrumentalists and folk dancers from different regions in the country were performing at the fair.

“There is so much talent in Pakistan but it is not promoted and people do not know about new performers, especially dancers,” said Zeeshan Saleem, one of the organisers.

One of the participants, Afshan Ateeq who owns Multan Soghat said she has takes embroidered goods to sell at exhibitions and that she has been in her line of work for eight years.

Azima Saqib, who was assisting Afshan, said all their products are handmade in Multan by women working from home.

“We get the products from women who need help in connecting with markets. I have come to the exhibition for the first time and I am enjoying it,” she said.

Sofia Akhtar at the Rani Rang Artisans Work stall said: “By profession I am a tax and corporate lawyer and I am the joint secretary of the Rawalpindi Islamabad Tax Bar Association at the moment. This is my passion, the vision behind Rani Rang Artisans Work is to provide steady incomes to the artisans who would come to me for support.

“I have an outlet in the Arts and Crafts Village which is open on the weekends and this way instead of picking up pieces erratically from artisans when they come I can give them steady orders. I’m presenting my work at Serena for the second time. Normally September to December is a busy time for me as a tax lawyer but I fortunately had Saturday off and could be here.”

Mohammad Ehsan, a stone carver, had brought beautifully etched slabs of slate with floral motifs and calligraphies. He said: “I learnt this work as a child from my father. We have been doing this for generations and I’ve been carving slate for more than 20 years.

A single 18x18 inch slab takes approximately a week to carve and is priced between Rs4,000 and Rs6,000 depending on the work. The demand for our work varies but exhibitions and fairs help remind people of this craft and its beauty”.

Mahnoor Bokhari at the Maisha Spa table had an assortment of feel good products on display.

She said: “We have honey from Hunza, we have amazing salt products including lamps, aroma diffusers and salt crystal soaps and bars. We also have different essential oils to be used in the diffusers, including the massively popular Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Lemon, Citronella, Tea Tree, Orange, Sweet Basil and others. All you have to do is put two or three drops in the diffusers and the entire room smells incredible.”

Pervaiz Iqbal at the Hunza Products had organic products with immense health benefits to share, including dried cherries.

Explaining the benefits of each product, he said: “We were invited to come participate in this exhibition. We have come before but it is colder this time. All our products have health benefits. Our most popular product is Apricot Oil and it is very good for the skin and hair. Then we have launched a new product Hemp Seed Oil, which has anti-carcinogenic properties.”

The usual suspects — embroideries, paintings, ethnic toys, truck art and shawls — were all present at the fair, offering the visitors a wide variety of knickknacks to purchase.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2018